Best Ski Resorts for Family Vacations

Ski resorts offer a magical atmosphere for the perfect winter family vacation. Featured below are some of the best family oriented ski resorts and the attributes you’ll want to consider before booking your vacation.

Many ski resorts focus on providing adult, family and kid friendly winter activities to keep your days filled with a variety of fun experiences. Along with skiing and riding, activities for families include sleigh rides, snowshoe tours, ice skating, snow tubing hills and backcountry winter adventures.

The best ski resorts for family vacations also offer an excellent learning center, programs for all ages, terrain for all abilities and adventure mountain parks. Resort villages and mountain towns featuring lodging, shopping, dining, skiing, activities and events within a close and safe proximity create an ideal setting for families.

Sun Valley Resort

Are you ready for the ultimate ski vacation where the sun shines, you can escape crowded lift lines and ski on an incredible mountain? Sun Valley is the place to go. Sun Valley caters to everyone with two mountains, perfectly groomed ski runs and steep bowls.

Sun Valley operates two separate mountains, Bald Mountain and Dollar Mountain, with terrain for everyone. Sun Valley’s ski school specializes in handpicking instructors to best fit each lesson and student. Adults and children can participate in group or private lessons. Lessons are held at either Bald Mountain or Dollar Mountain depending on the student’s skill level. Dollar Mountain is most likely the best teaching mountain anywhere with a stunning log day lodge where parents and family members can watch the skiers on the mountain.

Additional activities in Sun Valley include a tubing hill, terrain parks, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, horse-drawn sleigh rides, paragliding and backcountry adventures.

Smuggler’s Notch

Smuggler’s Notch, in Vermont, offers 3 mountains for skiing and snowboarding for all levels of skiers and a Village Center with all your lodging, dining, shopping and activities.

Smuggler’s Notch focuses on activities for the entire family. They cater to quality children’s ski programs and offer an Indoor Family Entertainment and Recreation Center along with many outdoor programs. Ski lessons are offered for all ages of children and abilities. A childcare center is also available for small tots.

Winter indoor activities include a FunZone with games, Bounce Houses, slides, obstacle courses and even a teen center. More indoor activities include a swimming pool, hot tubs, arts and crafts classes and fitness classes. A plethora of outdoor activities for your family include snow tubing, ice skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, Zip Line Canopy Tour and nearby dogsled adventures and ice climbing.

Northstar at Tahoe

The Village at NorthStar is lively with boutiques, cafés, restaurants, live music and an ice skating rink with cozy fire pits. The mountain features great skiing, riding, terrain parks and adventure parks for kids.

Kids lessons start at age 3 and kids and adults of any ability can take both private or group lessons. Licensed childcare is available for ages 2 and up.

Try snowcat skiing or backcountry ski tours on the Sawtooth Ridge. The resort also offers cross-country skiing or snowshoeing on nearly 35 km of trails. Family activities include snow tubing, ice skating, snowshoe tours and family friendly village events.

Steamboat Springs

Steamboat Springs is the ultimate rocky mountain town with true friendly western hospitality and a first class ski resort. The mountain is superbly laid out offering a fun alpine adventure for everyone! Terrain parks cater to different abilities with exciting features for youth and beginners to adults and the more experienced.

The western themed Kid’s Vacation center offers private and group lessons along with a mix of childcare options and skiing for 2-4 year olds and childcare for ages 6 months to 6 years. Kids-only terrain and lifts provide an ideal atmosphere for lessons.

Steamboat Springs provides a variety of other outdoor winter activities such as snow tubing, snowshoe tours, snowmobile tours, snowbike lessons, sleigh ride dinners, scenic Gondola rides, horseback riding, hot air balloon tours and cross-coutnry skiing.

Park City Resorts

Park City, in Utah, is a vibrant mountain town with an abundance of superb dining, nightlife, shopping, lodging and winter activities. The town hosts three destination ski resorts: Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and the Canyons. All three resorts are competitive in catering to families and providing programs and activities for children.

Park city is also home to the Utah Olympic Park with bobsledding, an Olympic museum and ski events plus the Gorgoza Park for snow tubing and White Pines Touring for cross-country skiing.

Park City provides winter activities and guided adventures in skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and backcountry skiing. More winter activities include dog sledding, hot balloon rides, snow tubing, alpine coasters, ziplines, bobsledding and sleigh rides.

View the Park City, Utah, Vacation Guide

Park City Mountain Resort
Park City Mountain Resort is a premier winter destination ski and snowboard resort next to the vibrant town of Park City. The resort website features a special section “SnowMamas” catering to family vacations.

The ski mountain offers fun adventure parks and terrain parks for both children and adults to explore. Group and private lessons are offered for children and adults. The class size for children is small.

Along with skiing and snowboarding, the resort features an alpine coaster and zipline. What makes the mountain so perfect for family vacations is its central location in the town of Park City.

Canyons Resort

Canyons is the largest single ski and snowboard resort in Utah located a few minutes from the Historic Old Town of Park City. With recent renovations at the Canyons, the village now offers more dining and lodging options plus a Ski Beach.

Your family will love riding up the heated Orange Bubble Express. On the mountain, you’ll find varied terrain for all levels of skiers and riders and an updated Terrain Park. Take a break from skiing and experience the Zip Tour ride where you can soar on an 800 foot long tree top ride across the stunning canyon.

Children and adults can take private or group ski and ride lessons. The Canyons also offers an excellent day-care program.

Deer Valley Resort
Deer Valley Resort in Park City focuses on first class guest service and was ranked number one for five consecutive years by readers of Ski Magazine. Deer Valley features gorgeous mountain lodges, exceptional service, Utah powder and perfectly groomed runs on six mountains.

Deer Valley is a skiing only mountain. The resort also limits the number of guests on the mountain during the busy times, so the mountain never feels too crowded. Kids and teens can take private and group lessons. There is a day care facility for infants and children.

Deer Valley is only minutes away from all the activities, dining, shopping and lodging in Park City. Ski-in/ski-out lodging and dining is available.

Beaver Creek Resort

Beaver Creek’s saying is “not exactly roughing it”. The enclosed ski-in/ski-out alpine village and mountain is an ideal atmosphere for the entire family.

The mountain snow is impeccably groomed catering to all levels of skiers. Children and adult group and private lessons are offered in skiing and snowboarding. Children’s lessons start at age 3 and a child care center and nursery is available.

The alpine village is upscale yet inviting with boutiques, bars, dining and coffee shops. There is an ice skating plus festive events and activities for your enjoyment.

Weaving through the village and mountain, Beaver Creek offers 32-plus kilometers of groomed cross-country and snowshoe trails.

Crested Butte

Crested Butte is a charming mountain town – no traffic lights or chain stores – with a big mountain with skiing terrain for everyone.

The mountain features an Adventure Park with bungee trampolines and a lift served tubing hill. Crested Butte also offers ski and snowboard group and private lessons for children and adults. A nursery is available for small tots.

Activities in Crested Butte include cross-country skiing snowshoeing, sleigh rides, ice skating, dogsled tours and guided snowmobile and backcountry tours.