Where to take a ski trip ?????

[Mikem104]

I am taking my daughter on a ski trip in January. She wants to hit up a big resort. Aka Killington whiteface jays peak. We are in buffalo ny. Willing to travel about 6-8 hrs. Three things we would love to have.
1. A big mountain
2. On site lodging so we don’t have to drive and can stop in the room (ski in ski out preferably).
3. Night sking.

I am having a hard time finding all three of them. Any suggestions. If we had to drop one of them it would be first the night ski.

 

[thetrailboss]

None of those resorts have nightskiing. The only one that would fit the bill for all three about 10 years ago would have been Stowe. But they don’t have night skiing anymore.

Consider Sunday River (has all three) but it’s far for you. Bretton Woods is another possible option, but I think they axed nightskiing.

 

[Mikem104]

Ok thanks. Night sking would be the first I would be willing to drop from the list. As long as we have a big mountain ski in ski out or lodging with no reason to drive and something to keep us entertained after the slopes close

 

[thetrailboss]

Ok thanks. Night sking would be the first I would be willing to drop from the list. As long as we have a big mountain ski in ski out or lodging with no reason to drive and something to keep us entertained after the slopes close

What kind of terrain do you want? What time of season do you want to go? Any limitations as to season pass type?

 

[Mikem104]

It’s just going to be a 3 day trip. Mid January. We are average skiers. Would like some blues and blacks. But also some easy high elevation slopes.

 

[Tonyr]

Night sking plus ski on ski off will be tough. I'd cross night skiing off of your list. The best ski on ski off property on the east coast is the Lodge at Spruce Peak in Stowe. That place rivals some of the better ski on ski off properties out west in my opinion.

The Claybrook at Sugarbush does not have all of the services as the Lodge at Spruce Peak does but is very nice as well and about 20 to 30 yards from the lift when you pick up your skis at the valet. There are not as many units at the Claybrook so it can be hard to get a reservation there on a busy weekend.

The Killington Grand Resort is probably my least favorite of these three. The lobby area was renovated and looks nice, but the rooms were not so the hotel kind of looks mismatched. You have to skate/ski across a small bridge so it's not quite ski on ski off but it is very close.

Jay Peak has the Tram Haus Lodge, I've never stayed there but have walked through the property and have eaten at the restaurant within. It looks very nice and the property is literally right in front of the tram.

The other notable east coast ski property is the Omni Mount Washington which owns Bretton Woods. Lift tickets come with the room and the hotel is less than a 5 minute drive to Bretton Woods. Honestly though I think the sking is better in Vermont plus it's a closer drive for you so I would stick to one of the four VT places above.

The Claybrook, Killington Grand Resort, and Lodge at Spruce Peak have all gotten very expensive, so be prepared for that. The Tram Haus Lodge at Jay Peak will be your most cost effective option. All four of those place have fantastic terrain so you won't go wrong there if conditions are good it's just a matter of picking the right hotel.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[jimk]

Doesn't Bolton Valley have night skiing and slopeside lodging? Might be cheaper than the others and could still day trip over to Stowe or Sugarbush one day for a bigger mountain, both about an hour from Bolton Valley.

 

[thetrailboss]

Doesn't Bolton Valley have night skiing and slopeside lodging? Might be cheaper than the others and could still day trip over to Stowe or Sugarbush one day for a bigger mountain, both about an hour from Bolton Valley.

It does. I’d consider it a medium and not a “big” mountain.

 

[ThatGuy]

It does. I’d consider it a medium and not a “big” mountain.

Bolton could be a good option for him, the trails are pretty easy with some steeper stuff if they wanted to try it out. Night skiing till 10pm and rooms literally at the base of two lifts.
Id vote Stowe though, great intermediate terrain and alot to do besides skiing in the area.

 

[thetrailboss]

Bolton could be a good option for him, the trails are pretty easy with some steeper stuff if they wanted to try it out. Night skiing till 10pm and rooms literally at the base of two lifts.
Id vote Stowe though, great intermediate terrain and alot to do besides skiing in the area.

I bet they’d be running some good deals at Bolton. Are the base facilities still dated?

 

[crank]

Mont Tremblant?

 

[4aprice]

Here's one that might fit your criteria.. Jiminy Peak in Mass. I believe they have some lodging up on the mountain, a decent size night skiing footprint and I'm not sure but they may have some sort of deal with Bromley which isn't too far away.

 

[jimk]

Mont Tremblant?

Great suggestion except what are the odds of air temps above zero degrees for MLK weekend...brrrrr

 

[cdskier]

Here's one that might fit your criteria.. Jiminy Peak in Mass. I believe they have some lodging up on the mountain, a decent size night skiing footprint and I'm not sure but they may have some sort of deal with Bromley which isn't too far away.

No offense to Jiminy, but I can't see driving 5 hours to ski a resort that size (roughly comparable to Bristol in WNY which is <2 hrs from the OP).

 

[ThatGuy]

Yeah Jiminy is not worth it at all. I live less than 30 mins from there and still avoid it like the plague…

 

[thetrailboss]

Great suggestion except what are the odds of air temps above zero degrees for MLK weekend...brrrrr

Yeah, planning a trip around MLK Weekend may lead to disappointment. It's better to plan based on the conditions.

 

[ThatGuy]

I bet they’d be running some good deals at Bolton. Are the base facilities still dated?

I think they recently renovated some of the rooms but im not entirely sure. Either way they have really good priced ski and stay deals

 

[Tonyr]

Yes, it looks like they did a nice job renovating some of the rooms at the Bolton Valley resort. That is the going rate over MLK weekend....

 

[Tonyr]

On another note, we are staying at the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel over MLK weekend. (I've never been there before) A two queen room was around $250 per night which is a pretty good rate considering it's a holiday weekend and you're real close to the lift. The only problem is that it would take you about 10 hours to drive there from Buffalo.

 

[JimG.]

It's about 9 hours from where I live. I've been there a half dozen times and except for one brutally cold and icy trip SL has been great. Storms during 3 of my trips and good snow the 2 other times.
I like the hotel and stayed there my last 3 trips. Well worth the driving.