4 Super Snow Vacations
The thought of a winter vacation usually conjures up images of skiing down snowcapped mountains, indulging in daily après ski sessions, or skating on frozen ponds in quintessential winter wonderlands like Colorado and Switzerland. However, more and more travelers are seeking snowy vacations that offer more than ubiquitous skiing, snowboarding, and ice skating.
From dogsledding, ice-climbing, and snow golfing at Gstaad Palace in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland to snowshoeing in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, these super snow vacations guarantee wonderful winter vacations like no other.
Dogsledding, Ice-Climbing, and Snow Golf in Gstaad, Switzerland: Set among the Bernese Alps, Gstaad Palace has more than 155 miles of alpine slopes, but guests who want to skip the ski slopes can play a round of snow golf, ice-climb the Glacier 3000 above the Col du Pillon or Lake Lauenen, or go dogsledding.
Snowcat Tour in Avon, Colo.: This super snow vacation is for the gents only. The Park Hyatt Beaver Creek has created a Gentlemen's Adventure Escape that combines adventure, pampering, Scotch, and cigars. The "mancation" includes welcome Scotch and cigars, a snowcat tour, a $150 dining credit to 8100 Mountainside Bar & Grill, one-day passes to Allegria Spa's Aqua Sanitas "water sanctuary," and a 50-minute deep tissue massage.
Dogsledding, Ice-Climbing, and Snowshoeing in Dolores, Colo.: Located in the middle of the San Juan Mountains, Dunton Hot Springs is packed with winter fun. The hotel is offering packages featuring winter activities like dogsledding, snowshoeing, and ice-climbing on the resort's frozen waterfall. Each package includes three nights' accommodation at Dunton Hot Springs, all meals and beverages, unlimited use of snowshoeing equipment, mountain bikes, cross-country skis, ice skates, and hot springs. The Sip & Soak package includes a bottle of Sutcliffe wine, a Sutcliffe Vineyards tour, and a Sutcliffe Wine Club membership, and the Mountain Romance package includes champagne, flowers, and chocolate-covered strawberries, private dining, one spa treatment per person, and choice of privately guided activities like snowshoeing.
Dogsledding, Ice Hotel Sleepover, and Reindeer Sledding in the Swedish Alps: In the far reaches of Sweden, travelers are transported high above the Arctic Circle where a dogsled awaits for the final trek to an ice hotel. During the stay at the ice hotel, travelers visit a native reindeer herder and drive a reindeer sled through the forest. A three-course feast at a wilderness camp concludes an evening of chasing the Northern Lights across the wintry landscape with this tour package from tour operator Cox & Kings.