The Cabriolet is Winter Park’s gondola shuttle from outlying parking to the entrance of The Village. We recently had the chance to act like a tourist and experience the whole thing when we had company visiting on the Wells Fargo Weekend. Everywhere we went it was packed! We don’t think the economy was hurting this weekend! We rented skiis from Christy Sports and drove up to the parking area across from the Resort where we took the bus shuttle over highway 40 to the Cabriolet. The ride was short and the Cabriolet was fun. We enjoyed the scenery and the sunny blue skies! The kids thouht it was the coolest ride of the whole day. Interesting perspective. We skied the Panaromic Express, the new lift and terrain at Winter Park as of just last year. What great runs; you get to the top of the Continental Divide and can take your choice of blue or black runs back to the lift. After skiing, we stopped at Lime Mexican Grille and enjoyed a margarita which was very tasty! The improvements at the base are a long awaited and welcomed addition to the skiing experience and we had a great time. Despite the new activity, we know Downtown Winter Park is still where it’s at. Following our ski day we enjoyed shopping at Cooper Creek Square and dinner at the new Star of India Restaurant. What a great place! Hey, even though Winter Park is small, we like to eat! You can have Italian, Chinese, Japenese, Indian, Mexican, and All American BBQ all within a 4 block radius! We have lived here over 20 years and it’s still fun to take a new perspective and enjoy our town from a guest perspecitive.

The Village at the base of Winter Park is moving along and in addition to Lime Mexican Grille, there is the Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe. The two restaurants add a nice apres ski feeling to the end of the day and offer diverse and yummy menus for guests to enjoy as they head back to the Cabriolet and outlying parking. There is also a retail store “Shirt Off My Back” where visitors can pick up a quick memento of the fantastic visit to Winter Park Resort. We look forward to next season with more additions!

Beaver Village Condos is on the complimentary shuttle route to and from the ski resort! Enjoy the most convenient drop-off and pick-up locations right from your front door for free!

Yep, $10,000! It’s easy and no strings attached. When was the last time you were in Winter Park? Learning to ski as an Eskimo? A fabulous Blues Festival? Some wild bachlorette party? Well c’mon back and earn your local’s key to the city! Shopping participating businesses in Winter Park earns you discounts, specials and key cards with a secret code on the back to enter in the contest to win $10k. Visit the Winter Park Welcome Back campaign to learn more and to get started. Stay at Beaver Condos for 2 nights or more and get your first key! At the end of the WP ski season in April, 2009, four random winners will be drawn and one of them will win the $10k. Why not you? More keys= more chances to win the money! So, give us a call and make your reservation to ski, party or whatever you like, with the added bonus of winning a cash prize! 800-821-8438.

PS- Beaver Condos is participating in the promotion but is not hosting the contest; all contest rules, regulations and prizes are governed by the Winter Park Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce.

One of our favorite events at Winter Park is the torchlight ski down at the base of the resort on Christmas Eve. It’s a free event and there’s always a fun festive crowd gathered around the bonfire singing songs and being merry. The event begins with Christmas carols around the bonfire at the base of Winter Park Resort, next to the Zephyr Lift. At 5:30 pm, a procession of torch-bearing skiers begin their way down Lower Hughes trail, followed by Santa Claus and his helpers. A spectacular fireworks display and snowcats adorned with Christmas colors light up the slopes in a Christmas tree formation to conclude the festivities. Immediately following the show at 6:30pm, visitors are welcome to attend Christmas Eve interdenominational services located in the lower level of the Balcony House and Catholic Church services located in West Portal Level 4. Services are scheduled to last about an hour.

We strongly recommend getting there a little early; don’t forget to dress warm!

For all those ski bums and board freaks who have waited for the ski season to begin, it’s finally here! We look around and wish there was a little more snow but, what the heck, some years’ are like this! We all know the big dumps are just around the corner and in a polite way, the lack of big snow allows us to get our ski legs back under us. It’s lovely weather out and feels so good to be back in the swing of things. If you haven’t hooked up with a pass yet, check out
Winter Park Ski Resort!

I went out this past Saturday just to make sure my board, boots and bindings were ready, of course I needed to make a few adjustments; but, it was great to have the time and enjoyable weather instead of losing out on a great powder day! Parkway was wicked! Can’t wait to hit Outhouse!

This evening shot of Winter Park Resort is from the Crooked Creek Saloon in Fraser, where the local crowd hangs.

We have as a nation survived the Presedential Election of 2008! We won’t make any comments as to one opponent or the other; our comment is only to the effect of “phew!” it’s over and we can move forward!

It is a perfect day today with the collective sigh of relief also comes a welcome change of the weather with about 3″ of snow at Winter Park Ski Resort and more on the way over the weekend. Looking forward, every historic data statistic and report encourages us that “Joe the Skier” (which might be you!) is still planning a ski trip sometime this winter. In the gallery of needs vs wants, to the average ski guest, ski vacations fall into the need catagory! So, with that in mind, we look forward to a cautiously optimistic busy ski season! Bring it on!

Thought you would like to know; Winter Park is welcoming several new restaurants to town like the Sushi King (now our 2nd Sushi restaurant), the Star of India and Tabernash Tavern! New ski rental and retail businesses include Grand Sports, Epic Mountain Sports and Ski Broker. New at Winter Park Resort, will be the Cabriolet skier shuttle lift and the long awaited Village at the base. Despite economic upheaval we are gearing up for a terrific year and want you to be a part of it.

Beaver Village Condos is offering specials ranging from discounts to free nights. We value our loyal visitors and will combine promotions if you have stayed with us in the past. Our team wants you to know we will help make this the best vacation ever as it has certainly been a year we all deserve a vacation. Give us a call to talk shop at 1-800-824-8438; we are open from 8am-6pm until Nov 19, Ski Resort Opening Day, then we are open 8am-10pm through the winter.

As always, thank you for your support!

This year, Winter Park is host to not one but two motorcycle anchored events and on the same weekend! The Salute to American Veterans Rally and the 103.5 the FOX Hawgfest!

The Veterans Rally will be taking place downtown Winter Park from Friday August 15- Sunday August 17. Merchants will be lining Main Street selling everything from belt buckles to leather chaps and everything in between. The big parade will be on Saturday morning and start with the motorcycle brigade followed by floats, marchers and music. The big event is the Rememberance Ceremony held in Hideaway Park with speakers from the Armed Forces, dedications and ceremonial flyovers. Sunday will host music by Molly Hatchet and more! A traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall will be displayed at the Fraser Ball fields through the weekend. All activities are free. The Hawg Festival will take place at the base of Winter Park Resort on Saturday and Sunday. Music both days with bands like Tesla, Ted Nugent, War and much more. This event is ticketed-please contact Winter Park Central Reservations for tickets.

We look forward to the action all weekend as well as all of the different motorcycles! It’s really cool to see the streets lined up and down with the variety of makes, models and chrome! And really, it’s not a crazy crowd! We were impressed last year with the respect and honor the attendees with the Veterans Rally handled themselves. Almost all of these folks are Military Personnel, friends and family. It’s more like a reunion than a rally!

If you get a chance come up and check it out- it’s a different event and we encourage diversity!

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life was introduced to Grand County last year and is back this year. Our reservations manager’s family has been touched terribly by cancer and when she found out that the American Cancer Society was trying to start up the Relay for Life in Grand County she couldn’t help but get involved. The inaugural year of the event went well and its second year is shaping up to be much bigger as more and more people get involved. We are also proud to say that the General Manager of Beaver Village Condos, Kristy Meyer, is a team captain and the reservations manager is on her team AND many employees are donating to their fundraising efforts. Beaver Village Condos is also an event Sponsor!

Relay participants help raise money through donations and sponsored “laps” to create awareness to support the American Cancer Society in its lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer. After fundraising, teams then gather at the local High School for a fun-filled event. One person from each team is on the track at all times for 24 hours in a row; all night-because cancer never sleeps. There is a carnival-type setting with activities and games throughout the event; however, the Relay isn’t just about games and walking around the track. It is mostly about remembering those that we have lost and honoring those that battle the disease and are fighting for their lives. There is a lap to honor survivors and a Luminaria ceremony where bags that bear the names of those that we walk for are placed around the track and candles lit to light our way and remind us of why we are there.

If you would like to learn more, particpate or make a donation of ANY size, please visit Relay for Life, American Cancer Society or call Sandy Clem at 970-531-2654.

The event is at the High School in Granby on August 2nd at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to come out and see what it is all about. It is sure to be a memorable and beautiful night in the mountains!

A couple years ago, Winter Park Town committed to enhancing a park in downtown that all visitors and locals can enjoy. The park is still under construction as of July 18; but, is due to be finished soon. There is a fun skateboard park with dips, rolls and bowls-plus bench areas to hang out and watch. There is a stage for music and entertainment at the base of a grassy ampitheatre. There is a picnic pavilion and winding walkway around the park. And best for the kids, there is a playground with swings, slides, and climbing nooks. It’s a big deal to the local community to have such a nice area as the anchor to our downtown. From the park, you can walk to all the shops and dining establishments as well as stop by our Visitor Center. Many of Winter Park’s special events and music festivals are held here creating a bustling and fun Main Street that invites everyone to join in. The town’s gardening crew has enhanced the downtown with beautiful hanging baskets, landscaped medians and mini sidewalk gardens. We have come a long way from a dusty little 2 lane highway on your way to somewhere else! Come visit Winter Park and see for yourself! We are only 67 miles from Denver area, a roundtrip you can make on “Less than a tank of gas!”

What a great weekend coming up! Finally, the 4th is a friday for that ever desired 3 day weekend! There’s a lot going on in Winter Park and all of Grand County for the 4th of July- the Run for Independence, High Country Stampede Rodeo, Fireworks on both Friday and Saturday and a pancake breakfast are just a sampling of things to do! So come on up and grab a condo with us at BVC for the whole family, it’s inexpensive and join in on the mountain celebration of the 4th of July!
Our chamber has the entire list of events and then some, see you soon!
The BVC staff!

Not sure where to go for a great dinner? We all highly recommend Hernando’s Pizza at the west end of Winter Park! The pizza and pasta dishes are delicious, plus they have a great beer and wine selection! Got kids? No problem! Crayons and coloring allowed on your own personal dollar bill to leave on the wall! Trust us, wait ’til you see it! We like Hernando’s so much it’s where we have our staff party!!