Manitou Springs, CO

The more I come back to Manitou, the more I grow to love it. I grew up here, so I've been able to see the changes over the years, and there have been a lot. At its core, Manitou is tourist hamlet of 5000 full-time residents with an array of various tourist attractions, like the Cog Railroad and the Cave of the Winds that are derived from the hills and mountains that surround the town. Growing up, the main street was filled with kitschy T-shirt shops and souvenir stores. Some of them still exist, but the town has undergone a bit of a renaissance as of late, with a variety of great new stores moving in, and the sidewalks and streets undergoing a renovation. Old, dilapidated buildings have been renovated and the town overall is much improved.

Manitou is known more as an artists enclave than as an outdoor destination, but there are a variety of great work out venues easily accessible from town. Foremost among them, at least in my eyes, is the Incline, by far one of the most strenuous things I have ever done. Adjacent to the Incline is Barr Trail, which winds to the top of Pikes Peak and is home to both the Pikes Peak Ascent and the Pikes Peak Marathon. Winding along the southern hills through town is the Paul Intemann Memorial Trail, a great multipurpose trail that is mostly dirt and extends from the west end of town all the way into Colorado Springs. There are numerous offshoots from the trail which lead on to other great runs and hikes.

Farther to the east of town sits the Garden of the Gods and Red Rock Canyon, both part of the same geological formation of vertical standing sandstone, and both home to great running
and hiking trails. Garden of the Gods is a great place to ride as well;
every road through the park has an accompanying bike lane.

I'm excited to see how the town evolves in the future. I would love to see more high end shops moving in, along with a bigger variety of restaurants. It would also be great if the town could develop a broader ranger of mountain biking access and more running trails. But overall, the town is definitely up and coming. The more I experience other places, the more I love coming home.

Aspen, CO

We just got back from visiting a friend in Aspen, the epitome of Colorado ski towns. It is literally everything I picture when I think of a ski town; a great mountain that is within walking distance of almost any place in town, incredible snow, great apres-ski opportunities, and of course, insanely expensive pricing on everything. My usual gauge for determining the expense level of a town is the cost of a double-shot Americano. In Portland, or even Boulder, the average price for a 160z Americano runs about $2.20. In Aspen, I usually pay closer to $3.00. So, I generally assume everything in town will run about 36% more than I'm used to paying.

Like other ski towns, many of the people that live there are divided into the locals, the migrant worker force and the seasonal residents. The migrant worker force consists mostly of incredibly wealthy European kids that have come to Aspen to run a lift line and drink as much as they can. The seasonal residents are people like Kevin Costner and Goldie Hawn. On our visit we walked past Lance Armstrong, who was in town training for the Leadville 100. His training group included the friend we were visiting, leading to a few somewhat surreal "how was Lance feeling today" type of conversations. This is why Aspen is my paradigm of a proper ski town.

Apart from the glamour aspect, the town is a great location for some of the most scenic riding and running that I've done, and Aspen Mountain has a couple of great trails that are good for hiking or running. Although not as expansive as Boulder, the riding is incredibly scenic and just as easily accessible. The Hub is a great shop in town that can provide some knowledge about some great local rides.

Breckenridge, CO

Growing up in Colorado, I have had the opportunity to check out a lot of the cities and towns in the State. One of my favorites is Breckenridge, in Summit County Colorado. Summit County is known for the sheer number of ski resorts it hosts, among them Vail and Copper Mountain. Breckenridge has the ski resort vibe going on, but it is also a great town with a lot of great things to do.

Like Aspen and Telluride, Breckenridge began as a mining town. When the mines stopped producing, the range of peaks to the south became the economic anchor of the town. Due to the large number of mines, the valley floor that Breckenridge sits in used to be covered in huge piles of stone, the result of dredging in the mines. The town has spent years reclaiming the valley floor, and from what I remember growing up, the progress has been amazing.

The Blue River winds through town, and has been the focal point for a lot of the reclamation projects the town has undergone. Along the river winds a multi-use path that runs 16 miles up to Copper Mountain resort, and from there connects to another paved trail that runs to Vail. Great for running and biking. Breck is also surrounded by some great rides, among them Hoosier Pass, Vail Pass, and Loveland Pass, all of which climb to at least 10,000+ feet. And of course the town is host to some great skiing and snowboarding during the winter.