Ski resorts in colorado

[kc26]

Hello,
We are thinking about taking a trip to a ski resort in Colorado. I have never been out there before so I need some recomendations of where to stay. We are a family of 3 with a three year old. Looking to stay at a resort that is family friendly and in the village of the mountain.
Thanks
Kerry

 

[lunalibre]

Our family absolutely LOVES Steamboat Springs. This spring we will make our 10th straight trip to Steamboat. We have also skiied at Durango, Lake Tahoe (CA), and Breckinridge, but Steamboat is definitely our ski "home". The people are friendly, the ski school is great, and the entire area is "all-ages"-friendly. By that I mean that not only does it have a family atmosphere, but you'll also see groups of retirees skiing together as well as high school and college kids trying out the terrain parks. Some of the best-mannered people we've met have been young snowboarders with, um, alternative dress styles. Nearly everyone every year has been friendly and considerate towards us and our kids.

Now, a good friend of mine and her family have also really enjoyed Winter Park, but there's not much of a base village.

If you have any other questions, let me know and I'll try to answer them.

 

[Stasieki]

I have also been to a lot of the Colorodo ski towns (more, though, when my Dad was paying for it ). I recall loving Steamboat Springs the best, too. I wasn't a big fan of Vail or Aspen. Also, I liked Breckenridge. We now go to Telluride which is a little harder to get to, but great family fun (but smaller than the other places).

 

[Maryr1]

We have been to both Vail and Steamboat-love them both-Steamboat used to have a "kids ski free/eat free/stay free" deal. For every full paying adult you got 1 free child-rental stuff, meals, lift tickets. Don't know if that is still in effect. It was a great deal! Most recently we have been going to Vail-the ski school there is WONDERFUL! Great childcare mixed with ski instuction for the little ones. In recent years Vail has become much more family oriented. It would be a toss up for me-but I don't think you could go wrong with either.

 

[lunalibre]

I have never been to Vail, so I can't speak for their child care/ski school.

We last went to Breckenridge about 10 years ago, when DS was just over a year old. We HATED their childcare. At the time, it was in a building where you had no visibility into where the kids were staying, you couldn't call to check on your child, and you weren't allowed to tour the child care area in advance. I was NOT HAPPY, but we really didn't have any other choice at the time. I feel quite certain that all of those conditions have changed in 10 years!!! However, for our next trip we went back to Steamboat. Our daughter has never been anywhere else. At Steamboat, you have great visibility into all the child care areas. The infant room has a window at adult height so you can look in and your child can't (or at least isn't likely) to see you. You can call the child care center for free at any time from any of the restroom areas on the mountain, and they will tell you how your child is doing. If you don't have a cell phone, they'll give you a pager to carry. If your child is skiing, all children are assigned GPS locaters at the beginning of the ski school day.

Our children have never skiied anywhere but Steamboat. DS11 skiis waaaaay better than I do. I'll ski groomed black runs, but he'll do moguls and go anywhere we let him go. Obviously he's learned all that from ski school because there's no way we could have taught him that. This is likely to be the last year I ski better than DD8. I think I need to go back to ski school so I can keep up with my kids.

FWIW, yes, Steamboat is still doing the promotion where, for every adult 5 day lift ticket purchased, one child 12 and under skis for free. Most ski rental places have the same deal (5 day adult rental gets a kids 5 day rental for free). Teen lift tickets are 75% of the cost of an adult ticket. We have never seen any deals where kids ate for free with adult purchase, though.

So, Steamboat is a great deal for a family of four with two kids under 12. However, Winter Park is cheaper for my friend with 4 kids. Once DS outgrows the "kids 12 and under ski free" program, we may give Breckenridge a try again. We did like the town, and the skiing was nice. We just didn't like their child care for kids waaaaaay back then.

 

[4fordisneyworld]

I actually live a little over an hour from Telluride! Sad to say though, even living here for 8 yrs, we have never skied!
I can say that is absolutely beautiful in Telluride. Our little airport stays busy with skiers headed in that direction!

Good luck choosing a place!

amanda

 

[MickeyWanaBe]

Ah skiing... If it weren't for our Disney addiction we would do a lot more skiing! We to ski! My parent took my sister and I skiing every other year since I was 5 and she was 3 until we were high schoolish age. We have since gone with my parents as adults with our son when he was 4 and again at 6 years old.

We have skiied Devil's Head (WI), Keystone, Breckenridge, A-Basin,Copper, Vail, and Steamboat. My parents used to go ever year and have skiied many many other places. Too many to list and heck I can't remember them all. Anyway, since discovering the Keystone area we keep going back! We love it there and there are so many option in that area. Keystone is our favorite, but in the same area (and same ticket) you can ski Keystone, Breckenridge, Vail, and A-Basin. And also in the same area, but seperate ticket is Copper.

We find Keystone our favorite because it has something for everyone! They have the trails for beginner (Schoolmarm) to the back bowls for the experts only. They have many dining options spread out at the base of the mountain and on the mountain so there is usually a place fairly close to stop and rest and warm up the little ones. We also find Keystone much easier to get around. Breckenridge used to be aweful to try to get from one side to the other, but that has changed drastically on the past several years.

Keystone has River Run Village where you can stay right at the base of the mountain (kind of pricey) or you can stay in any of the surrounding mountain towns. We usually stay in Silverthorn or Dillon which is about a 15 minute drive to Keystone and much cheaper.

I have been in ski school many times way back when... and we put our son in ski school/day care when he was 3. I don't remember if we made him go to ski school when he was 6. I don't think we did. He took to it like a duck to water.

At age three when we took him he was a little young. Ski school for him was more like daycare. I believe they also had a purely ski school option also for about the same price. We opted for the longer day the first two days. They would play for a while then head out for some lesson learning pizza wedges and french fries. They got cold fast and if the kids didn't show interest they would let them go in. The "lesson" included lunch and a nap and then they would go out again for some fun in the snow. They did learn and they got a report card each day that said what they did. He enjoyed it and after we picked him up in the afternoons to ski with us he asking if he could do french fries and go fast! My dad injured his already bum knee on this trip so he then decided he would run around with DS to save some money.

At age 6 we had to hold him back. He was a natural and had no fear. We haven't taken him since. We have been going to WDW every year some time twice a year. Every winter I get the itch to go skiing. Last year we went with some friend on a couples only trip and had fun. I don't think DS 12 would let us go again with out him. We thought about going this year but with DS 2 decided to hold off a year or two. I think 2 is a little too young.

Now I have gone off on several different tangents, but to answer your question I would suggest the Keystone area. If you have any specific questions just ask. I can even give us suggestions on where to rent your equipment if you need it.

BTW, I have begun to wonder if we could sneak away for a long weekend just DH, DS 12 and I...

 

[MickeyWanaBe]

On a side note... We felt DS was too young at age four. It is not like you can put them in a stroller and head down the mountain... Well I guess you could, but I wouldn't recommend it. It is not allowed. So unless your child is fairly advanced it might be tough. Either they will be in ski school/daycare all day or someone will have to stay with them. And if you have never been skiing before I dobut you will feel comfortable enough taking a child that small out with you. I skiied with DS (age 4) between my legs all the way down the mountain. I held my poles out in front of me (tops in one hand and the bottom in the other) and he held onto the middle. By the time we got to the bottom once his legs were like wet noodles. He didn't have the leg strength to do it that long and hard.

This is the part I hated... I made my dad ride up with him because you actually had to lift him up onto the seat as it came up behind you. I didn't even feel comfortable with DH doing it since he had only been skiing a couple of times. This is from the 6 year old trip. He still had to ride with Grandpa acording to me!

Don't let this scare you off. I am way over protective and heights bother me slightly. I don't think it bothered DH at all, yet he didn't put up a fight when I said DS was to ride up with grandpa.

If you do go I would suggest a harness of some type. We see them all the time with little ones out there. Just to keep them close. When my parents took my sister at age 3, my dad would told on to her by the back of her snow bibs. Maybe you have skiied before and know what you are getting into and if so I am more than will to help all that I can.