Family friendly ski resorts out west...looking for recommendations.

[endlessheather]

I grew up in Denver and practically lived on the mountains during college at CU. I think Copper Mountain is one of my faves for kids and it's where I grew up skiing. Breck is a great place to stay and close to Copper. The town is great to walk around and get food in. You could ski Breck too but I find for people new to that mountain it's can be a bit much. I also like Keystone but it can get super crowded so it's not the mountain I first go to with out of town guests. Beaver Creek is one of my other faves but it's pricey and a long drive unless you fly into some place closer. It's not as crowded as the other Vail resorts so that's nice and not as intense as Vail either. Steambeat is great but again a drive back to it. I skied a lot of more local type places..Arapahoe Basin being a fave while in college and we did ski Vail a ton but we had a student ski pass to a lot of mountains taking the sting away. My step-dad had a condo in Breck so I just love love that town. My mom lived in Aspen for a few years when I was younger so instead of babysitters while she worked she put us in ski school. (parents were divorced so we would go up for holidays and such) Crested Butte is another great resort but so so far removed.

I'd lean to Copper/Breck area or head farther in to Beaver Creek.

As for altitude sickness you should not get off a place in Denver and drive straight to the mountains. That's one of the main reasons people suffer from altitude sickness so bad. Stay a night in Denver and then drive up. It gives your body some time to adjust. Make sure you drink lots of water. Denver isn't a bad place to overnight in

[StantonHyde]

Kids ski free at Brighton (SLC). You can always check for packages at ski resorts as well. The drive from SLC to any of the ski resorts is only about 30-45 mins (tops). So very, very convenient. Winter break (December) will actually have less snow than March. March is great skiing--warmer and plenty of snow. And December can be so cold. I would opt for March if I could.

[twowhat?]

Breck is a great place to stay and close to Copper. The town is great to walk around and get food in. You could ski Breck too but I find for people new to that mountain it's can be a bit much.

This is interesting - I loved one of the Breckenridge greens! The one that they do all the teaching on is SOOO nice - it's really wide and had flat parts alternating with steeper parts so even if you find you are going too fast you will quickly level out. And it's long so you feel like it was worth going up the chair lift (which is an easy one for beginners). And I am totally klutzy. We did dog-sledding at Breckenridge too which was a BLAST. We saw tons of kids there in the town. I didn't have a problem with altitude other than just being out of breath going up flights of stairs but based on what PPs have said, if you go this route maybe spend a couple of days acclimating before doing any skiing and be sure to drink a ton of water.

[egoldber]

FWIW, in the group I was with where a lot of people got sick at Keystone, most of us did overnight in Denver before going up. Some people are just a lot more prone to it.

[jerseygirl07067]

When we went, years ago, to Steamboat it was kids fly/ski free. It was an excellent deal!

That's what I'm looking for. Do you remember where you got the deal from? I know they will change from year to year, but if this exists I must learn about it!

[endlessheather]

This is interesting - I loved one of the Breckenridge greens! The one that they do all the teaching on is SOOO nice - it's really wide and had flat parts alternating with steeper parts so even if you find you are going too fast you will quickly level out. And it's long so you feel like it was worth going up the chair lift (which is an easy one for beginners). And I am totally klutzy. We did dog-sledding at Breckenridge too which was a BLAST. We saw tons of kids there in the town. I didn't have a problem with altitude other than just being out of breath going up flights of stairs but based on what PPs have said, if you go this route maybe spend a couple of days acclimating before doing any skiing and be sure to drink a ton of water.

I should have phrased that differently. Breck has lots of great green runs but the mountain itself can be confusing. With the way the mountain is laid out and all the peaks you can literally spend all day traversing from peak to peak on some straight runs that you are poling yourself across to get to different areas of the mountain. I know a lot of people that can't stand Breck for this. Personally I love Breck but I know the peaks really well and know to not jump back and forth all over. For beginners there are some great runs and with it being close to town with lodging literally on the mountain it's great. I just find that some get a little confused how to get around on the mountain itself. This wouldn't affect the kids or beginners that much though. It's definitely my fave ski town to stay in.

[geochick]

As someone who lives in Salt Lake City and skis with her children---I will say that SLC is the best for family friendly skiing. If you want to stay in the mountains, then stay in Park City. Deer Valley is extremely expensive but awesome amenities. Its easy and great to get a condo in PC and then ski at either PC, the Canyons or Deer Valley. There is a shuttle that takes you everywhere. Lots of restaurants. If you want to take a day off, then come down to SLC and hit the various museums and other kid attractions.

In the Cottonwood Canyons, Brighton is absolute tops for teaching kids to ski. Solitude is a lovely resort that is very quiet and it just doesn't have the crows. Snowbird gets lots of people from all over and it has a good kids' ski school. But if you stay in the Canyons, you are kind of stuck there. Depends on what you want.

You could even stay in Salt Lake City and then ski a different place every day-if your kids don't need lessons. That's cheaper and lots of fun.

Jackson Hole is COLD-really, really cold. brrrrrrrr. Altitude doesn't seem to bother kids the way it does adults. You have to drink lots of water here. The altitude does make you more tired, so don't push them too hard.

I agree with all of this. I live in SLC too. If I were coming from out of state, I'd pick a Park City condo and ski up there...basically anywhere. My kids learned to ski at Brighton (in a canyon off of SLC), and I would never go anywhere else. It's a really good program! BUT - it's a drive from Park City. I wouldn't stay at Brighton...ever. Park City has amazing food (I suggest High West). All of Utah is child friendly. In Park City there's a fun place for kids called Monkey Mountain (geared towards kids 7 and under, I'd say). If parents need an afternoon of skiing alone and the kids are snowed out, you can always drop them there for hourly childcare. It's very fun. If you want to do something other than ski in Park City, there's always Gorgoza Park. Soldier Hollow isn't far away either. Park City also has some fun outlet shopping (Tanger). If you like higher end shopping then Park City's Main Street is the place to go.

Good luck with the planning, and have a great time.

http://www.tangeroutlet.com/parkcity/
http://www.historicparkcityutah.com/
http://www.highwest.com/
http://www.monkeymountain.com/
http://www.gorgoza.com/gorgoza/info
http://www.soldierhollow.com/tubing.php

[Radswd]

I've only been skiing once and went to Steamboat Springs. We loved it & hope to return! It was before we had kids, but I remember many offerings for kid ski school & saw many kids on the mountain. We booled through WrightTravel out of Al & got a great deal but that was years ago. We did fly straight in to Steamboat airport.

[mackmama]

Sugar Bowl in CA
Squaw Valley in CA
Brighton in UT
Beaver Creek in CO

I love Jackson Hole but wouldn't say it's family friendly. It's an extremely advanced mountain and very cold.

[mom_hanna]

Alta, Utah! I spent a lot of time skiing there growing up and it is awesome and super family friendly and an awesome ski school. My dd learned to ski there and loved it. And if you are just skiers, it is great because they do not allow snowboarding there. It is just up the road from Snowbird. Skiing is always better in March than December in Little Cottonwood canyon, too. I live in CO now and we love love love Steamboat. But ds learned to ski at Copper, which is also very family friendly and has a great ski school.