Family Ski Vacations

[Micheleagogo]

Hi,
Is anyone planning on taking their family (small kids and teens) on a Ski Vacation this season?

If so, where are you taking them and why?

Or have you taken a family ski vacation before and have tips on the best places to go and how to make it stress-free?

Thanks

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

I know I sound like a broken record in here, but Whiteface/Lake Placid is tough to beat for a family vacation mainly because there is so much to do in Lake Placid after skiing.

Start here http://www.whitefacelakeplacid.com/ and this is mostly ORDA venues, there is a load of other things. My 11 year old loves Bowlwinkles and Avalanche Adventure. I could go on and on, but Goggle and you'll see what I mean.

Smuggs is good too, when she was 14 my daughter loved going to the teenage yurt to hang out after skiing.

 

[ChileMass]

Lake Placid is wonderful. Highpeaksdrifter knows what he is talking about. Go to the Mirror Lake Inn. Go now.

Stowe is also wonderful. Another old-school town and hill with lots of charm. Mt. Mansfield is the highest peak in VT and the skiing is great.

Smuggler's Notch is on the backside of Mansfield/Stowe and markets itself as THE family ski resort in the east. I hear it's great, I hear there's a lot for families and kids to do, but I've never skied there. I also hear it's VERY expensive. I priced it out a few years ago for my family of four when my girls were little, and it was at least double the cost of almost anywhere else. But, check it out for yourself, and if money is no issue, you may want to give it a shot.

Bretton Woods - the Smuggler's Notch of New Hampshire. Upscale and plush, lots of groomed trails and SUVs with NY/NJ/MA plates.

The "second tier" of family resorts includes hills like Attitash, Loon and Mt. Snow. Depending on where you are starting from, these are good options relatively close to the major northeastern cities, with good facilities, good ski schools and lots of grooming. Loon's terrain is much more challenging (but not too scary) than either of the other hills.

Family resorts that are more strictly geared around skiing or are further away include Sugarloaf, Tremblant, Burke and maybe Sunday River. The Loaf is possibly the best skiing on the East Coast if you catch it right, but it's also 5+ hours from Boston or 8+ from NYC. Tremblant is north of Montreal, so do the math from your US hometown. But - it is consistently rated #1 on the East Coast and it's way up north, so they may have snow when others won't. Burke is a real skier's hill with relatively limited amenities to keep a family entertained for several days. But if you're serious about getting serious on your skis, it could be a great choice. And Sunday River is also way up north in Maine (an hour closer than Sugarloaf) and is mainly (in my opinion) geared toward young single adults, but it has so much energy that if your kids are little and you need to have some fun as well, you may enjoy watching 20-somethings chase beers with Jaegermeister in the lodge after 4PM. It's just fun and their grooming may be the best I have ever seen, anywhere.

My 2 cents......I have been taking the family skiing for years all over the Northeast. Personally, we go to Mt. Orford, just over the VT border into Quebec, but that's my little secret....... :wink:

 

[NYDrew]

My father always would take me and my brothers to Jay Peak when we were that age.

Stay in the Hotel Jay (walk on/ski off lodging). Kids under a certain age stay and eat free. Get the meal plans also. Its much cheaper then eating out at night and the food in that restaurant (which is also in the hotel) is the best I ever had. I think it is a real 5 star. The hotel has child care and if you don't want to eat with the screamers, then they will take them to dinner (in the hotel restaurant).

The ski school has a mountain adventures program to enroll the older ones in. My brother did this program (i was too old) and had a blast. They will show them everything from a wedge turn, to out of bounds territory..depends on skill. While your out swimming in waist deep glade powder with your wife, the kids are having the time of their life.

The hotel also has a hottub, sauna, ice skating, sleds (for going down the mountain after hours), old skool game room (im not talking about mall arcades, im talking about pre-pokemon society...pacman) Bar is right next door in the lodge, private locker in secured room.

Your life will be easy and totally centralized around the hotel and the lodge which is 50 feet away. Lots of night time entertainment in lodge. Your only problem is that your car battery will be dead because you didnt need the start it for 5+ days in cold weather.

Dont forget jays legendary snow, trails and glades.PM me for more.

GOT THERE... BEFORE THEY TEAR DOWN THE HOTEL FOR MORE MODERN FACILITIES

 

[Vortex]

I booked one in North Conway. Alot of choices of things to do and places to ski.

 

[SAB]

Personally we liked Tremblant. The feature that sold us was that you could stay right at the base village and not have to get in your car for your entire visit. Stores, resturaunts, etc. were all within easy walking distance. Since you didn't need to drive to the mt. each day, no one had to wait around at the end of the day if someone wanted to make a few more runs - which happened often for us since we had little kids. The village has a real European feel - nothing like any of the resorts in the US. Plus, I don't think I've been to any other resort in the East that had such a complete village right at the mountain.
SAB

 

[Paul]

I booked one in North Conway. Alot of choices of things to do and places to ski.

We have a timeshare in N.Conway. there's always plenty to do. Cranmore, Black Mtn.,Attitash, Bretton Woods and Wildcat are all within about 40min. or less. There's a really nice NE village in the center with a free ice-skating rink in the town green. Just South of the village are the outlet stores, and there are a plethora of good restaraunts both in town, and just outside. Some of my favorites are The Red Parka Pub in Glen, Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewery, The Muddy Moose, Coyote Rose (Nice if you can get away from the kiddies) Stonehurst (ditto) and a whole ton of others.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

I don't think I've been to any other resort in the East that had such a complete village right at the mountain.
SAB

You havn't and neither has anyone else cause there isn't one. Alot of peple put Tremblant down (Epcot of skiing, not challanging), but when I brought my family there we had a great time. I wouldn't go there with the guys on a hardcore ski trip, but it's great for family vacations.

 

[billski]

I have gone with small children and infants, through teen years. With infants along, you must tag-team, and convenience is a watchword. On-slope lodging is almost a must. Even with the littlest skiers(age 4/5/6) they will want to take a lot of breaks. take the queue from them and don't push anyone or you'll have a grumpy vacation.

When our kids were little and infant, nightlife was essentially out, so we went to Ascutney and that was fine and didn't cost a lot of money, save for the lack of dining options.

You have to figure out if your kids want to stay with you or are willing to be dumped for a day in a program. We always ski together as a family. Personal choice.

Try to select a mountain where there is a central place that all trails meet.

For young one who poop out midslope, you might find yourself changing plans by the hour. Cell phone or radio is useful in this case if you have tosplit up.

 

[ann in ma]

We're headed to Okemo on Tuesday for 4 days. The choice was made because we were given 8 Okemo passes, and 6 year olds are free ... meaning we get to ski free for 4 days. And we found a nice mid-week lodging deal (at least, I hope it's nice!), though not slopeside.

We've been skiing a lot with the kids this year, and have developed a pretty good rhythm. One of us skis with the 6 year old on the blues, the other skis with the 3 year old (leashed) on the greens, until she's tired (usually 2 runs) and then hits the lodge. Then we switch off. We have a 'lodge amusement' bag with a gameboy, deck of cards, books, and slippers. We also pack lunches and snacks, because every time one of the kids goes into the lodge, they want a snack.