BUENA VISTA, COLO. -- The Cottonwood Pass area is a great place to explore winter activities in Colorado.
The pass does close in the wintertime to traffic, but remains open for snowmobiles. Local snowmobilers groom hundreds of miles of trails open to public and private riders. It snows, on average, 300 inches per year and the snow is reliable.
Local snowmobile tours include big groups and even those that can cater to disabled and handicapped persons.
One tour company is Cottonwood Country Snomobile Tours located in Buena Vista, Colo.
It is always important to be prepared for any type of weather. Of course, it gets cold in the higher elevations.
Chaffee County has some of the highest concentrations of alpine lakes in the state, and they freeze over in the winter.
Ice fishing there is very popular, attracting people from all over the nation. Local ice fishermen look for ice at least six inches deep in order to hold, and the ice typically grows more than two feet in depth.
How do you ice fish? Find an area, drill a hole, and fish deep. Just make sure the drilled hole is big enough to be able to pull the fish out. For more on the local fishing, contact some of the many businesses in the region.
Public ice skating is also allowed on these frozen ponds.
One other characteristic of Cottonwood Pass is the abundance of hot springs. The natural hot springs are open all year round and offer a family relaxation after a long day.
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