texans looking for "winter" vacation
 

3 Texans looking for a place to experience a winter vacation. Non-skiers but would love sledding, tubing, fishing, etc. Group includes a 5 year old. Some thoughts were Colorado. How close is Colorado Springs to the snow? Other thoughts were Lake Tahoe and possibly Canada. Looking to travel in early December. Very flexible. Please help!

for texans not wanting to fly, central/northern NM offers pretty good winter sports (santa fe, taos, etc)...

Early December is questionable in terms of snow in NM and Colorado, especially if you won't be skiing. (They make artificial snow for the ski slopes.) January and February are more reliable in terms of snow. If this trip HAS to happen in early December, you'll want to consider the highest elevation areas or areas farther north. Your other choice is to leave it till the last minute, wait for weather reports, then go where you know the snow is already good. From Colorado Springs, you can get to some pretty high elevations within an hour or so.

Alaska will definitely have snow in early December. Anchorage hosts the annual Fur Rendezvous and it is a huge party.

Try "www.exploreminnesota.com"
You can can do all of the things that you mentioned plus there are some fun
holiday happenings such as the Holidazzle Parade in Minneapolis, Christmas shopping at the Mall of America. I think there is a Disney on Ice sometime in December. There is usually snow somewhere in the state that time of the year.