At the Pine Creek Cookhouse, you really have to work for your supper. Self-described as the "premier Aspen Dinning experience," only after being pulled by a horse-drawn sleigh, cross country skiing, or snowshoeing your way through 35 km of trails in a sub-alpine valley, do you arrive at your final destination – lunch (or dinner). While this is more so legendary mountain dinning rather than legendary mountain skiing, the area does offer up excellent terrain for all levels of Nordic skiing. Just 11 miles outside of Aspen, the 600 acres of cross-country terrain surround the ghost town of Ashcroft, a historic mining town – also the place where you leave your car before trekking to the – recreated – "authentic" Colorado log cabin. While the restaurant's menu is almost as long the trail map, Pine Creek Cookhouse provides delicious cross-country skiing in addition to mountain dinning, making it a great option for Aspen enthusiasts unwilling to stop skiing.
35 km of Cross Country trails.
Mountain Statistics: , 9,500 feet summit elevation, 600 acres.
The ski area offers excellent terrain for all levels of Nordic skiers. Thirty-five kilometers of meticulously groomed trails wind across 600 acres in the sub-alpine valley surrounding the Ghost Town of Ashcroft, a turn-of-the-century mining town designated on the National Register of Historical Places. At an elevation of 9,500 feet Ashcroft Ski Touring offers fantastic snow conditions and unparalleled scenery.