Winter in Leadville
Skijoring on Harrison, skiing at Cooper, and a whole lot of quiet. We’re on the main street for all of it.
At 10,152 feet, winter comes early to Leadville and stays late. The summer crowds are gone, the snow sticks around, and a night here costs less than it does in the resort towns over the pass. Every March the town’s signature event, Leadville skijoring, runs straight down Harrison Avenue — and we’re a three-minute walk from the course. The rest of the season is skiing, dog sledding, Nordic trails, and ice on Turquoise Lake, all a short drive from our front door.
Skijoring Weekend
A horse, a rider, and a skier on a rope, flat out down the main street.
2027 Leadville Skijoring: March 6–7 · Free to watch · Racing starts at noon both days
What it is.
Skijoring pairs a horse and rider with a skier on a tow rope. The horse runs a snow-packed course built down the middle of Harrison Avenue while the skier behind takes the jumps and threads the gates and rings for points — fastest clean run wins. The 2027 event is the 79th annual, and it’s still the biggest weekend of the Leadville winter.
When.
The 2027 races run Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 7. The Open division goes off at noon each day, with Sport and Novice following through the afternoon. Full details, entries, and any schedule changes are on the organizers’ site.
Where to watch.
The course runs down Harrison Avenue, the main street through downtown, and you can watch from the sidewalk anywhere along it. It’s free, there’s no dedicated event parking, and the organizers don’t allow dogs on the course. Stay with us and none of that matters — walk up the street, find a spot on the rail, walk back for lunch. Your dog can hold down the room.
Booking the weekend.
Skijoring is the busiest winter weekend in town, and rooms on Harrison go first. We ask for a two-night minimum that weekend — it’s how people actually stay. Our calendar opens 270 days out, so 2027 rooms are bookable now, and booking direct always gets you the best rate.
Ski Cooper
Cooper calls itself a family-friendly ski area and it earns it: 100% natural snow, about 260 inches a season, five lifts and 64 runs on 480 acres, and a Ski & Ride School that gets first-timers sliding fast. Nobody’s whizzing past your kids, you park close and ski to the lift, and the pricing is the wallet-friendly kind.
Base 10,500 feet, summit 11,700 — on US 24 at the top of Tennessee Pass, ten miles north of the motel
Tickets, conditions & the trail map at skicooper.com →
Tennessee Pass Nordic Center
More than 27 kilometers of set classic track and wide skate lanes at the top of the pass, with classic and skate skis, fat bikes, and snowshoes to rent. Open Thanksgiving through the second weekend in April.
Next door to Ski Cooper — book dinner at the Cookhouse and make a day of it
Trail map & rentals at tennesseepass.com →
Leadville Dog Sledding
You drive the team. Alpine Adventures Dogsledding runs out of Leadville and puts you on the runners rather than in the basket — side-by-side tours take up to five people with a team of eight dogs on a six-mile trail. The season starts in the fall.
Side-by-side tours book by email; standard tours book online
Dates & booking at alpineadventuresdogsledding.com →
Timberline Trails
Yes, they share our name. The Timberline Trails on the Colorado Mountain College campus are 9.5 miles of gradual, rolling singletrack that the Cloud City Wheelers groom all winter for fat bikes — and they’re open to anything non-motorized, so Nordic skis and snowshoes are welcome too. Reliable snow, mountain views, and nobody in a hurry.
Park along County Road 41 or at the Mineral Belt lot on Highway 24. If your tires are leaving a deep track, let some air out — or ski instead
Trail details at leadvilletwinlakes.com →
The Winter Express
The Leadville Railroad runs all winter. The Winter Express is a two-hour ride through the San Isabel National Forest and the upper Arkansas Valley in a heated car with booth seating and panoramic windows — hot cocoa or coffee in hand while the conductor tells Leadville mining stories and everyone watches for wildlife.
Departs from the depot on East 7th Street, a few blocks from the motel — free parking on site if you’d rather drive
Dates & tickets at leadvillerailroad.com →Tons of Ways to Get Outside
Trails and rentals a few minutes from the motel.
Trail Mineral Belt Trail →The 11.7-mile loop around Leadville is groomed by snowcat after storms for Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, and fat biking, with trailheads all over town.Walk to the nearest trailhead — no car, no lift ticket. Current grooming is on the trail’s site Lake Turquoise Lake →The road around the lake is groomed for winter travel — snowshoe, ski, or fat bike it with the Sawatch Range across the ice. Once it freezes it’s a popular spot for ice fishing, too: mackinaw, rainbows, and brook trout.A few miles west of town — check current road status before you go Rentals Alpine Ski & Sport →Ski, snowboard, snowshoe, and cross-country packages, plus a shop full of everything you forgot to pack. They’re friendly, they have a lot, and it’s a short walk down Harrison from your room. Fat bikes Cycles of Life →Leadville’s bike shop, at 309 Harrison. Fat bike rentals for the Mineral Belt and the Turquoise Lake road, plus winter ski service.Closed a couple of days midweek in winter — check their hours before you count on it
Warm Up
The Famous, a block up Harrison, is pizza, pasta, and a proper bar — they call it Leadville’s living room, and on a snowy night it is. The Silver Dollar Saloon is the old bar on Harrison for a drink after a day on the pass; the kitchen runs noon to six. Or stay put: our courtyard fire pits sit on a heated patio, so they’re open all winter.
Winter at The Timberline
- Three-minute walk to the skijoring course
- Dog-friendly rooms — yours can sit out the races
- Kitchenettes for a hot breakfast before the lifts open
- Fire pits on a heated patio, open all winter
- Smart TVs — watch whatever you want
- Two-night minimum on skijoring weekend
- Book up to 270 days out — best rate when you book direct
The passes into town are real mountain passes. Check COtrip.org before you drive, and give yourself daylight.
Check winter availability →