Winter Park, Colorado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Winter Park is a town in Grand County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 662, although tourists and seasonal workers significantly increase the population.
It is home to the Winter Park Resort, a well-known ski resort which is owned by the City and County of Denver and managed by Intrawest. The town and resort are served by the Ski Train of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW).
Winter Park is also now the highest incorporated town in the United States after the recent annexing of part of Winter Park Ski Resort into the town. Previously, Alma, CO held the title.
The area also has abundant cross-country skiing opportunities, including Devil's Thumb Ranch. In the spring and summer, Winter Park is known for mountain biking, concerts, hiking and fishing.
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[edit] Geography
Winter Park is located at (39.904071, -105.779198)GR1, at the southern end of the Fraser Valley.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 20.9 km² (8.1 mi²), all land.
It is approximately 9100-12,000 feet above sea level, and is considered sub-alpine country. It is completely snow-covered for about six months a year.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 662 people, 318 households, and 129 families residing in the town. The population density was 31.7/km² (82.1/mi²). There were 1,231 housing units at an average density of 59.0/km² (152.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.53% White, 0.15% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.45% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population.
There were 318 households out of which 14.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.3% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 59.4% were non-families. 38.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.67.
In the town the population was spread out with 12.5% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 44.0% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 143.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 143.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $44,000, and the median income for a family was $80,660. Males had a median income of $35,221 versus $27,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $36,699. About 3.3% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
Winter Park began as two small settlements, Old Town and Hideaway Park, CO. Old Town came into existence because of the construction taking place on the Moffat Tunnel. Hideaway Park was a village that began in 1932 and quickly developed into the fourth town in the valley. It was started, developed, and built by L.O.(Doc) Graves, merchant in the valley since 1922. Doc eventually built 26 tourist cabins and a multi-faceted cafe and service station operation called " Docs' Place". It might have been called the 7-Eleven of its day.
On August 1, 1978 the town was founded and became Winter Park. In 1980 Winter Park grew again incorporating the West Portal Village. The West Portal Village became the home of the Mary Jane Base and various other buildings at the resort such as the Iron Horse Resort.
Most recently, the ghost town of Arrow, CO which is at the western base of Rollins Pass was annexed into the town marking the beginning of the massive Arrowhead development.
[edit] External links
- Town of Winter Park (official website)
- Winter Park Resort Official Website
- Winter Park History
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
