What are the best places to take young children (2 & 5) to experience the snow, but not necessarily a ski resort? Would love to sleigh ride and other winter activites but we aren't going to ski this time. Hotels would be appreciated and the closest airport.

Thanks!

When? And where re you coming from?

What state/part of the country???

If you are near NH, try Nestlenook Farm in Jackson NH. They have horse drawn sleigh rides and outdoor ice skating. You can stay there or one of the other inns in the area (if you are on a budget there are cheap hotel option in N. Conway - The Wentworth Hotel in Jackson offers 2 & 3 bedroom condos with full kitchen).

Jackson, NH is about 20 minutes from Mt Cranmore where they can go tubing. The 2 year old would have to slide with an adult but kids as young as 3 can go alone. A "T" bar drags you up the hill (pretty small hill) and then you slide down on the snow inside a tube.

North Conway is 15 minutes away. They have a train that runs from North Conway to Conway and Santa is on the train (they also have a re-enactment of the Polar Express which is awesome but you have to go through a lottery process to get tickets). The regular Santa train ride is about an hour and inexpensive.

There are lots of family friendly restaurants. Our favorite is the Red Fox also in Jackson. They have a family only dining room - kids toys, movies, etc. The kids can run free and play with other kids while waiting for dinner to arrive and the parents don't have to worry about them bothering other diners. Reasonable prices too.

Jackson usually has some great family activities too. They have an annual ice sculpture contest, the inns all compete against each other with Christmas themes, they have a weekend where you can travel from inn to inn and get different cookies....

The local paper is called the Mountain Ear - I think they have a website that lists local activities.

We are in Houston, TX. Wanted to go around 12/27. We are open to traveling to any part of the country that has snow as long as Continental flies there or close by. I don't mind if it is a ski resort area as long as the place offeres other winter activities besides skiing.

Thanks.

Manchester NH airport usually has good fares but also check into Portland ME which I think might actually be closer to the North Conway/Jackson NH area. We went on a cookie tour of inns in the southwestern corner of NH. Some have nice activities for families (one was having a gingerbread house decorating weekend). It's certainly a quiet area of NH but more to do at the inns than I expected. But, your chance of snow is better in Jackson. Right now south of the mountains there is just a dusting to an inch in places. Many ski areas have opened with man-made snow. It was funny for us to see a child trying to make a snow angel yesteray with only an inch or two of snow on the ground

Every ski area we've been to has lots of activities for the non-skiers. With small children, I'd be looking for a non-stop flight to avoid the chance of missed connections due to bad weather, and a short drive from the airport.

If you fly to Salt Lake City, Park City is only a 45 minute drive. Here's a website with lots of info: http://www.parkcityinfo.com/