The winter weather can make planning fun family outings challenging. Thankfully, if you’re looking for a place to warm up and have fun, you’ll find a huge assortment of options close to home. Whether your family is looking to enjoy your favorite sports without dealing with the harsh elements outdoors or you want an experience that’s equal parts educational and entertaining, you’ll find it all close to Centennial, Colorado.

In fact, with so many great indoor places, it can be hard to know where to start. So, Crème de la Crème of Lone Tree put together this list of fun spots close to home for local families to explore.

SNÖBAHN

trees and snowdrop

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Think you have to brave the winter weather to enjoy all your favorite winter sports? Think again. Centennial’s own SNÖBAHN has everything your family needs for a fun, entertaining day of skiing or snowboarding. This Colorado-based company delivers an indoor ski and snowboard experience perfect for learners of all ages.

This fun, safe environment makes hitting the slopes affordable and accessible. Instead of spending a day stuck in lift lines, you can get in on the action on revolving slopes. You can get family ski lessons with kiddos as young as 3, or go for a group ski lesson for kids as young as 4. Group snowboarding lessons start at age 6. The indoor facility will transform how your family enjoys skiing and snowboarding.

Family Sports Ice Arena

If ice skating is your family’s idea of winter fun, Centennial has you covered. Just head over to Family Sports Ice Arena to escape the wind, snow, and cold outside while still having a blast enjoying your favorite winter sport. From figure skaters to hockey players, Family Sports Ice Arena has something for everyone. You’ll find programs and lessons for skaters of all ages and abilities, not to mention public skating sessions ideal for a family outing.

Family Sports Ice Arena is also the practice facility of the Colorado Avalanche hockey team. Kids will delight in getting to see their favorite NHL stars prepare for the next game, and who knows? They might score a signature while you’re in the building. The arena even includes a full-service restaurant and bar that overlooks the team’s practice sheet, taking the experience to the next level.

Miller Activity Complex

Head over to Castle Rock for some more indoor entertainment. That’s where you’ll find Miller Activity Complex, a 64,443-square-foot, two-story recreational facility boasting a range of unique activities ideal for a family day of fun when you need to get warm. No matter what activity you’re looking for, you’ll likely find it at this amazing spot close to home.

A pool, four 25-yard lap lanes, and a children’s play structure complete with a slide that reaches 23 feet tall are just the start. Miller Activity complex also features two multi-use party rooms, batting cages, and a trampoline with 16 trampoline beds, not to mention indoor full-sized and half-sized synthetic fields. The indoor leisure pool has a slide, zero-entry section, water table, and vortex whirlpool, while the Beam interactive floor games are sure to entertain kids of all ages. When you’re ready to relax in a cozy environment, stop by the lounge area with a fireplace.

Butterfly Pavilion

Located close to Centennial in Westminster, Butterfly Pavilion offers a great wintertime indoor escape when you’re seeking out entertainment combined with education. After all, what’s more fun than getting up close and personal with some crawling critters? As the first stand-alone invertebrate zoo in the whole to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the nonprofit Butterfly Pavilion leads the way in sharing invertebrate knowledge through hands-on learning experiences.

The facility includes four indoor exhibit halls as well as outdoor gardens and nature trails, so you can stay comfortable while treating your family to an experience to remember. The exhibits here boast touch experiences and live animals as well as interactive technology so you can learn more about science and conservation. From underwater invertebrates to tarantulas to a range of gorgeous butterflies and everything in between, this local institution has something for everyone.

Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus

Speaking of educational fun, you won’t want to miss the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus. This kid-friendly museum will brighten up any dreary winter day, and it’s easy to reach from Centennial. This is the place to go for kid-powered learning, offering a variety of ways for children to explore, create, and learn.

The Children’s Museum of Denver is designed especially for newborns through 8 year olds, but everyone has an opportunity for fun at this museum thanks to the hands-on exhibits. Areas for imaginative play, artistic creation, interactive experiments, and so much more offer the ideal antidote to chilly, unpleasant weather.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Denver Museum of Nature and Science provides yet another opportunity for indoor learning close to home. This museum is sure to spark your family’s passion for nature and science thanks to a variety of unforgettable exhibitions.

Whether your kids are into mummies or minerals and gems, dinosaur fossils or space travel, they’re sure to love an escape from winter weather that takes place at the museum. Catch a show at the planetarium or IMAX theater, or just wander around the permanent and special exhibitions. We’ll bet your kids will ask to come back again the next time you’re looking for a way to warm up this season.

Denver Art Museum

No list with Denver museums would be complete without a mention of the Denver Art Museum, another local institution perfect for taking refuge from the weather. The museum boasts encyclopedic collections spanning over 70,000 works from across the centuries and world, so it’s a must-visit spot for art lovers in Colorado and beyond.

The DAM also makes art accessible to kids and families, even offering free general admission to all youth age 18 and under. The museum also offers family-friendly games, activities, and events as well as Sensory-Friendly Mornings so kids with sensory sensitives and their families can visit the museum in a safe, fun way.

That wraps up Crème de la Crème of Lone Tree’s list of easy-to-reach indoor attractions sure to upgrade any winter day. Have a go-to spot we missed? Let us in on your family’s favorite place to get warm so we can add it.