Ribbit Retreat

If you’re wanting to stay active, Purgatory Resort (45 minutes’ drive) is as lively in summer as it is in winter months. It has mountain biking trails, a bike park and a fast-paced mountain coaster offering views over the San Juan Mountains. If you’re there from late November, there’s a designated area for novice skiers as well as long intermediate pistes lined by fir trees. You can mix things up a bit with whitewater rafting over rapids on the Animas River (20 minutes), or tubing, kayaking and paddleboarding down gentler stretches of the water, where you can also fly fish for rainbow trout. As well as hiking and biking routes, things take a cultural turn in the dramatic Mesa Verde National Park (50 minutes), where you can follow the Petroglyph Point Trail past ancient rock art and catch sight of Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings from the Soda Canyon Overlook Trail. To see inside an indigenous house, prebook ranger-led tours to the landmark Cliff Palace – the largest cliff house in North America.