How to Plan a Ski Vacation?

Question

My wife and I are doing some preliminary searching in order to plan a ski vacation for December 13-20. We are located out of Chicago, and would like to find a place in the US or Canada. Young, athletic couple, both first time skiers on a decent sized budget. Just hoping to be pointed in the right direction in regards to city, resort, mountain, etc.

So far I'm finding a lot of information about Denver/Aspen/Vancouver. Ideally, we'd like to be able to fly into a place, have an average taxi ride to the resort (up to 40 mins), take beginner lessons with rentals, and spend a few days just having fun in the snow. The other things we're looking for would be a decent restaurant or town as we're planning to stay near the resort the whole time, no rental car. We're not really interested in taking an adventure to a remote ski-town, but would like to have a good time without paying ridiculous prices for below average amenities.

Your suggestions/links/comments are much appreciated.

Answer 1

A lot of colorado resorts, especially Beaver Creek and Aspen are pretty expensive, but the snow is worth it!

Lake Tahoe, NV/CA is beautiful, and Heavanly is probably one of the best place I have ever skiied. A downside is, though, that if you're stayig at the top of the mountain, it takes a bit to get down to the town espeically if there is snow.

Park City, Utah is also a lot of fun, and the lessons there are some of the best. There is a very nice "town" there too for restaurants and such.

Another one of my favorites is Breckenridge, Colorado. Breckenridge has an amazing town and the mountain is one of the bests!

Vancouver is a lot of fun too!

If you're looking on the east coast, there's always Vermont and New Hampshire, but I would reccommend the West Coast for skiing.

If you're planning on going to Aspen, Buttermilk (the mountain) is a great beginner mountain, as apposed to Aspen Mountain.

There are many other places to go to, but I have found these the best so far, and I am a experienced snowboarder, have been for all my life, and have been all over the country, and these have suit me well.

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 2

So this may be a bit biased because I not only work at the mountain, but I've skied there every winter for the past 7 years. I would recommend Sunday River in Bethel, Maine. They have two main resorts to choose from (both on the opposite sides of the mountain) The Learn to Ski program is great (I work as a ski instructor and could possibly offer you a small discount on lessons) The town is also great because you don't need to rent a car to get anywhere. They have a bus that takes visitors from the mountain to the town for free. Even though it's not Colorado, it's the best out East. Here's the website where you can get more information about the resorts. www.sundayriver.com

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

from chicago I wouldnt waste my time with east coast. you are looking for a "destination resort" while I didnt love it beaver creek colo was tops on the list for my family. vail is close by so you could take advantage of some of the activities there too.  my top choice would be steamboat. fly right into hayden. 30 min drive (shuttles avail) lots to do. great skiing.

Answer 4

Steamboat, CO is the best for you, they have a very diverse group of trails, and a lot of easy ones. (green circles) If you feel a little adventurous you can go to the intermediate back bowl which has great trails. The town is charming, the lodging is reasonable compared to vail, beaver creek and lake tahoe. and the powder snow is known throughout the world!

Or try Revelstoke, BC