Planning Ahead for Ski Vacation This Winter - Can You Help with Ideas Where?

Winterpark CO - that is the most kid friendly ski place I have ever been too. You will not be disappointed. The staff there are so friendly and helpful, the facilities are so clean and well kept, I don't want to go anywhere else for skiing.

My husband's family has gone to Copper Mountain for about 20 years and we love it. They have good childcare and ski lessons. Not cheap for either, but not rediculous. About $90 for a full day of childcare, and maybe $120 for all-day ski lessons? We stay in a time-share condo right at the center village, so I can't give you specific lodging advice. If you're going to have kids (or adults!) in lessons, you might want to stay at Union Creek, which is where that stuff is based. (Bus ride from other places or ski over that way from the top.)

Hi K.,

We go to the Vail valley in Colorado at least once a winter to ski with our kids. Beaver Creek is a really family friendly area and has one of the top rated kids ski-schools. If you choose something in that area, let me know I can steer you in the way of some good restaurants, etc.
H.

Definitely add Steamboat to your consideration list. I've been skiing there for almost 20 years. You can fly non-stop from Dallas into Hayden, which is the local airport, on a jet (no stop in Denver, no puddle jumpers). You don't need a car, because they have this fabulous free bus system that goes past the condo areas, the mountain base, and into downtown, and their kids ski school is fabulous - i had my 3 & 5 year olds enrolled for 4 days over spring break. The skiing is very varied - i've been skiing since i was 3, but we've gone to steamboat with friends who are more advanced-beginners and there is terrain for every ability.
Good luck - and good for you to be planning so early!

Lake Tahoe or Breckenridge is my favorite!

Hi, I would recommend Park City, Utah (the Canyons resort). It is great for families, whereas some of the other resorts have more advanced runs only. If you stay at the Grand Summit hotel, you will have ski in, ski out and the ski school is right there. Snowmass in Aspen is also great for kids. To save money, you should stay in condos (and drive to lifts) or for more convenience (and $$), stay at the hotel at the resort and just walk out and ski.

I have been to both Park Cities and Sandia Peak New Mexico. Park Cities is lovely, lots of shopping, food, interesting things around the area and near other places to visit like Sundance and Salt Lake City.

I also highly recommend Steamboat Springs. I grew up there, and have been to Winter Park, Keystone, and Beaver Creek. Steamboat has great accomodations and the mountain is only 3 miles from its historic downtown. The city bus is free and can get you just about anywhere you need to go...grocery store, ski mountain, downtown, shops & restaurants...and it FREE! The ski trails range from very Beginner (Why Not is a great run...it's a road that cruises down and around the entire base mountain) to Expert Moguls (Rolex). Lots of fun trails in between. Nicest people you'll ever meet!
If you go the first week February, they have Winter Carnival downtown. They close off the main strip and fill it with snow and slush, and have horse pulled skiers and all kinds of fun races and events...complete with a Lighted Man down the night skiing hill. I might be biased because it was my childhood home, but I recommend it to anyone, any age! Check out www.steamboat.com

Have a great time!

I have not been to all of the places you are considering. We have been to Angel Fire, NM, Wolf Creek, CO, and Breckinridge, CO. For families and children, I highly recommend Angel Fire, NM. We went several years ago and took our boys ages 7 and 11. They had never been skiing before or really even seen much snow. They had a ball and really loved it. They both took one day of ski school and were ready to go. Your kids are pretty young, but they have a ski school for 3 year old and a day care for babies. They were very nice and accommodating. The only problem with Angel Fire is that sometimes they don't have a lot of snow, so it might be a disappointment for experienced skiers. They had a really bad year for snow when we went, but they make snow on the mountain. Many of the trails were not open, but since we were beginners, it didn't matter to us. It was not very crowded, which was nice. They also have a tubing hill that is great for little kids that don't want to ski.

The next year we went to Wolf Creek, which was beautiful and had tons of snow. The problem was we found that "beginner" slopes vary greatly from one resort to another. My kids were a bit intimidated by the slopes at Wolf Creek. Also, it snowed so much while we were there that one day we didn't even want to attempt the drive up the mountain to ski. At Angel Fire we stayed in a condo and it was only a few miles from the slopes. At Wolf Creek, you could not stay on the mountain, so it was a 20-30 minute drive up each day and back. There is a lodge at Angel Fire that is right on the slope, but it is pretty old and not that nice. Better to stay in a condo or house.

The other problem you have to deal with now is the snow boarders. They are very annoying and cause lots of problems. We had more problems at Wolf Creek with snowboarders. I am sure that not all snow boarders are bad, just a lot of teens that don't know what they are doing and they crash into people or ski too close and scare you. My older son really wanted to snow board, but he soon realized how much more difficult it was, plus most all of the injuries were involving snowboarders. We saw lots of broken wrists. I think I heard that Taos does not allow any snow boarders, so that would be nice, but I also heard they were not very kid friendly.

If you go the week between Christmas and New Year's, it will be the most crowded and the most expensive week anywhere you go. If you can go the week after New Year's, the price and the crowds drop dramatically.

I have not been to Breckinridge in a long time or with children, but it is really nice. Again, the beginner slopes are a little more challenging. They have very nice condos that are right on the slopes, so you can ski in and out from your room. My in-laws have been with a big family and love it. Also, the town of Breckinridge is really pretty.

It depends on your budget and your needs. Obviously the resorts in Colorado and Utah are much prettier, but more expensive. If you and your husband are experienced skiers, then you would probably prefer them. But for beginners, I think it is hard to beat New Mexico. We drove in two days with a stop over in Amarillo and it was not too bad.

Hi, K.. I'm really surprised you don't have Keystone, CO on your list of resorts!! It is THE most family-friendly ski resort I've been to and is highly recommended for families with children by travel agents. The green runs are fabulous for beginners and young children. School Marm, one of the green runs, is the longest one at the resort (if memory serves) and is great for those days when you just want to ski leisurely. There are many fun family-oriented activities and wonderful places to eat--my favorite is the Alpenglow Stube which you have to take a bubble lift to get to! They give you warm slippers to wear while you're there and the FOOD!!! WOW!!! We've been 3 times and wish we could go every year but we moved to the UK in 2007 so it's a bit expensive. My husband is British and an avid skier. He's skied pretty much everywhere and Keystone is his absolute favorite! Now that I've skied in Europe and other places, I see why he says that! Keystone just has such a warm and magical feel to it and the skiing is superb! (No, I don't/didn't work for them. I just genuinely love the place!) I have friends and a couple of family members who have been to the places you list (with the exception of Park Cities, Utah) as well as Keystone and they all agree w/ me (as far as family-oriented resorts go). Hope this helps.

Hey!
My family has winter homes in taos as well as steamboat springs co so I thought I would offer some advice. Taos has an excellent ski school but most of the mountain is very steep so its not great for unexperienced skiiers. Also there is not a lot to do there without driving into town which is about thirty minutes from the ski valley and its winding roads all the way down! Aspen is extremely expensive.Vail is nice and so is steamboat and breckinridge. Have not ever done park cities but hear its great. Hope that helps!!

hi K.

A few years ago I went to Breckenridge, CO...it was absolutly beautiful!!! And the best part is you can buy a pass a ski breckenridge, keystone and vail...and at keystone you can go night skiing which is awesome. You won't be disappointed anyplace you go.

I love Vail and Beaver Creek area. I have been going almost my entire life! I would highly rec for adults and kids. We have taken my oldest skiing and all 3 during the summer. There are tons of places to stay that are nice. I always like a condo. I was alway lucky that my parents had a place there, but they sold it a couple of years back. I have used East West resorts to book 3 different condos in Bachelor Gulch (Beaver Creek). If you want more economical, stay at the bottom of the mountain. There are lots of nice hotels if you want to go that route, I have just not stayed in any.

We have friends that went to Angel Fire, NM last year and found ski school for their little ones (ages 3yrs and 5.5 yrs) and a daycare that would watch them while the adults skied.

We go to a lovely place every year that is an hour or so west of Pueblo. The ski area is called Monarch and they always have great snow. It is on the Continental Divide. There is plenty of varied ski levels all over the mountain so a beginner skier can enjoy the breathtaking view as well as the experienced skier. You have to stay about 30 minutes away but there are some beautiful accomodations. Our favorite is Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resort. They have two spring fed pools outside and it is a great place to unwind and soak your muscles after a day on the slopes. They have hotel type rooms and log cabins with a small kitchen if you'd rather cook some of your meals. You can google both of these places and find all the information you need. If your kids are first time skiers, Monarch has ski school for them, either half day or all day. The ski instructor will be with them to allow you to ski while your kids learn. It's not very crowded and you could also go to other nearby mountains if you wanted to try other places and still stay in that area.I hope this helps.

We took our kids to Steamboat Springs near Vail a few years ago when they were about 5 and 8 years old. The Sheraton there is great. The lift is right on site, as well as all of the equipment rentals, ski school, etc. They usually offer great deals for booking early on the Steamboat Springs website. Whatever you choose, have a great time!

We LOVE Park City, UT. It is gorgeous, and family friendly with all different levels of slopes. There are actually 4 different places to ski there. Great food, super nice people, adorable down town. My boys were 6 and 11 when we went and they had a BLAST. Tons of other things to do besides skiing too. The resorts also offer child care, lessons, busses from the condos and hotels.

When our children were younger, we always went to Crested Butte. It is kid/family friendly and they have a great ski in/ski out resort called the Grand Butte. It has changed ownership several times but, a friend told me she thinks it has gone back to the old name and is not a Club Med hotel anymore. There is another ski in/ski out and it use to be called the Sheraton and I was told it has been remodeled. There are several condos around that vicinity that are also ski in/ski out. The little town down the mountain is easy to get to on the shuttle bus that runs constantly. It is a neat place to go during the holidays and many of our friends from Ft. Worth go. There are great restaurants on the mountain and down in the town. Great shopping and they have a great ski school and daycare for the kids. You fly into Gunnison and it is a short shuttle to the mountain. You will love the quaintness and the friendliness of the town.
New Mexico is great but, it is more difficult to get to because you have to drive so far from the airport and if you consider driving from here, it is a long drive. Vail is extremely expensive. If you stay in Dillon, Breckenridge or the Frisco area (condos), you can easily ski Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Vail/Beaver Creek. You have more options there.

Breckenridge, CO. Peak 8 Has a great ski school for little ones and a day care for really little ones. Plus it's a great little town, lots of food, shopping etc. It's not far to go to Vail or Keystone for a day and Lake Dillon isn't far away either. We rented a condo through our timeshare. There's a shuttle that runs through town and stops at the various resorts or near them in addition to downtown so once you park in your lot or garage you don't have to drive except maybe for groceries.