Which Resort for Family Ski Trip?
 

Our family of five will be visiting Vermont to ski in late January. My husband and I both ski, but we are no match for our 11 and 13 year old expert skiers. Our other child is 2 1/2 and will need to go to a child care center. We were thinking Smugglers, but our kids are expert skiiers and I'm reading on posts that better skiiers are better off at other resorts. Any thoughts?

From where are you coming? I think the best resort for your configuration is actually in Maine! Sunday River in Bethel would meet all your requirements. If you need to stay in Vermont, I like Stowe better than Smuggs. Have a blast!<BR>

I would recommend the Stowe area. Mt. Mansfield has great skiing from novice to expert, so there's something for everyone. It can get pretty busy, but the area is large enough (and people are &quot;spread out&quot;) that it shouldn't be too noticeable. If you do end up in Stowe, definitely try to make time to ski the toll road. It's a great experience.

Thanks for the posts. Where do you suggest we stay in Stowe? I called Smuggler's Notch and it was like booking a trip to Disney World--very helpful, informative, and easy. I next called Stowe and felt like I was talking to our local cable company--no help at all, frustrating, and uninformed. I was going to go to Smugglers Notch just because their customer service was so much better.

Well, Smuggs does have the ski out access, too. But staying in Stowe allows for so much more to do, and has more challenging skiing. Did you call the Trapp Family Lodge? It's expensive, but very nice, and has excellent on-site dining (as opposed to Smuggs). We had a terrific room in the older section that had two bedrooms and a living room. The only drawback was one bathroom, but we had the end room with windows on three sides looking out over beautiful scenery!

Vail

<BR>Big Mountain montana

smugglers notch as the only triple black diamond on the east coast. Friend who have a time share though say the trails are old, whatever that means.<BR><BR>I know from this friend that they always have deals for families at Smugglers and you will be relatively close to Stowe and others if you want to try others out

I suggest Killington VT<BR>http://www.killington.com/Home/Packages/Packages.asp?idpage={CE1C953B-95C2-498B-866A-488DFB9D6718}&amp;sec=1&amp;idpackagetype={2888FC0 A-5311-4FB3-86BB-F923343AA250}<BR>excellent skiing for all abilities with some great double diamond stuff. Excellent child-care programs. many lodging choices. many restaurants. teen club for your older ones

I'll throw in my 2 cents woth here. I might suggest Sugarbush. It has excellent terrain from beginner to intermediate to expert with 115 trails. It is also much less crowded than Killington, Stowe or Smuggs. I am biased though since I own a condo there, but that is one of the reasons that we bought at Sugarbush. It is also only 30-45 minutes from Stowe, Smugglers, Bolton Valley, and Burlington. It is about 1hr 15min from Killington. If you want more info e-mail me. Either way have a good trip.<BR><BR>Mark

Why ski on Vermont concrete when you can ski in Colorado, Utah or California?

why VT? I guess cheaper than 5 airline tickets for family of 5?????

Stowe is a great area to ski and vacation in. There are condos near the mountain plus many hotels closer to town. We have stayed a couple of times at the Commodore Inn. Comfy, and good for families. Rooms are nothing wonderful but there is a great indoor pool and a nice lounge with board games and a fireplace.<BR><BR>Another great area to ski is Mt Tremblant in Canada, wonderful for families. Best ski resort in the east. a few hours further than Vermont. Lots of challenging slopes. Plus you feel like you are getting a little bit of Europe. If you are interested, check out the Canadian board for info.

Thanks for all the great advice. We were going to Vermont as an educational trip for the kids. Last year we did the Seattle, Whistler, BC, Vancouver trip and loved it. We figured we would rotate between the Appalachians and Rockies every year. Plus, we were going to stay a few days in Montreal to add to the experience. The kids like to ski--I like to see the world. I will look into Mt. Tremblant, though. That sounds like a definite possibility. Thanks again!