Several usual suspects.... Steamboat, Winter Park, Big Sky, Smugglers Notch.

http://familyskiresorts.net/Bestfamilyskiresorts.html

Take a look at the Killington Resort in Vermont...it's right up there as well.

I think these "rankings" always need to be taken with a grain of salt. As someone who has skied in Colorado and Utah for nearly forty years, I find it interesting that Copper Mt is ranked will ahead of Breckenridge and Keystone. And the only Utah ranking is Deer Valley. It would be nice to know the factors for ranking as a "family" ski resort. For a family ski outing I would always rank Breck and Keystone ahead of Copper.

wow, i so agree with fmpden! Copper Mountain?? We were there for our vacation last year, and it was okay, but we would never bother going there again. I don't really see how it even fits the criteria on the list.

Actually, they list two in Utah.

Alta is rightfully on the list. But Deer Valley? Maybe for a family of gazillionaires.

I LOVED Copper, but then, that's the only area I've skied in the west. I grew up in New England and after Copper in the Spring, I'd say a bad day in CO is better than most of the best days in New England!

These rankings usually go out of their way to be inclusive of east, midwest, and rocky resorts. From a terrain standpoint, there is no doubt that CO, UT, WY, and MT trump all other states - not even close.

I agree that Breck should be on the list. And I would take Taos off. Great for adult skiers, not such a family place, in my opinion.

OO, you may love Copper by comparison but there are other areas in Colorado that may be better (it is relative term) depending on what you like. Copper does have the best separation of skiers which does make it very attractive for different skill level.

OO, you may love Copper by comparison but there are other areas in Colorado that may be better (it is relative term) depending on what you like. Copper does have the best separation of skiers which does make it very attractive for different skill level. And I did miss Alta in my earlier comment about only one in Utah. BUT ..... Deer Valley and Alta are so different how do they end up on the same list.

actually, Copper's separation of ability levels is something that is not necessarily appealing if you are trying to ski together with people of differing abilities. It makes it more difficult to go up on the same lift.

I think my previous post probably is too harsh about Copper. We enjoyed it, but it would not be in our list of favorite resorts.

I don't think of Copper at a resort myself. A nice mountain, but not a resort in my book. The base is too small and limiting. Not even a village to me. Oh, well, the lists are always controversial.
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When were you there last? The has been a massive expansion of the base. Till smaller than most area but huge by comparison to what used to be there.

fmpden, you're right that it's probably much bigger than when I saw it last, which was about two years ago. My family skis there a lot, but I don't. Anyway, there's something about Copper that feels manufactured to me, not like a homey resort. A personal thing, of course. Just wouldn't be my choice for a destination because I like the authentic towns which morphed into ski resorts, like Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Aspen, etc. Just my own taste is all.
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I haven't skied Breck, but have visited the town, and to me it felt manufactured and "just too cutsie". I didn't see it before it grew up, so perhaps I'm being harsh? Did it really look that way before it was "found"?

fmpden...I am sure you are right about Copper. You certainly are right about its being relative--to me, comparing it with New England, I'd died and gone to heaven! What snow! What views!! No ice!! Truly, though I was there in March when conditions were not ideal, there were only a handful of days in all my winters in New England that could have touched what we skied with that week in CO!

I applied to and was accepted at U of Colorado way back when, but at the last minute decided to stick close to home. Good thing...I doubt, had I gone to school out there, I ever would have graduated--would have missed way too many classes!

OO, I know what you mean about 'cutesy'. But I think Breckenridge originally had numerous Victorian-style buildings, so they just expanded on that idea when they built it up. I could be wrong, but I think lots of Colorado towns had that original look, like Aspen and Telluride. Steamboat's origins are more Wild West in style, but also authentic Colorado.
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One thing I don't like about Copper is that it is right off of the Interstate. It is like they built an offramp, then built a ski resort where they normally would have put a rest area.

Steamboat and old town Telluride feel very authentic to me. Jackson, WY, does as well.

Cargillman, I feel that way about Copper and Vail, too. Right on the freeway. Yech. I prefer Aspen over Vail any day, and generally any 'resort' that was first an authentic town.
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