1. Gold Lake Mountain Resort And Spa
City: Ward, CO
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (303) 459-3544, (800) 450-3544
Address: 3371 Gold Lake Road
Description: This mountain hideaway can be a wonderful escape for honeymooners (or second honeymooners), or the perfect spot for a pleasant, close-by family retreat. Eighteen charming and distinctive cabins are tucked amid the pine trees. They feature artistically decorated accommodations ranging from single rooms to three-bedroom suites. All guests enjoy a Swiss-style continental breakfast. The resort’s spa offers massages and facials, and you can book a spa package. The 35-acre lake is beautiful for catamaran sailing, canoeing, kayaking, and fly fishing in summer. In the winter there’s ice skating, cross-county skiing, and snowshoeing; those who prefer the indoors can head for the billiard room. The lakeside hot tubs are a dreamy treat. Summer brings opportunities for horseback riding on mounts you can rent by the hour or day, great mountain biking on challenging trails, volleyball, and hiking. Children are more than welcome. Guests and visitors can dine in the excellent and stylish restaurant, Alice’s. Gold Lake Mountain Resort is a 45- to 60-minute drive from either Boulder or Estes Park.
2. Brainard And Red Rocks Lakes
City: Ward, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 5 miles up Highway 119
Description: These beautiful mountain lakes attract many anglers looking for rainbow trout, brookies, and brown trout. Fishing is permitted with flies and lures only. To reach these lakes, drive up Boulder Canyon to Nederland and head north on Highway 72; the turnoff is just past Ward, 200 yards on the left. Or, drive up Left Hand Canyon north of Boulder past the Greenbriar Inn. Turn left (west) and proceed up the canyon through Ward and on to Highway 72. Turn right and look immediately to the left for the Brainard turnoff. Brainard Lake is 5 miles up CR 102.
3. Alice’S Restaurant
City: Ward, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 459-3544
Address: 3371 Gold Lake Road
Description: This is a romantic, honeymoon kind of place about 35 minutes up the mountain and over a country road. The 100-plus-year-old lodge is charming and rustic, yet it is big enough to hold a private party for 350 people for special occasions such as wedding receptions. Generally, it’s a more intimate crowd, with about half the people staying at the Gold Lake Mountain Resort and the other half coming up from Boulder.The cuisine is innovative American with Pacific Rim overtones, such as Thai crab cakes with lemongrass. Fare includes gourmet vegetarian dishes, seafood, wild game, and juicy steaks. The wines are reasonably priced, and the meal is well worth the trip. You can have a cocktail before dinner at Karel’s Bar or retire there for an after-dinner drink, but the best treat is to retire to your own quaint cabin for the night instead of driving back to town. Alice’s is open for lunch and dinner daily during summer, with somewhat shortened winter hours. Reservations are highly recommended.
4. Millsite Inn
City: Ward, CO
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (303) 459-3308
Address: 44365 Peak to Peak Highway
Description: They make the dough for their calzones and pizzas fresh here, with a good sauce and anything in them. There are homemade pies and good desserts as well. Friends give high ratings to the chicken marsala and other full dinners. The food tends toward Italian-American with a few Mexican dishes, and pizza and burgers thrown in. Add to that a comfortably rustic, log-cabin atmosphere. The locals hang out here, meaning residents of the nearby funky town called Ward, along with skiers, and hikers. The guys in the bar have an amiable grubbiness to them and usually pay close attention to the TV broadcasting a game. The Millsite Inn is open for lunch and dinner daily, with the bar open until 2 a.m. when someone’s still thirsty.
5. Gold Lake Mountain Resort And Spa
City: Ward, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (303) 459-3544
Address: 3371 Gold Lake Road
Description: At Gold Lake one-day packages include not only ice skating but also a brunch, use of the hot tubs, and the chance to do other winter sports including snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Rental equipment is available. Packages start at $30.