6 Ski Vacations Your Family Will Snow Doubt Love
Discover Mountains Perfect for Families
A cold kiss of winter air. The soft swish of fresh snow. A sudden rush of adrenaline at the grip of gravity, the world whirling beneath you and the slope stealing you away. No wonder snow skiing has become such a popular vacation activity for people the world over — families included.
Of course, everything gets more complicated when children are involved. Yes, little ones can have a wonderful time snowplowing their way down the mountain. But kid-friendly slopes, appropriate amenities and additional kinds of entertainment are the proverbial powder on the run.
Read on to discover seven of the best family ski vacations in North America and Europe.
Beaver Creek, CO
Most consider Colorado the king of U.S. winter sports, and its various mountain resorts certainly compete with one another over the difficulty of their runs, the quality of their snow and the luxuriousness of their accommodations. Beaver Creek holds it own in any of these areas, but it boasts something the others lack: chocolate chip cookies.
Yes, you read that correctly. Every day at precisely 3 p.m., resort chefs gather around lift six to hand out Beaver Creek’s decadent signature dessert. Forbes’ Allison Olmstead calls Beaver Creek “amazingly welcoming to families,” and it shows in more than just the resort’s sweets.
The newly opened 200-acre Red Buffalo Park offers 13 family learning trails, a snow sculpture area and multiple Kids’ Adventure Zones.
Tremblant, Quebec, Canada
Plug Tremblant into your search engine of choice and you’ll find more than one reference to this “candy-colored” ski town. A quaint, seemingly misplaced Alpine town, brightly painted structures on cobblestone streets meet excellent eateries — and that’s all before you slap on your skis.
With over 600 acres of slopes (and plans to expand that area to 1,000), Mount Tremblant has some of Quebec’s best skiing. Veterans won’t have any trouble finding challenging runs, but a big draw is its excellent ecole de neige (i.e., snow camp) for children.
Parents can feel perfectly safe enjoying couple’s time on any of the mountain’s 96 trails while their little ones learn to safely navigate the bunny hill.
A Tremblant travel guide will tell you that opportunities other than skiing also abound. Enjoy a snowshoe hike. Try your hand at dog sledding or snowmobiling. Horse-drawn carriages can whisk you and your loved ones through the chill, and kids will adore the hot pools at Aquaclub LaSource after a day on the mountain.
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Park City, Utah
No mention of Park City would be complete without bringing up Park City Mountain Resort. A Vail Resort development, this multi-site property sprawls over 7,000 acres. But families should know they have plenty of other options, many of which cater specifically to them.
Take Canyons Resort, which covers a still impressive 4,000 acres and provides free skiing for children ages 6 and under. Deer Valley aims to entertain little ones off the mountain, specializing in swank accommodations with kid-centric amenities such as bowling alleys and year-round outdoor heated pools.
And don’t dismiss Park City Mountain Resort simply because it’s big. Size offers certain advantages. Nearly two-thirds of its runs are beginner or intermediate. What’s more, its Ultimate 5 program serves up serious ski instruction in super small groups.
