Skiing for Christmas

I just moved back from Colorado and learned some about various ski spots for kids.

Beaver Creek supposedly has the BEST ski school in the area. It is super, super pricey though. Very upscale.

The others in the area with beginner, kids reputations are Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, and Eldora. This is what the locals told me.

I am originally from New England and Stowe, Vermont or Mad River Glen are great places.

RED RIVER NM the best family place to ski especially with young kids. They have plenty of condod withing walking distance of the ski area. An awesome ski school for the kids and for adults who need lessons. It is a great small place to spend Christmas!!!

We are heading out to Park City, UT with 15 people and kids ranging from 3-15. We have been there several years, and it is great! I would also recommend Steamboat or Breckenridge as well.

Have fun wherever you go!

My family (which we also have 3 girls ages 8-12) is going to Winter Park, CO for the 3rd time this Christmas. We love the Ski Mountain and the town, as well. We drive from Dallas which is a 12 hour drive. We are staying in a house in the town of Tabernash. It is about a 15 minute drive to the mountain but we love the house and the beautiful area. You can also find homes/condos in Frasier which is a little closer to the mountain and condos in Winter Park, both with shuttles to the mountain. There is one resort that is ski in/out to the mountain called the Zephyr Mountain Lodge.
In Frasier, there is a tubing hill which the kids love!
The Mountain is a great family mountain and great ski school!
K. B.

Hi N.! You've gotten lots of great advice already. If you want to be absolutely 100% sure that you'll have snow for Christmas, you should look to CO, UT, WY, or MT. I'm from New England, and we often have snow, but there have been years that I drag my snowboard home, only to see mountains covered with mud. If you're planning a big trip in December, go West (in February you can count on snow East, just not necessarily by Christmas).

As for where to go, I HIGHLY recommend Park City, UT. There are 3 different ski resorts within 20 minutes of the town, all served by a bus system so you don't have to drive. You can go to whichever is more your style (look up Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, and The Canyons to see which best matches your needs and desires). Park City and the Canyons are both good for intermediates--I've skied both. Deer Valley is more full-sevice swanky, but doesn't allow snowboards. Also, the downtown area is great, with lots to do for non-skiers or if you need a little break. Groceries, necessities, even an outlet mall are all right there. There's a park with inner-tubing if you want another way to slide down a mountain. Lots to do, very accessible--I've skied all over the world, and Park City is my favorite for families!

Also, if you want more advanced skiing, you can drive from Park City to Alta, which is my absolute, bar-none, favorite place to snowboard on this continent. There is nothing else in the valley, at all, so only stay there if you really want nothing to do but ski and ride. But if you're travelling with others, you can stay in Park City and drive down to Alta for a day trip.

Finally, Park City is one of the easiest ski resorts to get to. Fly direct from Dallas to Salt Lake City, then a 45 minute car or bus ride to the resort. Easy easy easy. You can leave home in the morning and be on the slopes after lunch. The resorts even give you a free lift ticket for that day, if you show them your boarding pass from that morning. Enjoy!

We love Angel Fire in New Mexico. It is a down to Earth place, lower prices than CO, and a lot less croweded. It is not a fancy place so..no spa or shopping but great skiing. The snow can very a lot there year to year so you would need to check the snow report before booking to that you are not disappointed. Good Luck!

I don't have any location suggestions, but I do have a suggestion on finding lodging. Once you choose a location, check out www.vrbo.com (vacation rental by owner). I have had excellent luck with this site. The homes are owned by individuals and cost MUCH less than resorts, hotels, etc...With such a large group, you'll want the benefits of a home (kitchen, laundry, etc...) rather than a hotel room.

We have not been during Christmas, but went to Steamboat Springs one year for spring break & it was great. The Sheraton there is ski in/out, they had great classes for our kids (who were about 6 & 9 at the time), and there's a Starbucks on site (very important for mom & dad!). I don't even ski, and I had a great time just hanging out. We always receive postcards in the mail for discounts when booking early, so you might check the Steamboat Springs website for specials. Good luck!

Definitely Breckenridge. Very cute town and plenty do to for the non-skiers if any. Keystone, Vail and Beaver Creek are all within an hour if you want to go ski in a different area one day.

My husband's family has gone to Copper Mountain, CO for the week after Christmas for about 20 years. It's gradually getting more expensive, but what isn't? Other than not having a decent grocery store on-site (15 min drive on the highway), it's a great family place. The village is small, so it's pretty much all lift-side. There's child care available for about $80-100 a day and a ski school for kids who are fully potty-trained. It's a pretty low-key place. Not fancy like Beaver Creek or Aspen, but still has great skiing.

I grew up in Wyo and then moved to Denver...my favorites growing up were Vail and Steamboat...and topping the list: Jackson Hole, Wyoming is absolutely gorgeous! All are expensive...but so worth it.

We ski quite a bit...and have stayed at Lake Tahoe, in California; Winter Park, in Colorado; and Red River, in New Mexico. They all have pros and cons and are all very family friendly. Distance being the biggest factor and the cost to get there.

Red River is hit or miss on their snow. Lake Tahoe & Winter Park have always had plenty of snow, however, Lake Tahoe one year had a weird snow/rain mix the whole time which created challenges!

We have skiied on Christmas day twice and the mountains only have a few people on them...it is terrific! We loved it. It is still some of the best memories my children have. We did only stockings those years and I had a pinata that we put up at the condo for any of the kids staying there to join in the fun. I wish it was something we could do every year.

Good luck.

I say Breckenridge, CO also...we've been there several times, and most recently with 12 of us, all in one condo, including two little ones, ages 2 & 4. They have a great ski school for kids and adults, as well as a big hillside behind a school, for FREE tubing, which was a blast. Also, there is a discovery "hands on" museum for kids when you want to get out of the cold. Grocery close by, lots of shopping, something for everyone!! Several other resorts close by for variety if you're there long enough...Keystone (great night skiing), Vail, Cooper (great tubing)!

We loved Angel Fire, NM. It is a good place for beginners and very family friendly. They have a tubing hill that is really fun. You ride a people mover up the hill and come down on an inner tube. This is great, especially if your kids don't really take to skiing. The biggest problem is whether or not they will have a good snow. We went another year to Wolf Creek, CO and they had tons of snow, but their "beginner" slope was quite a bit more challenging. Also, we had to stay 30 minutes down the mountain. Angel Fire is much cheaper and we drove, which saved a lot of money. They have lots of special deals, which makes it more affordable to ski. The year we went, 5th graders could ski FREE and under six could ski FREE with an adult. We stayed in some condos, but they also have lots of homes to rent.

I've heard West Virginia is a cheaper place for snow recreation. Saw this advertisement on the movie We Are Marshall's about the West Virginia high school football squad that was killed in an airline crash in the '70's.

My kids learned to ski at Angel Fire,NM. My DD had turned 4 only weeks before, and was able to learn easily. The instructors are fun and really enjoy teaching the kids. We go every Feb. and have the town to ourselves. It is close to Taos, and Red River wich both have lots of restraunts and more ski slopes. AF has the kid friendliest mountain with several green and blue trails. There is even a little lift to the bunny slopes. Lesson prices aren't bad either. Child care for little ones is right on the slopes also. There are some restraunts and a grocery store, and some shopping. I have seen a spa "Sage", but haven't gone there. We rent a condo through vrbo.com. A bus will get you around town for less than a buck, and there are ski in/out condos and homes for rent.

http://www.angelfireresort.com/winter/
http://www.skiangelfire.com/skiangelfire/Winter_Fun.html

Wow this brings back my fondest memories.. When I was a child we use to spend Christmas every year (with the whole family,usually 15-20 of us) in Angel Fire New Mexico (they have other resorts close by which makes it easy to try them all out). They have a wide variaty of house's to rent there any where from 3 days to a couple of weeks and in a wide variety of houses ranging from 2 bedrooms to very large. Obviously we had to rent a VERY large house b/c of the size of our family. We stayed at the same house every year for about 10 years and it was a BEAUTIFUL 3 story home fully furnished. If you are able to do something like this I highly suggest it. It will create life long memories for the whole family!

In addition... I forgot to mention they have a great ski school for kids. My little brothers went and they can all ski Black's now!! When we would go we would ski Angel Fire and Red River due to their close distance from each other. I can't reme,ber which one it was but at one of them right at the end of the bunny hill there is a great restraunt with fire places all in it, where you take off your shoes (or ski boots) and they give you these warm little slippers to put on while you're eating there and they have the BEST hot chocolate I have EVER had. This was my favorite as a child. Oh also durning CHristmas they have all these inflatable snow men and penguins and such all over the slopes (great for kids) also they usually do a Christmas parade with Santa skiing down the hill. It's AWESOME!! Can you tell I loved this place as a kid??!!! Good luck.. Hope you get to go, I am super jealous!!

Crested Butte CO is great - lots of families, not too expensive, and the people there are really friendly. It it much more laid back that Keystone & Aspen. The ski school looked like it had a great kids program - and all the kids were having fun.

Sipapu NM !!! I am going for my first time next week, but have friends that go annualy & love it. Its affordable, convieint, and family friendly!
Just google it, and there site comes up!

From my experience, Wolf Creek, Durango and Winter Park are all very family friendly.

Right after we got married we went to Winter Park for two days over Christmas and were floored at how many chlidren there were (I'd only been to Vail and Keystone as a kid and always felt like I was a thrid wheel.)

As far as spending Christmas "elsewhere" my hubby and I ditched the fam one year and went on a week long cruise. It was the best Christmas EVER!

Breckinridge, CO they offer ski school for 3 and up and day care so mom and dad can ski. I would recommend renting a condo because parking is at a premium around there and most condos come with 2 parking spaces. Great little village with all the restaurants and shopping you can think of and a true grocery store (King Soopers which is part of Kroger) at the far end of the village.

we have a tome share here and its way cool!
www.massresort.com in Massenutten, Virginia..they have everything from indoor waterpark to skiing.
Our condo sleeps 12.

TAOS, NM !!! We had sooo much fun when we went there. Check out this link. You wont be disappointed. It was so peaceful and tranquil. Where we stayed, we had a hot tub outside, ski lessons, nice restaurants, and so much more!

http://taosskivalley.com/visitors/why_taos_ski_valley/

This is where we stayed...
http://www.alpine-suites.com/index.html

We're trying Cooper Spur Mountain Resort near Portland, Or with extended family this year. Very reasonable rates, cabins and log home rental for extended family/add-ons. Good luck finding something that works for your family!

Park City UT is great for kids. The flight out of DFW or Love is manageable and a straight shot at 2h, 45 minutes. Not to mention that the commute from the airport is only 45 minutes to get to the resort. There are a lot of options that are directly at the base of the slopes. We are staying at Three Kings this year:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g57097-i800-k820919-...

Good luck!

N., try Keystone, CO, River Run Village. Lots of stuff for the kids to do and Keystone has always been child friendly. We have a 2 BR/2BA condo that sleeps six, newly remodeled, covered parking, hot tub, balcony, view of the mountain, on the bus route and we are adjacent to the market. It's beautiful and you can walk to the ski school and the lift. Hard to beat! Keystone is wonderful. You can also quickly get to several other ski resorts if you desire a change of scenery. Feel free to email me if you would like.

I'm from snow country (Idaho) and my favorite place to ski is Jackson Hole, WY at Teton Village. Grand Targhee is nice also. I've been to Park City, UT; however, have not skiied there, I'm sure it would be wonderful. Sun Valley, ID is very nice as well. These areas would have condos and shuttles. Good Luck.

head east... to Pennsylvania We flew into PITTSburg and rented a car maybe 2 hour drive?
www.nemacolin.com (family resort)
Neat/ fun family resort TONS of activities for all ages: animals,horses, skiing, kids ski camps/lessons on bunny slopes, fine dinning, kids camp, awesome SPA
check on in season for snow Dec. may be too early there...
AAA diamond resort/rest.
4 stars
They have a hotel and town homes that would be perfect for a family and FREE shuttle available throughout the LARGE resort property to and from all the activites....
We went in mid Feb. last year and had a blast... we are not BIG skiers...and It only snowed enough for 2days of skiing but filled the rest of our stay with the animals and other activites...HAPPY PLANNING...

Hi there!

You already got some recommendations for Winter Park and Breckenridge, CO. We have been to Winter Park and really enjoyed it. We stayed in time share accommodation with a heated pool and a shuttle to the town and ski resort.

You might want to check out eBay for people selling their time share weeks at a good price.

I hope you find something you like!

Beaver Creek, CO (near Vail) was so great! Have fun!

You have gotten great responses. I just wanted to ditto the Angelfire repsonses. We are going this Christmas. I have been there 4 other occasions & it has always been wonderful. It is an ideal place for beginner skiers. There is tubing, snowboarding, horse back riding, sleigh rides, snowmobiling, absolutely something for everyone. We just booked through VRBO too. I got a condo 2 blocks from the slopes for 200.00 a night. Splitting it with my brother & his family makes for a great deal! Good luck! Another tip, check Ebay in the off seasom gor great deals on ski bibs etc. I got one on Target.com for my 8 year old for 16.00!
Good luck!

Our family went to Angelfire NM a few years ago at Christmas. We got a condo that had 4 bedrooms and a huge kitchen and even a washer and dryer. Call and see what you can find out. There was 12 of us and we had a great time.

G. M.

Try looking at Sun Valley Idaho. We had a family reunion there several years ago when my boys were 3 and 5. Everyone had a wonderful time and my little ones learned to ski much better than me! Nice family atmosphere!

Check out Winterpark, Colorado. It is a wonderful place and has something for everyone!

Breckenridge, Colo is a great place. I grew up in Denver and Breck is always are favorite place. Cute little town, nice restaurants, rec center, and with 4 mountains, lots of ski runs to choose - easy, easy to difficult.

Sorry, I can't think of any specific places to stay (we stay in a family cabin near there.) I do know they have lots of ski-in-out places. Beaver Run Resort is one name I know, but have never stayed.

Have fun.

My husband and I love to go skiing every year. While the place we go isn't a ski n ski out place, it is family friendly with a lot of snow and great runs for all ski levels. The place we go is called Monarch. It is west of Pueblo and isn't really crowded but has great snow. There are several choices for lodging but our favorite is Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resort. They have hotel rooms and cabins available. It would be about 30 minutes to the ski area but the scenery is so beautiful, you hardly realize it takes that long. You can google both of these places to see pictures and get more info. Good luck in your venture to find what you are looking for. Feel free to ask me more questions about it. I have pics from previous trips that I can send to you if you are interested.