Family-friendly ski resort…

[BBob]

That would be a great way to spend half of your trip stuck in traffic on I-70 and half of the remainder stuck in a lift line.

Eldora is kind of a cool little spot.

Not so much if you're motivated and get an early start to the resorts and head back early.

Edit: I can be a motivated snow person. Up at 4am looking at the snow cams deciding where to go. Head out early while it's still dark and not many on the road. Nap, eat, drink coffee in the parking lot or head into the villages for the same with the rest of the smart early birds. By 2 I'm headed for the car and back to town before the traffic rodeo Copper is another that's easy to do this with. Right off the highway so easy early in and out access to the highway

 

[Poser]

Here's an idea:

Forget Spring Break. Spring Break sucks and any passholder to most any ski area will agree without question it is the worst and most dangerous window of time to be out skiing at a resort.

Wait until May and go to Keystone or another area that is open late. Its warm. The snow is soft. There are basically no crowds and few if any Jerrys. Its cheaper.

 

[Mojave]

Still going with Norway. Cheap lift tickets, reasonable hotels and expensive food.

 

[intunegp]

Still going with Norway. Cheap lift tickets, reasonable hotels and expensive food.

24 hours of flying for 48 hours of hanging out in a foreign country might be tough on a 5 year old

 

[schmalzy]

Here's an idea:

Forget Spring Break. Spring Break sucks and any passholder to most any ski area will agree without question it is the worst and most dangerous window of time to be out skiing at a resort.

Wait until May and go to Keystone or another area that is open late. Its warm. The snow is soft. There are basically no crowds and few if any Jerrys. Its cheaper.

This is the answer. Lodging will be super cheap as well. If keystone already shut down Breck should be going.


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[Bachto]

This is the answer. Lodging will be super cheap as well. If keystone already shut down Breck should be going.


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Keystone will be shut down, they have to shut down the second weekend of April along with many other resorts/ski areas depending on their forest service lease. I remember one year Keystone got a foot of snow on the last day it was open and they couldn't stay open longer.

 

[schmalzy]

Keystone will be shut down, they have to shut down the second weekend of April along with many other resorts/ski areas depending on their forest service lease. I remember one year Keystone got a foot of snow on the last day it was open and they couldn't stay open longer.

Ah that makes sense. I wondered why Breck was still open early May and keystone wasn’t.


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[Mojave]

I would never ski in Colorado when you can ski Montana or Alberta. No crowds better snow.

 

[Poser]

Ah that makes sense. I wondered why Breck was still open early May and keystone wasn’t.


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That jogged my memory. Keystone has to close down for elk migrations. Breckenridge stays open well into May.

 

[Panhandler80]

That jogged my memory. Keystone has to close down for elk migrations. Breckenridge stays open well into May.

“I’ll take a lift ticket and an elk tag, please.”

 

[MuleDeerMike]

Grew up in the mountains. Been skiing/snowboarding my whole life. My wife taught lessons to little kids ages 3 to 10 for I think 12 years or so. I would imagine every ski resort in the US has a magic carpet/rope tow bunny hill at it. That's where a 5 year old whose never skied before will be spending their first weekend on a mountain so with that being said any resort with a magic carpet should work for you. Also I would add to go somewhere with cold, dry snow and not wet, heavy snow. Kids in wet snow will be short lived and miserable for everyone involved.

 

[LongWayAround]

I would never ski in Colorado when you can ski Montana or Alberta. No crowds better snow.

That's actually a really good suggestion.

One of my coworkers went to Banff/Jasper last winter and he said it was stupid cheap compared to skiing here. I'm not sure what the resort name was but it was right there.

 

[tony]

Yeah. Not driving 14 hrs with him and spending $300 on gas when we can fly for $550. My thought process, anyway

You can fly into Charleston, Huntington or maybe Beckley and rent a car.

 

[Panhandler80]

You can fly into Charleston, Huntington or maybe Beckley and rent a car.

Last time I was in Charleston I was 21 buying Everclear for a party in Va. Oddly enough also 21 years ago almost to the date.

 

[def90]

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.

? Big Sky has way more beginner terrain and much smaller crowds than Steamboat.

Breckenridge is one of the last places I would take a beginner. The crowds there are insane.

 

[def90]

That’s crazy talk! Stay in Boulder or west Denver and you can hit several resorts easily in day trips. No way it’ll add up to anywhere near that much. Eldora isn’t far out of Boulder and is a nice small resort great for a day or two. Winter Park, Loveland much quicker to get to than the biggies like Breckenridge or Keystone.

And if it's dumps a ton of snow you are asking a Floridian to make that I70 drive multiple days in a row..

 

[WashCycle]

I would also vote for keystone as well. Ease of access, many shuttle services, direct flights on the cheap from Florida, the kids learn to ski area is at the top-it's an enclosed area, has a magic carpet as well as a smaller lift if your kiddo is ready to move on from the magic carpet. It can get crowded on the weekends but if you're staying at the resort, it's literally not an issue. If you get a epic multi-day pass, you could even swing over to Breckenridge for a day of slopes and the town. The skiing itself there is massively overrated but the town is great spot to check out as a tourist. I hit up 12-15 week days a year at keystone and at least 10 of those days, lift lines are less than 5 min and often ride right on. I'm strictly a weekday skier, weekend traffic is just maddening and literally ruins any and all enjoyment.

If you rent a car, make sure you get a 4wd. Don't be the jag that rents the cheapest thing possible and ends up on i70things Instagram in a ditch.

 

[BBob]

And if it's dumps a ton of snow you are asking a Floridian to make that I70 drive multiple days in a row..

Not if he hits up Eldora if it does.

 

[jtevanMT]

I would stay away from the larger resorts and high lift ticket prices. There are a lot of family friendly ski areas that are great for kids and less expensive. Although, you will need to rent a car at many smaller ski areas.

My vote would be to stay at C’mon Inn (kid friendly with pool) in Bozeman (Delta flights from several cities) and ski at Bridger Bowl. You could also drive down to Yellowstone NP for the day and visit Museum of the Rockies (Dinosaur museum). Fun for the entire family.

Bozeman, MT- Bridger Bowl

Missoula, MT- Snow Bowl, Lost Trail Powder Mountain

Kalispell, MT- Blacktail Mountain and Big Mountain

Kellog, ID- Silver Mountain