Winter in Leadville and Twin Lakes is built for kids. Snow shows up early, stays late, and almost everything worth doing sits a short drive from Harrison Avenue. Lift lines are short. Trailheads have parking. A family can ski in the morning, sled after lunch, and still be back downtown for hot chocolate before dark.
Here is where to take them.
Start At Tennessee Pass Nordic Center
If you only have one day, spend it here. Everything happens in one place, and that matters when you are traveling with small people.
The center grooms more than 27 kilometers of set track and wide skate lanes across terrain that works for every ability. Rent classic cross country skis, skate skis, snowshoes, or fat bikes from the shop, and book a lesson if nobody in the family has done this before. Inside there is a wood stove, a coffee bar, soups and sandwiches, and a big sunny deck.
A few things that make it work for families:
- Pull sleds for rent. Kids ages 1 to 4 ride while a parent skis, so the toddler is not the reason you stay home.
- A free tubing hill, once enough snow accumulates. Grab a tube, walk to the top, ride down. No charge, no lift ticket, no time limit.
- Discounted trail passes for kids 12 and under.
- No reservations needed. Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thanksgiving Day through the second weekend in April.
See the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center listing for hours, rates, and directions.
Sledding, Skating, And Snow Play In Town
Sledding
The free hill at Tennessee Pass is the reliable option all winter. In town, the Dutch Henry Sledding Hill has three tubing lanes of different heights and a walk up approach, and sledding there is free. Bring your own tube, limited time rentals onsite or rent one from Bill’s Rentals seven days a week. Hill and rink schedules change season to season, so check with Lake County Parks, Recreation and Open Space before you load up the car.
Ice Skating
The Huck Finn Ice Rink typically runs December through February, weather permitting. Skate and hockey rentals are on site, along with a warming hut, a snack bar, a fire pit, and a sound system. New skaters can borrow a walker, which turns a frustrating first hour into a good one.
Just Playing In The Snow
Ice Palace Park sits right on the Mineral Belt Trail next to the public library and the mining museum. In winter it is an open snowy field with a pavilion and picnic tables, which is all most kids need. Great for beginner sledders! Parking is off West 10th Street or Harrison Avenue. Note that it is a dog free park.
Learn To Ski At Ski Cooper
Ski Cooper is a short drive from Leadville and holds some of the lowest lift ticket rates in Colorado. It is independently owned, it runs on natural snow, and it has some of the best beginner terrain in the country: wide open runs, gentle rolling pitch, and a long magic carpet conveyor lift.
Lessons are booked by phone so the staff can match an instructor to your kid. Plenty of families say a two hour private lesson at Cooper does more than a full day in a large group class somewhere bigger. When everyone needs a break, the Ridgeview Cafe and the Timberline Taproom are right there.
Gear up at Ski Cooper’s rental shop or in town at Alpine Ski & Sport or Bill’s Rentals, which carries sizes down to the youngest skiers.
Snowshoe Or Fat Bike The Mineral Belt Trail
The Mineral Belt Trail is an 11.6 mile paved loop that circles Leadville at over 10,000 feet, and it stays in use all winter for snowshoeing, fat biking, and Nordic skiing. The grade is gentle, the mountain views are constant, and interpretive signs along the way explain the 1870s mines you are walking past.
The best part for families is the number of trailheads around town. You can start anywhere, go as far as the shortest legs in your group allow, and turn around. Pull a little one behind you in a sled and the whole thing gets easier. Find trail maps and local bike rentals here.
Tours Worth The Splurge
Dog Sledding
Alpine Adventures runs hands on dogsledding tours built for the whole family, and the kennel is a rescue facility for retired racing dogs. Kids get to meet the team, which is usually the part they talk about for the rest of the year.
Snowmobiling and UTV
White Mountain Snowmobile Tours has been guiding under the same local ownership for more than 25 years. Their two hour tour is the family option, a scenic ride over groomed terrain between 11,000 and 12,000 feet.
Leadville ATV runs small group enclosed ATV tours with heat, instruction and personal attention, which suits families, seniors and nervous first timers.
Snow Zipping
Top of the Rockies Zip Line is open year round, and flying over snow covered backcountry at 11,200 feet is a different experience than the summer version. You can add a snowmobile tour to the trip.
The Train
The Leadville Railroad runs in summer and winter from the 1896 depot, with specialty rides including the Holiday Express. Check their schedule before you plan around it.
Warm Up Indoors
The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum is open year round and it is genuinely built for curious kids. There is a walk through coal mine with a life size miner and burro, dioramas of miners working the hillsides, fluorescent rocks that glow under black light, and a model train layout showing how railroads moved ore. Plan on an hour or two, longer if your kid is a rock person.
After that, Harrison Avenue is four blocks of Victorian storefronts. Duck into the shops and warm up over a meal at one of the local restaurants and cafes.
Sleep Out There
Hut and yurt trips are a Colorado family tradition, and Leadville is one of the best places to try one. Pick the option that matches how much your crew can carry.
- The Emma and Marceline yurts sit above Empire Reservoir at 12,000 feet. Each sleeps five with one double bed, three bunks, and a wood stove. Only two yurts exist in the area, so it stays quiet.
- Carner’s Cabin at Climax Revival is fully off grid at 11,700 feet and sleeps 8 to 10. Winter access is by ski, snowshoe, or snowmobile: 2 miles and 1,000 feet of gain, roughly three hours. The hosts offer a gear haul by snowmobile, which is what makes it doable with kids.
- The 10th Mountain Division Hut Association manages the classic hut system in these mountains. Book early.
- Tennessee Pass sleep yurts and cookhouse give you the yurt experience with dinner handled.
- Buckeye’s Cabin is the easy version: a real log cabin with a full kitchen, a bathroom, wifi, and a wood stove, no skinning required.
See more places to stay if you would rather be in town.
Before You Go
Downtown Leadville sits at 10,152 feet, and kids feel that. Give the family a slow first day, drink more water than feels necessary, and keep the first outing short. Pack layers, sunscreen, and extra gloves, because wet gloves end a sledding session faster than cold does.
Read getting here and around for road and weather conditions, check the events calendar for what is happening while you are here, and start planning at Plan Your Trip.
The snow usually sticks around into spring up here. Come play in it.
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