Best Family Ski Resorts

All of your choices should be excellent, though Breck and Steamboat are the best town settings of the three. We're very partial to Breck due to the town and the variety of terrain the mountain offers.

Never heard of Taos. I'll check it out. Is it comparable price-wise to some of the above-mentioned places.

To be honest, the higher elevation at Breck is a little bit of a concern for me. We will have multiple first-time skiers, and I'm little worried about some not adjusting well. That being said, I don't even know if it matters whether we are at 5,000 or 10,000 ft.

I typically recommend Granby Ranch for a family friendly, beginner ski location. It's a fun mountain that anyone can be dangerous on in a few hours. Its also lower elevation. You can definitely feel a difference when it comes to the higher elevation locations

My random thoughts

Steamboat - Really is overrated. I know I will catch some heat for that, but I just did my first trip there and I doubt I will ever go back. I try to factor in the Cov19 rules put in place, but the town itself paled to many other ski towns. The mountain itself is large with many runs though and the snow can be amazing. Steamboat the town is just missing some of that charm. Too many commercialized parts, kind of felt like a town that would be there with or without the ski resort.

Keystone - Nothing to do when done skiing. Keystone is a fun mountain for beginning skiiers. When the day is over though, prepare to drive to find any life. You can stay in Dillon which will put you close to civilization, but it will be a little commute to the mountain. Once again, missing a lot of charm.

Breckenridge - One of the best, but everybody else knows it. Breckenridge is one of the most complete ski resorts and ski towns in America. There are more runs at any skiing level than you will need in one trip. Views are amazing, as is the snow. The town is right at the base of the mountain and while similar to Steamboat is come commercialization, it offset by feeling part of the mountain. Crowds are the largest issue, as everyone wants to go to Breckenridge. Good skiers can escape to other parts of their massive trail system, but the more novice skiers sometimes get shafted with crowded lifts and trails. Timing is key, Mardi Gras would be better I think than Christmas. March pretty much sucks there when Spring Breakers start arriving.

A couple others worthy of a look -
Crested Butte - Hidden Gem. I have skied this mountain more than any other Colorado mountain (Breck, Vail, Loveland, Steamboat, Broadmoor, Keystone). Crested Butte may be one of the coolest ski towns in Colorado. It is off the tourist paths and most everything is local or has a local feel. The mountain is smaller than Breck or Steamboat, maybe inline with Keystone. The crowds are much less though. It is not the most novice friendly mountain, however there are plenty of greens and blues. Ski schools are normally not very crowded. My kids got a private lesson for the cost of group a couple of years back. Views are really awesom and there is a nice sledding hill in town and ice skating rink at the Nordic Center.

Telluride - Next on my list. Was supposed to go there this year for first time, but covid made us wait. Other people here have been and can give you more details, but it is an awesome mountain based off my research.

Heavenly/Squaw Valley - Beauty of Lake Tahoe. These are just two of the more famous resorts, but there are others. Heavenly and Squaw are about 40 miles apart. Lake Tahoe in normal years gets amazing snow and probably has the most amazing views off any mountain. Squaw is more novice friendly with greens all the way from the top, but Heavenly is my more favorite mountain. Pretty cool things to do off the mountain. There are these adventure parks nearby for sledding and random snow fun. Not much for ski town atmosphere, but Heavenly has casinos on the Nevada side.

Tahoe would be at the top of the list especially for MG timeframe. Lower elevation, a variety of mountains for everyone (Diamond Peak is a great small mountain and a great place to learn on the cheap). Easy logistics for a big group.

I don’t get the love for Breck and laugh when it’s called a “ski town”. It’s strip of touristy bullshite that you get your fill in a 15min walk so don’t let the “town” factor in heavily on the decision. The mountain has some great green runs to learn on and enough terrain to keep everyone interested. You could go to Keystone or Copper one day to mix things up.

Vail and Deer Valley are awesome but certainly more expensive which tends to be difficult with larger groups of varying discretionary income.

Keystone doesn’t have a lot to do but it’s a great mountain. It doesn’t have many green rules and they tend to be crowded.

Crested Butte is amazing. The mountain isn’t all that big for beginnings but the runs they have are great. There are many large homes in the area that may be able to accommodate your entire group in close proximity. The homes likely won’t be ski in/out but the bus system eliminates the need to get in a car everyday. The town has a lot of restaurants. You can fly into Gunnison and take a bus or shuttle to your place. Just be sure to grab all the groceries you need in Gunnison because CB doesn’t have a reliable supermarket. If you are able to stay in a ski in/out place, kids play and sled on the runs after the lifts close. The crowds will be much smaller than the other places mentioned.

quote:

---

Never heard of Taos. I'll check it out. Is it comparable price-wise to some of the above-mentioned places.

To be honest, the higher elevation at Breck is a little bit of a concern for me. We will have multiple first-time skiers, and I'm little worried about some not adjusting well. That being said, I don't even know if it matters whether we are at 5,000 or 10,000 ft.

---

Taos is generally a little cheaper than breck/steamboat but their response to NMs retarded COVID rules was to jack up prices massively. Selfishly I was pissed as it meant we didn't go this year, but logically I don't blame them. If you're only allowed to operate your outdoor recreation area at 25% capacity, might as well make sure it's the 25% with deep pockets. We'll see what things look like next season. Note that Taos is MUCH better in all aspects than any other nearby ski areas, and the only one in the state on par with the others you were initially looking at. IMNSHO it is the only place in NM worth skiing.

There is a massive difference between 5,000' and 10,000' in terms of potential for altitude sickness, general comfort, etc. Most people who go from sea level straight to 5,000' will be just fine. Maybe a little short of breath exercising at first but that is generally considered the very lower limit of where altitude related stuff starts to show up. On the other hand, many people have a pretty rough time going straight from sea level to 10k. You won't know how it affects you until you try it. I'm happy to expand more on altitude and how to deal with it if you want.

quote:

---

Most of the kids will be skiing for first time, so places with good ski schools and kids' activities are a plus.

---

Steamboat has a green that goes summit to bottom.

ETA also its lower elev than breck.

1. No. Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Northstar are Vail properties so they use Epic. Squaw and Alpine Meadows are on Ikon. The others will have their own tickets. I’m a huge fan of Heavenly and Kirkwood.
2. The most popular area to stay would be at the base of Heavenly and the Casinos around Stateline.

It's been a while since we went on a ski vacation with our children, but back in the day, Park City, Utah was fantastic for families.