This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SAU chapter.

What better way to spend winter break than a trip to the tropics where you can spend all day laying out on the beach under the hot sun. Sounds amazing right? Nope, not to my family. You say vacation and the first thing that pops into our minds is snow, and lots of it. Coming from the Midwest you’d think we see plenty of that in a year, but not enough to satisfy our love of all things winter sports. We’re the kind of family who goes on vacation only to wake up early every morning, drive for hours, and ‘workout’ all the time. Okay so we sound totally crazy, but you might change your mind when you see this place and everything it has to offer!

This year we loaded up our suburban and drove 20 hours to vacation in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. An artsy tourist town in southern Colorado that pops up seemingly out of nowhere, we spent the week exploring, skiing, and taking in the views of the mountains.

Ice-Skating

Pagosa Multi-Purpose Pavilion Ice Rink

Summit Ski and Sports Ice Rink

Skiing/Snowboarding

Wolf Creek Ski Area–Pagosa Springs, CO

“The Most Snow In Colorado”

Telluride Ski Resort–Telluride, CO

Purgatory Mountain–Durango, CO

Shopping

Downtown Pagosa Springs

Made In Colorado Shoppe, Rainbow Gift Shop, San Juan Trading Post, Colorado Christmas Shoppe, Summit Ski and Sports, San Juan Lifestyle, High Altitude Closet, Bookends, Treasures of the Rockies, The Malt Shoppe, Goodman’s