Family-friendly ski resort…

Gwchem said:
O.P. I want to reiterate, as a dad of 7 and 9 year olds in an avid skiing family, that you would be better served with a small family resort where your boy can handle his day. People suggesting Breck and Big Sky have no idea what it's like taking a 5 year old for his first time.

My kids are comfortable at Steamboat, but that's cause we started at timberline and canaan, West Virginia.
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Good points. Thanks.
 
Drive to West Virginia
Canaan Valley
gettuckered.com

Ski the Valley: Best Ski Resorts in Canaan Valley, WV | Tucker County Winter Adventures

Discover the best ski resorts in Canaan Valley, WV, with Ski the Valley. Experience pristine slopes, cozy lodges, and unforgettable winter adventures in Tucker County!
gettuckered.com gettuckered.com
Snowshoe
Winter Place
winterplace.com

West Virginia’s Best Skiing & Snowboarding

Winterplace Ski Resort | Voted #1 place to learn to ski and snowboard in the South East!
winterplace.com winterplace.com
Wisp in Maryland

Home - Wisp

www.wispresort.com www.wispresort.com

We go up to Canaan and tube, they have the longest snow tube park on the east coast.
 
Since you’re in Florida, you should also be looking at New England ski resorts, Fly into Manchester NH or Burlington VT. Rent a car and can hit multiple resorts within a hour from either airport.
 
Panhandler80 said:
Thanks! I’ve actually skied Angel Fire before. Drove from Amarillo. Wasn’t super impressed. Went to Taos after a couple days. It was quite a bit better.

Just got back to replying. Ran rough numbers by wife and she’s OUT. “I don’t like cold, or heights, and that’s expensive.”

So back to drawing board. Last year was a 7 day cruise and I effing hated it. Trying come up with coming different.

Thanks for all the input.
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Panhandler80 said:
Thanks! I’ve actually skied Angel Fire before. Drove from Amarillo. Wasn’t super impressed. Went to Taos after a couple days. It was quite a bit better.

Just got back to replying. Ran rough numbers by wife and she’s OUT. “I don’t like cold, or heights, and that’s expensive.”

So back to drawing board. Last year was a 7 day cruise and I effing hated it. Trying come up with coming different.

Thanks for all the input.
Click to expand...
If skiing is out, what about North Georgia for camping and hiking? You may be able to rent a cabin so you aren’t camping in the cold.
 
I have a 4 and 6 year old. Started them two years ago.

We go on a family trip for 4-5 days to crested butte. Airline tickets a bit pricey likely without a 4 hour drive from Denver.

But lodging and lessons are much cheaper (more than half) the other big vail resorts. Great place for kids to learn.

We frequent Breck and keystone fwiw. They are fine. But busy. Keystone less so than Breck and agree more kid friendly.

We just moved from Niceville area of NW FL. If you’re military by chance get the epic pass and ski one of the many vail reports. Nearly free. Kids can ski free some days too (below 5 are free always).

I’ve skied east coast and MT. I won’t ski east coast again. Not the same league IMO as Rockies (or even Tahoe). MT was nice.

As far as the wife. I REALLY enjoy dad time with just the kids. You will have to take it easy but it’s fun. My kids out ski my wife now….so they prefer it too.
 
Not sure about flights but if I were you I would consider the some “smaller” mountains. You might have to rent a car but it might be worth looking at Silver Mountain in Idaho. It has an indoor water park, Gondola style lift, smaller mountain feel with big mountain amenities. It’s about an hour and half outside Spokane, WA.

Another to consider would be Mt, Bachelor in Oregon. Bend has a ton of fun stuff to do and Sunriver resort has some of the most affordable vacation rentals I’ve found. Again you would probably have to rent a car.

I get that flights to Denver from Florida are probably cheaper but just something to consider looking into.
 
My snowboarding buddies love Loveland. Doesn't fit your airline friendly vibe, but Wolf Creek was fun. Very family friendly, inexpensive. Im a novice but they have some good backcountry stuff. Pagosa Springs has some good eats. It does take 25 minutes to get to the ski area from there and I don't think there is lodging on site. We stayed at an air bnb in Pagosa. Ive never been to Ski Cooper but my daughter has. It's out of the way and good for novices though. I have elk hunted on the mountain though....lol.
 
Snowshoe is not cheap last time I was there, but It was very similar to what I experienced in Idaho. Great place for the east coast.
 
I haven't gotten out snowboarding the last couple years because the mrs was either prego or we had a newborn. Would like to get out this year and i'm curious if folks have used daycare at the hills? We've got a 1.5 and 3 YO that we'd need care for to enjoy the hills.
 
For anyone with kids, I recommend Snowy Range Ski Area in southern Wyoming. Very family oriented and very low cost lift tickets and lodging. Generally not steep enough for a powder day for the discerning skier, but kids won't care. It's probably a 3 hour drive from Denver. Mostly Colorado folks skiing there.
 
wind gypsy said:
I haven't gotten out snowboarding the last couple years because the mrs was either prego or we had a newborn. Would like to get out this year and i'm curious if folks have used daycare at the hills? We've got a 1.5 and 3 YO that we'd need care for to enjoy the hills.
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Never too early to start the kiddos! We started our boys on skis around that age, it definitely adds a different element to the ski trips, but now they (7 and 8yo now) are skiing all the hills with us and no help:-). Never used the daycare, but we have friends that have and liked it.
 
You might be interested in Powderhorn Resort outside of Grand Junction, CO. It’s small, more affordable, and uncrowded. Downsides would be there is no nightlife if you stay at the resort which is on Grand Mesa, you’d have to rent a condo and cook your own meals or drive the 35 minutes to Palisade or 45 minutes to Grand Junction for dinners. Delta just started flying to Grand Junction. I live nearby in Palisade and have a season ski pass. Having grown up on the slopes of Mt Werner (Steamboat) I understand that Powderhorn does not offer what a real resort has to offer but it could be a great vacation if you understand the limitations.
 
Sandstrom said:
Never too early to start the kiddos! We started our boys on skis around that age, it definitely adds a different element to the ski trips, but now they (7 and 8yo now) are skiing all the hills with us and no help:). Never used the daycare, but we have friends that have and liked it.
Click to expand...

Considered that too, but the older one (3) is pretty tentative and I foresee having her do it at this point is likely a good way to waste whatever $ the wife and I would have into lift tickets on that day. Would be a good thing for us to try on a small Midwest hill near home before making bigger plans.
 
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