As a 31+ year local, I’m frequently asked about Aspen Snowmass’s best-kept winter secret. Well, I'm here to let the "snowcat" out of the bag. With over 1,500 acres of ungroomed terrain exclusively for the use of up to 36 people per day, it's the Aspen Mountain Powder Tours. If you're an intermediate skier/rider or better, there's nothing more fun than skiing or boarding "hero snow" all day long with your own private guides and snowcat. Try it—you'll thank me! 

With its lively buzz and Old West vibe, the legendary J-Bar isn’t just Aspen’s social hub. It’s also a reminder—and bustling relic—of the town’s rich history. Cowboys and miners once rode their horses through J-Bar’s doors during Aspen’s silver boom, and drinks are still slung over the original century-plus-year-old maple bar. When Prohibition struck in 1920, J-Bar went the way of a host of other bars across America: it became a soda fountain. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” as they say, and the Aspen Crud was soon born.

A word of warning for parents— your kids are one Junior Je-Roamer trip away from breaking your croquet winning streak, taking the "ski-ripper" family title, or showing you up at fishing. Aspen may be an adult’s paradise, but it doubles as a kid’s disneyland. While there are a myriad of adventures to explore, a Je-Roamer favorite is T-Lazy-7 Ranch, where winter is for suiting up to tour the white wonderland via snowmobile, and summer months are remembered for riding horses through Maroon Creek Valley and catching a trophy-sized rainbow trout while fly-fishing for the first time. (Don’t worry, young in age or young at heart, all are welcome.)