Hawghunter

I want to plan a trip for the week after Christmas in December, 2016. It is our 50th wedding anniversary and my grandchildren ages 16-21 have never seen snow so it will be a family vacation. We live in central Florida and want to be able to drive to our destination. There will be 13 in our group including a new great granddaughter who will only be 1. We do not ski but want the grandchildren to see snow and experience a true winter environment. Have thought about Stone Mountain area in Georgia or Tennessee. Suggestions are welcomed.

doug_stallings

I'd go to Asheville, NC. It's a longer drive, but I think it's a more interesting destination.

suewoo

There's no guarantee of snow anywhere but at the ski resorts where they make it if there isn't any.

Look at Boone/Blowing Rock.

NewbE

What suewoo said. I certainly understand having to drive with a group that large, but nowhere within reasonable driving distance will be certain to have anything but man-made snow.

DC is about 13 hours' drive (my SIL lives in Central FL and has a lead foot), and that's a great destination for a large family group, but it may or may not have snow.

BigRuss

You must live in Miami or at the southern edge of Florida if you think Georgia and Tennessee are true winter environments. There is not one place on your list (going by your topic tags) that will guarantee a "true winter environment" during the winter as a whole, never mind December when it's not necessarily dead of winter (that's late January and February).

Certainly none is even a good bet to have snow during December. It happens (sheeyoot, we had snow in DALLAS a few Xmases ago . . . melted 20 hours later), but there's no guarantee and even the southern Appalachian excuses for ski areas offer little actual snow as opposed to man-made frost.

If you want real winter, go to Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Vermont, upstate NY, New Hampshire, the Dakotas, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota or Wisconsin.

nytraveler

Some winters even the eastern ski areas don't have a lot of real snow. You probably need to head for the Rockies.

elberko

For my 40th birthday, in January, years ago, I traveled to Vermont because I was intent on celebrating with a sleigh ride.

As you can probably guess, there was no snow in Vermont that January. And my son threw up on me in the car on the way home. Memorable.

So, good luck!

tomfuller

The closest place to you that has a better than average chance of natural snow is New Mexico or Colorado.
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/snow/201412
How many want to drive and how many want to fly and rent a car?
If it should happen to snow, does any of the group know how to drive in icy snowy conditions?
I'll add the Oregon and Washington Cascades to BigRuss's list.
We had 2 ski resorts in Oregon that were open less than 5 days this past winter.
In Oregon we have signs at the beginning of passing zones that say "Do not pass snowplows on the right" This is for the people who have Florida or Georgia drivers licenses.

NewbE

The OP said they live in Central FL. I agree that driving in snowy conditions is a concern if drivers haven't done it before, and really, even if they have. Maybe a resort with man-made snow is the best option.

So, again, what suewoo said

harrisonf

I agree with others, if you want to see real snow and feel real winter, go to Colorado in December. Denver would do fine and certainly any of the mountain resorts.

You might get lucky and find snow in Tenn in December or it could be all rain.

I know Colorado is quit a ways away, but if you do want to see snow in December and feel the cold air, that is the place to go to.

Gretchen

You'll join a lot of other FL license plates in the Boone/Banner Elk area!! And there will probably be man made snow on the slopes at least.
Look at Beech Mountain or Sugar Mountain.
Are none going to ski? There may be tubing on some of the hills.
Colorado could be a much more enjoyable vacation all around--more things to do than skiing.

watchdog2016

Congratulations on your anniversary - what a fun family adventure!

I'd love to hear where you end up deciding to go. I'm planning a similar trip, but on a smaller scale -- we live in central FL as well, and my two young kids are begging to see real snow. I'm thinking of either the Snow Mountain park in Stone Mountain, GA; one of the ski/tubing resorts in NC; or maybe Gatlinburg, TN. All these places offer snow machines, so we could plan a trip with confidence in advance.

By the way, I've travelled north with my kids to my former home in Cleveland, OH, several winters in a row. For all those visits, it was so biting cold that it was hard for us to enjoy. We didn't have the right clothes to really be out in it and have fun. And on most of our visits, there was just ice and terrible cold - no snow. I think a southern destination with snow machines will be our best bet for snow fun.

You have probably identified these options yourself already, but for what it's worth, here's what I'm considering.

The cheapest and closest option would be Stone Mountain, which offers all-day passes at their snow park for $28/person. They have tubing, an area for building snowmen, etc. And it wouldn't be too cold, so I wouldn't have to find a lot of clothes for serious winter that we'd never use again. My kids are very young, so I expect this would be enough snow for them, though I've never been there and can't say for sure what it's like.
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/Events/Snow-Mountain

A step up would be one of the skiing areas in North Carolina. Maybe we'd all take a ski lesson and ride the lifts, or maybe we'd just enjoy some tubing. Asheville, NC, is an awesome town with something to offer everyone, and the Cataloochee ski area is nearby. A bit further away is the Sugar Mountain ski area, which is supposed to be a little bigger and better.
http://www.skisugar.com/
http://cataloochee.com/

Ober Gatlinburg would be the furthest drive, but it looks a bit cheaper than the NC resorts, and I'm sure it would be lots of fun. I have been to Gatlinburg during the fall, and it is absolutely beautiful. There would be lots of stuff to do in town with family members of varying ages.
http://obergatlinburg.com/

I'd love to hear about experiences at any of these places. Hawghunter, I'd be happy to hear what you choose. Hope you all have a great trip - it sounds amazing.

janisj

Welcome to Fodors watchdog2016.

>>I'd love to hear where you end up deciding to go

watchdog2016

Thanks, janisj! I didn't notice when Hawghunter posted - I just saw the trip was planned for the end of 2016. I appreciate you mentioning this - I won't be sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for a reply.

tomfuller

Welcome watchdog2016. For those looking for some early snow, the higher elevations of the Oregon Cascades have quite a bit already. Above 8000 feet on Mt. Bachelor, there is about 20" of natural snow. Mt. Bachelor (outside Bend) will be opening officially on November 25 (day after Thanksgiving).
Mt. Bachelor also has tubing, snowshoeing and X-Country.

Elliepegasus

Hi Everyone,

Thank you to the person who asked the question and to all of you who responded not knowing I would come along and use this information a year or so after the question was asked. My husband and I decided this past Monday to take our children (24,19,17) to see snow.

kja

Hi, Elliepegasus, and welcome to Fodor's!

Have you driven in snow before? If not, please think through your options very carefully. Snow, ice, and sleet can be surprisingly unpredictable, and can turn beautiful roads into deadly and uncontrollable surfaces in mere moments. Ice, in particular, can form invisibly under many circumstances, causing fatal accidents for even experienced drivers.

You have lots of options for "seeing" snow without risking its dangers!

You might want to post a new thread spelling out your particular interests and circumstances....