Snow tubing for Thanksgiving

[DisMommyTX]

I just found out that I will have a full week off for Thanksgiving this year. Yeah!! We were trying to think of a fun getaway with the kids that won't be quite as packed as Disney. My kids have never seen snow (live in South Texas) so it would be great to take them someplace we could go snow tubing or at least throw a few snow balls. I don't think we could handle skiing right now--son has special needs.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a part of the US that usually has good snow by Thanksgiving? We'd prefer to fly in to a larger city but don't mind a couple hour day trip up a mountain. It looks like Denver or Buffalo might work. I really don't even know where to start trying to plan this trip!

 

[barkley]

dang, if you were closer to us I would recommend silver mountain in Kellogg Idaho-we've done thanksgiving a couple times there. they have an awesome tubing run and if you stay at their lodge it includes admission to a huge indoor climate controlled waterpark (only open to lodging guests or group events).

I would suggest a place that offers more than just snow activities-the fascination w/snow runs out quick when the cold sets in so you want something else for to do. we chose the place I mentioned above b/c it offers the water park AND we can get a multi room condo type accommodation so when our special needs son needs some space to himself (sensory stuff-it can get overwhelming) he can go into a separate room and video game or just wind down. I also like having a full kitchen so I can hit a local grocery store, grab an abbreviated version of our thanksgiving food favorites and prepare it (I know some like to go out for thanksgiving dinner if traveling-for us it's the leftovers that mean most).

maybe look on trip advisor for the areas you would be willing to fly into?


p.s. you might want to check out the on-line companies that rent snow apparel-they are allot less expensive than buying stuff your kids might not ever wear again, many offer free shipping both ways-and you might be able to arrange shipping direct to your lodging (and return pickup as well) to keep from having to schlep it from home and back.

 

[mnrose]

I'd think you'd have to go the mountains somewhere...Colorado, Utah, maybe northern Vermont or New York, although I am less familiar with that area. In Minnesota and the upper midwest, we rarely have snow enough for tubing at Thanksgiving. Even the mountains in California do not have reliable tubing that early. Christmas? Yes. Thanksgiving, no.

 

[AppleDumpling]

^^^Agree with this. November is early. There needs to be a deep base layer of natural snow and/or be cold enough for an extended time to use snowmaking machines. We ski in the northeast and rarely are conditions good until at least late December or January.

Look at www.snowpak.com, there's a list of projected opening dates for ski resorts in North America, many of which have snow tubing areas. Keep in mind it is projected dates and will change every year. Seems like your best places might be Colorado, Utah or western Canada.

 

[bcla]

I agree it's a little bit too early to rely on being able to tube that early. Many of the ski areas that might open early might not have a full slate of facilities open.

I'd note that today I took my kid to a great ski area near Lake Tahoe called Soda Springs. They have a section called "Planet Kids" with a reasonable fee of $39 for kids 4-8 which includes one adult to accompany, and $10 for additional adults. They have plenty of tubes, a junior hill, a longer hill, and a place for beginner skiers/boarders, although you'd need to bring your own or rent. I don't know what other similar setups there might be around the country.

Another issue is that it might be difficult if you've never driven on snow or ice.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I don't know how far you want to go or the cold you want to encounter but if you want something semi close you can go to Ruidoso, NM. You could either drive it from your area or fly into Albuquerque, NM and drive over to Ruidoso. Plenty of cabins to rent and it's very pretty. Easy to drive around and see other places.

 

[low-key]

Great Ideal there are so many places, make sure what ever place you pick they have a lift to get you back up the hill, also Tobogganing might be the way to go they have many of them at Ski resorts where they will make there own snow if there isn't any out . Plus you could all ride together

 

[3boymthr]

You might have trouble finding a place that's open for tubing that early in the season. In New england most tubing runs that I'm familiar with don't open until right before Christmas. Colorado might be different but before booking a trip I'd double check with the ski resorts on their projected opening dates. Especially the tubing runs which don't always open when the ski runs open if it's been a dry year.

On another note I went to ruidoso years ago and while we didn't ski or tube I agree with lovemygoofy it's a great place to visit and I was surprised at how cold it was even in mid May so you might have a good chance of tubing there at thanksgiving.

Oth if you just want to see snow how about crater lake. They had snow in July. Yellowstone did too. Glacier national park might have snow then too. I think you stand a good chance of seeing snow at these national parks even if you don't tube.

 

[bcla]

You would t necessarily have to use a commercial area. It's possible to rent the equipment and find a place like a sno-park or other public lands. I know in California, the designated son-parks require a paid parking permit. Last year I took my kid sledding for the first time, and found a parking lot on Forest Service land next to a decent sledding area, although there were trees. Other areas had roadside parking, but with wide meadow areas.

 

[DisMommyTX]

Thanks everyone for the great input. You have given me a lot to research. Jan-Apr is DD's competition season, so it's not really possible to travel then. I've been to Ski Apache and Ruidoso but I was hoping some places might open earlier in the season. Kellogg, ID sounds perfect and it is only an hour drive from Spokane WA, but that would still require a very long three-leg flight for us. I didn't realize Yellowstone had snow, I know my husband would love that. We planned to take the kids one summer, but that might be an option instead. DH and I have been to Glacier but the flights seemed to take forever. I'll look more into the CO and UT mountain areas too, those would be closest to us.

Thanks again everyone for the great suggestions, and if you have any other ideas of places with early snow, please share!