Ski Resort Recommendations

[tnt1234]

I love the fact that the OP hasn't been back in the thread, but it's still taking off....fun to plan trips for other people, isn't it?

 

[mister moose]

You haven't been to Ellicottville yet, have you?

No. And at 6 1/2 hours plus gas and food stops, it's not happening anytime soon when I'm at Killington in 2:45.

But if you see Radio Ron, say hi for me and we'll welcome him back next April.

 

[HD333]

If I was taking a non-skier skiing I would choose North Conway.


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[cdskier]

Sugarbush/MRG does not have a town per se everything is spread out however, the base area is pretty good. There is Warren which is cute but tiny. All of my trips there I have always eaten elsewhere.

You're missing out on some excellent food then in both Warren and Waitsfield. I'll agree that the "town" part of Warren is definitely tiny, but the main street of Waitsfield is a decent size (although a 10 minute or so drive from Sugarbush). I wouldn't call it a ski village by any means, but I still love it. You can also see Mt Ellen from several spots in Waitsfield...so there's that if you really want to see a mountain in the background.

Stowe's downtown area always felt too "touristy" to me. They do have some great restaurants as well though in the area.

Killington is not my idea of "quaint" or a ski village at all. Way too much of a party atmosphere and very spread out along the access road. A lot of the food disappointed me as too generic and commercial, but maybe I just never found the right places when I was there.

Lake Placid is definitely a cool ski village area with a nice "walkable" downtown, although it is a decent drive from the mountain itself. Without a doubt there are many non-skiing things to do in the area as well.

 

[Abubob]

Based on #6 New England is not reliable. I suggest the North WEST.

Other than that based on all your criteria ... and I think it's been mentioned ... North Conway, NH has shopping and dining galore with Wildcat, Cranmore, Attitash, King Pine and Shawnee in Maine, all within a short(ish) drive.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Lake Placid would definitely fit the bill and I am sure they have a bunny hill.

Lake Placid is by far, the best answer.

Second place I'd give to Stowe.

Given your list, I wouldnt even consider anyplace else, either Stowe or Lake Placid. [/End Thread]

 

[BenedictGomez]

No. And at 6 1/2 hours plus gas and food stops, it's not happening anytime soon when I'm at Killington in 2:45.

You're not going to drive 6.5 hours for that gnarly 740 foot vertical!?!?!?

That poster must be their marketing director. LOL

 

[PixelPaul]

Thanks to all who have contributed, I really appreciate the response. I now have some good places to research. For those who asked for more information, the trip will likely take place sometime in February. This will likely be a once in a lifetime trip for her, so I want to make it memorable for her. As such, I prepared to spend money but only as much as I need to. Travel distance isn't really an issue. Thanks again everyone!

 

[Bosco DaSkia]

You're not going to drive 6.5 hours for that gnarly 740 foot vertical!?!?!?

That poster must be their marketing director. LOL

Nope. I don't work for Holiday Valley. But I would sure be proud of it if I did! They have one of the nicest physical facilities on the east coast. Everything is clean, painted and well cared for. The layout enables them to handle very large crowds with out the place looking or feeling crowded at all. The snowmaking system at Holiday Valley is one of the most impressive I have seen in the States. It is fully automated, and they can fire every gun in the system in under 10 minutes. That's over 250 guns coming online with no need for snowmakers on site. They can make snow with a weather window of just 6 hours. It really is hard to describe how well this placed is laid out and maintained. The have reinvested their profits wisely over the years and it shows! Pretty much the opposite of what ORDA has done with Whiteface.

There is a reason that Holiday Valley keeps landing in the Skiing Mag top 10 list. For the tenth time in the past 12 years, Holiday Valley Resort has been ranked as one of the top eastern North America resorts by Ski magazine. Recently, Holiday Valley, located in Cattaraugus County, was ranked third, trailing only Mont Tremblant in Quebec and Vermont’s Stowe resort.

For reference, this will be my 50th season on skis. I have skied at most of the ski areas in New York and New England plus lots of stuff out west and in Europe in that time. (Still have a bunch in mid to northern Maine I need to get to) I have also spent 23 years working at number of different ski areas, both big and small. Mostly in snowmaking with some grooming, lift ops and security thrown the mix also.

Now, for what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend Ellicotville for you or any other advanced skier. The limited terrain would not make the long drive west worth it for you. It is however a perfect fit for what PixiePaul is looking for.

But, there is no reason for him to keep driving another 6 1/2 hours to Lake Placid or 8 more hours to Stowe when everything he is looking for is right in Ellicottville.

With Stowe ticket prices running $128 per day and Whiteface at $98, he is going to be laying done some serious cash for somebody that won't have the ability to ski 95% of the mountain. Then add in the fact that neither of these ski areas are anywhere near the actual towns, and the case for Ellicotville gets even stronger.

Bottom line, I think PixePaul will get the most bang for his buck in Ellicotville and it ticks all of the boxes on his wish list!

uke: Just regurgitating my opinions online. Feel free to disagree with me or ignore me altogether .


8)

 

[bdfreetuna]

Surprised no one said Magic Mountain yet.

 

[dlague]

Thanks to all who have contributed, I really appreciate the response. I now have some good places to research. For those who asked for more information, the trip will likely take place sometime in February. This will likely be a once in a lifetime trip for her, so I want to make it memorable for her. As such, I prepared to spend money but only as much as I need to. Travel distance isn't really an issue. Thanks again everyone!

Actually some one else mentioned this and I would second that notion, Mount Washington Hotel and Bretton Woods.

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[jaytrem]

How about Quebec City? Absolutely beautiful city. But it's quite a haul. If coming all the way from Australia, it would certainly be one of the top North American cities I'd want to see.

 

[yeggous]

I've worked to accumulate guides to ski areas in the Northeast. Coverage is better for New England than New York, but I'm hoping to get more contributions. I'm operating them as a wiki-style resource where all registered users can contribute to the guides.

Check them out:
http://www.***************************/ski-area-guides/

 

[jimk]

Thanks to all who have contributed, I really appreciate the response. I now have some good places to research. For those who asked for more information, the trip will likely take place sometime in February. This will likely be a once in a lifetime trip for her, so I want to make it memorable for her. As such, I prepared to spend money but only as much as I need to. Travel distance isn't really an issue. Thanks again everyone!

Of the US locations mentioned in the original post I'd go with Lake Placid, NY. It's about 9 hours from Akron and is an interesting old year-round resort town beside a lake surrounded by High Adirondack Mtn peaks and it hosted the Winter Olympics twice ('32 and '80)! It has a walkable center with many restaurants, shops and lodges and there are many winter activities there besides skiing such as ice skating, bobsledding, X-C skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, etc. With just a little bit of luck it should be nice and white everywhere in February. While the big ski hill of Whiteface is about ten miles away and oriented towards advanced-expert skiers, I'm sure your friend could get a good introduction to skiing there at the dedicated beginner area on the lower portion of the mountain. My next suggestion would be Stowe, it has a lot of the same offerings as Lake Placid and is maybe 10.5 hrs from Akron. If you wanted to stay closer then Ellicottville (3.5 hrs) sounds good, but I've never been there. If you wanted to consider going further to Eastern Canada, I would concur that Quebec City is a terrific winter destination with an interesting river-side setting and a great many shops/restaurants/hotels in a walkable and historic old section of town. There are several good ski areas 20-60 minutes outside of the city. Mont Tremblant might also be a fun choice with its slopeside village, but I've never been there.