Girls Go Colorado - Why We Loved Frisco, Colorado

As time goes by and the years roll on, it can be harder and harder to get together.  Weddings and babies, careers and hobbies... these ongoing life events start to demand more of our time, money, and energy.  With all of these commitments, it can be hard to devout some quality time to the people who have loved and supported you along the way.  It isn't as easy to plan a getaway with the girls, to go on that ski trip or to visit those cool cities.  However, you have probably heard me preach that friendships are like any other relationship and they require commitment, time and attention.  And don't even get me started on the importance of quality friendships in your life.  So after a strange and stressful year reorganizing my life and relationships, I was happy and eager to invest more of my time with the people I owe a lot of my happiness to.   When Liz (a childhood and constant best friend and important person in my life) suggested a girl's ski trip to Colorado, I responded with an instant and no second thought "Hell Fucking Yes".

Main Street, Frisco, Colorado

So 6 months later from that over-enthusiastic response, here I am, blogging from a condo in Colorado (with my very swollen ankle propped up on a few pillows with ice but we will get to that later).  Just outside the window, the snow is falling over aspens and Mount Royal looms in the distance.  Two girls I have known since 6th grade are a few feet away, Liz with her tortilla chips, Madison googling fanny packs.  The hallway is full of ski gear, the fridge is full of unhealthy ski snacks, and there's a bottle of barely touched whiskey on the island.  The hot tub is running and the fireplace is warming up the condo as we decide how to spend our last night here in Frisco, Colorado.   We are still nursing last night's hangovers from the one night we decided to try to stay up past 9 pm.  We made the time to get away, time to be together and let me tell you - we have all laughed so hard we cried.  I am talking those deep belly laughs that make you stop and think just how good life can be. 

This was a trip of three easy-going laid-back gals treating this trip the "No Plan Plan" kind of way and it was just the kind of break I needed.  But I won't get into fun stories and ski recaps (yet).  Let's start with the important basics: where we stayed, why we chose Frisco as our home base, and the best part what we ate.  

View from our condo - day

View from our condo - sunrise

The plane tickets were booked and the Epic Passes purchased, now the only big thing left was where to stay during this Girls Weekend.  After a bit of research in various mountain towns, we booked a condo in Downtown Frisco, one of those quintessential Colorado mountain towns.  Frisco is located in the heart of the Colorado Rockies just 90 minutes from Denver International Airport.  Our drive was a little more like four hours due to some insane avalanches closing down I-70 and taking some way-out-of-the-way-but-insanely-scenic detours (and dealing with a bunch of traffic related to these events).  However, the mountains we were about to ski had 60" of fresh snow that week alone and we were nothing but thankful that our timing with the snow gods was juuuuust right.  We finally made it to Frisco without incident and were instantly smitten with its mountain charm, the Main Street blanketed in white and the size of the enormous snow banks that lead us to believe it was going to be a good week on the mountain.  

Main Street, Frisco 

Frisco is a four-season cozy little Colorado town that sits at 9,097′ by Dillon Reservoir, a popular boating and recreation area.  What sold us on Frisco was the town's proximity to the mountain, cute downtown area, and affordable price compared to some of the resort towns (Vail, Breck, I am looking at you).  We managed to find an awesome studio style AirBnB right off the main strip of Frisco (full kitchen, balcony, fireplace, common area hot tub and sauna) that ended up costing $410 a person for six nights.  

Frisco is known for it's mile-long Main Street with bistro lights hung at the intersection, wide sidewalks lined with various shops, restaurants, coffee shops and a variety of classy to not-so-classy bars.  It has all that mountain charm, is an awesome launching point for the surrounding ski mountains, and has all the shops and restaurants you need without the large crowds and jacked up prices.   We loved calling this mountain town home-base and I can't recommend this town as a launching point enough.  We loved being able to walk to Tavern West for dinner on a perfectly snowy night.  Next Page Books and Nosh became a fast favorite for a new book and a coffee.  And all the restaurants....  from the sausage at Prosit to the risotto at Tavern West, every meal in Frisco was better than the last.  You have everything from sushi to Mexican, wings to burgers, pizza and Italian and just about everything in between.

https://www.townoffrisco.com/

Gearing up for another ski day

One of the best parts about Frisco is its location - you are also centrally located to a lot of great skiing down here in the mountains.  Seven mountains with less than an hour drive time and you can avoid some of that ski traffic coming from Denver - yes please!   

• Copper Mountain 7 minutes
• Breckenridge Ski Resort 15 minutes
• Keystone 20 minutes
• Loveland 20 minutes
• Arapahoe Basin 25 minutes
• Vail Mountain ~40 minutes
• Beaver Creek ~45 minutes 

Girls at Tavern West

After talking to some of the locals and driving through various ski towns, some of these ski towns can prove difficult to actually park, sit down, and eat it at.  Breck is known for its limited parking and need for reservation due to its popular status and high deman.  But Frisco?  Busy but never crowded.  We rarely had to wait for a table and had no shortage of food options from higher-end dining at Tavern West to $9 German sausage and a side.  We did a lot of apres-ski at the mountain or cooking in the condo but every meal we had in Frisco was a good one.  

Gonzo's Coffee $ Quaint coffee shop - sit down or grab and go breakfasts (bagels, muffins, breakfast burritos, pastry).  Good coffee, quick stop!
Bread and Salt $$  Cute little breakfast joint.  Perfect for a weekend morning (huevos rancheros!) 
Ollies  $ Perfect local pub and grub - great wings! 
Prosit $ One of our favorite meals of the trip.  Simple, affordable and oh-so-good.  German style sausages, pretzels and sandwiches. 
Tavern West $$ Great higher-end food - high-quality drinks and dining.
Co. Bar  $ Open bar with friendly staff, corn hole, and a dance floor that is bumping on Sunday nights. 

Tavern West 

Tavern West Risotto 

Entrance to Bread and Salt

Huevos Rancheros at Bread and Salt

Entrance to Prosit

German Sausage and Warm Potato Salad at Prosit

Pretzel and Beer Cheese at Prosit

Wings, Fries, and Fried Pickles at Ollies

These girls fell in love with Frisco and had a blast exploring in the six days we were there.  We spent so many amazing evenings in this town, enjoying dinner over a glass of wine, watching the snow fall from the hot tub, or wandering Main Street in search of a good book or perfect gift.  Small town charm, affordable prices, great food, and location are the name of the game here in Frisco. 

Check back in as we go through the skiing, the memories and our week in Colorado 

Happy Wandering,