ROMANCE INSPIRING COLORADO WINTER ESCAPES

If you want to bring a new relationship closer this winter, consider any of the suggestions below with a new romance or a long-term companion.  Invite someone you wish you had a relationship with and see if these inspiring settings help cultivate that union.  As a Matchmaker I can tell you that creating new adventures together ignites sparks and leaves you with memories you will cherish forever throughout your romance.

Starting with a cozy sled ride guided by eight or more Alaskan Huskies over the rolling snow fields at Stagecoach State Park hosted by Red Runner Dog Sled Tours in Steamboat Springs (tours start at $260 per sled).  Then dining at Cafe Diva in their intimate dining rooms offering ample comfort cuisine (www.cafediva.com).  Refresh yourself at the Highmark Steamboat ski-lodge hotel.  There are 23 condo suites located in a Bavarian style tower nestled at the base of the mountain (winter rates for a two-bedroom condo range from $299-$599) http://www.highmarksteamboat.com.

The deep powder on Chicago Ridge’s snowcats at Leadville’s Ski Cooper (www.skicooper.com) will ease you down the slopes.  There is a maximum of two guides and up to 12 guests in each cat for a full day of skiing which includes a hot lunch for $325.  Once you’ve built an appetite in the snow take a short snowshoe to Tennessee Pass Cookhouse less than a mile from the Ski Cooper Lodge (www.tennesseepass.com).  Sleep at the Leadville Inn which offers gourmet breakfasts.  This Inn was built circa 1895 and offers a wealth of knowledge of Leadville history.  Rates start at $90.  http://www.leadvilleinn.com.

Perhaps you prefer a high-profile location such as Aspen with its world-class skiing and dining at the Pine Creek Cookhouse which sits tucked in the base of the Elk Mountains 11 miles outside of Aspen.  This unusual experience has you strap on a miner’s headlamp and cross-country ski through 1.5 miles of subalpine-valley terrain to a log cabin cookhouse.  A horse-drawn sleigh delivers you to the cabin’s doorstep if you are not the cross-country trek to dine types.  http://www.pinecreekcookhouse.com

Aspen’s Popcorn Wagon (970-925-2718) is a rite of passage for Coloradans hankering for a gyro or a sweet crepe.  Then visit the J-Bar in the stately Hotel Jerome (www.hoteljerome.rockresorts.com).  Choose to stay the night at the Hotel Jerome or reserve the deluxe casitas in the Limelight Lodge where you can take advantage of a spacious living area with fireplace, a secluded location, private kitchen and easy access to the on-site hot tubs and heated pool (www.limelightlodge.com).

Or consider Vail and slide your way down the original locals’ hill in the valley.  One hour of tubing costs $25 www.vail.snow.com.  Ski the Game Creek Bowl, relax with some large beers at the Red Lion and indulge your appetite on expensive cuisine at Restaurant Kelly Liken.  Take a short jaunt to Avon for an aromatherapy massage ($280) and his-and-hers pedicures ($65 each) at the Westin’s Spa Anjali (www.spaanjali.com).  Avon has a new Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa offering studio suites (like a fancy apartment) complete with kitchen and mini stocked fridge.  There are 3 hot tubs and a heated pool on the outside pool deck which overlooks Eagle River (www.riverfrontresortandspa.com).

As a holiday gift, a vacation get-a-way for a long weekend or to spark a relationship sharing adventures in Colorado, any of these may get your winter fire roaring.