Jackson Hole area or Tremblant for DS9 winter birthday trip?
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Anonymous
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Isn’t Jackson hole famous for being cold and windy? How much time do you have?
Ski trips and lessons have gotten to the point where it can be cheaper to go to Europe than the Rockies…. I’d second that vote for steamboat as the only place in the Rockies with a direct flight from DC and it’s good for beginners. I would avoid anything east coast or local because the conditions aren’t worth the expense. |
Anonymous
The key with East Coast and local is to wait until the conditions are good THEN plan the trip. |
Anonymous
A 9-year old will have to ride in the cab while a parent drives. I would save this adventure for later years. However, one of my favorite travel memories is snowmobiling in Yellowstone, which was an excursion from Jackson hole. It was amazing. Skiing in Jackson hole is fun, but maybe not for a young kid. |
Anonymous
| Jackson Hold is not for beginners. Try Deer Valley or Steamboat if you want to go out West. Steamboat has a really nice town with lots of activities. |
Anonymous
| With a 4 year old and an 8 year old, I’d pick beaver creek or Breckenridge. |
Anonymous
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Thanks again!
I think we’ll just do local skiing as a day trip if the weather cooperates. When you take skiing out of the mix, which destination sounds most fun for kids, staying somewhere modest but doing fun excursions? Has anyone done dogsledding with children in the cab ( anywhere)? It still seems very exciting but I understand the advice to wait until they’re older. As an adult I would probably prefer not to actually control anything. We love animals and snow but aren’t especially adventurous. Would also hope to ice skate, sled, etc. |
Anonymous
| Okay - I don't dog sled but have skied all over. Tremblant is awesome but can be wicked, wicked cold in January. Think -25 F at the top of the mountain. Jackson Hole is also lovely but expensive and hard to get to. The Colorado mountains like Breck, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Winter Park and Copper are all easier to get to and have lots of levels of skiing. Family and beginner friendly. Those are all easy to get from Denver. And generally warmer. I love Steamboat and Telluride but slightly harder to get to. Whistler and area is also wonderful - but can be overcast a lot. Colorado/Utah - more sun and wamer. |
Anonymous
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I go to Jackson every year or two and it’s long trip. There is a non stop flight on Saturdays this year but otherwise it’s a change of planes. And we’ve missed our connection twice. The town is very nice - elk tours, etc.
I’d probably do Tremblant because it’s so easy. I go for long weekends. But things like sleigh rides and dogsledding depend on snow, which isn’t always dependable. The ski school there is great. One of my kids learned to ski there. |
Anonymous
| Dogsledding is very cool. Little kids that live in DC will be thrilled to just play in snow and sled. My kids (adults now) still talk about our trips to snowy areas. Not for dogsledding or skiing but for playing in the snow. Whitetail or Liberty are just fine for ski lessons by the way. The West is way better, but Whitetail and Liberty can get your kids past level 1. |
Anonymous
| My kids learned to ski at Liberty at then we went to Breckenridge. It was a great sequence! |
Anonymous
+1 but at Whitetail then Breckenridge. OP, Breck is great for both your kids for ski school and then you and DH can ski whatever you want. There are other activities on the mountain and then there is the town. Stay at the condos on peak 9 which has indoor pool, arcade, mini golf for the kids and the ski school and slopes are right outside your door. But IMO the best town with the most things to do with kids is Whistler. We love it and just so laid back. Town is big and right at the base of the mountain. But it’s a long flight to Vancouver and then another 1.5 hrs to mountain. |
Anonymous
I want to second the people above who said that snow play is what's really special for kids. Despite going to Olympic quality resorts to learn to ski, what I remember is things like riding a saucer down a small hill behind a condo, how pretty icicles were and how neat it was to hold them in my hand, making snow angels, my dad buying me 2 extravagantly priced on-slope hot chocolates on a bitter, bitter day, getting really big salted pretzels, etc. The little things. I do really like downhill skiing and I started around age 4 or so, and remember starting to learn. It's a good age because you're so little, it doesn't hurt to fall down. I would concentrate on what makes an experience great for a small kid. If you get a good ski school instructor, try to hire them a second time. Make sure the snowpants and coat fit comfortably so snow stays out when they do the snow angels. Pick a resort with a layout where it's easy to get to the bathroom and not tiring to move around between buildings and the parking lot. Regarding dog and winter books, I'm sorry but I found Jack London depressing. I think I read Call of the Wild and didn't like it but the Jack London work I always remember is the short story called "To Build a Fire" where the protagonist dies. Wikipedia says: "The 1908 version is about an unnamed male protagonist who ventures out in the subzero boreal forest of the Yukon Territory. He is followed by a native dog and is en route to visit his friends—ignoring warnings from an older man from Sulphur Creek[1] about the dangers of hiking alone in extreme cold. The protagonist underestimates the harsh conditions and freezes to death after his fire is doused and he is unable to re-light it." For kids, the common dog books (if you haven't run across them) that are heartwarming are about the real Iditarod origin story and the Iditarod. Some of them are about Balto. Balto's taxidermied at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and you can visit him there someday if your kid appreciates taxidermied animals instead of getting upset about them. There's also one called Kiana's Iditarod. Your public library may have these. You might also find a book about dog breeders or sledders that is modern and non-fiction that might appeal to your kid. There are books about everything. |
Anonymous
| We went to Breckenridge and stayed in a resort right on the slopes. We also did dog sledding there and it was super awesome — one of the most fun things I’ve done. |
Anonymous
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We took our son to Tremblant when he was 3. The Montreal airport is pro at flying and landing during and after snow, it is not like the DC airports. We took off to come home mid snow storm with no issues and no delays when we were there last January.
Flights are generally super cheap and car rental isn’t expensive either. Super worth it. The ski mountain has a really cute village that our son liked, there’s fun shopping there too, and lots of things for young kids to do, including reindeer rides, bobsledding, snow tubing (we took our son and it was really fun!! Much steeper than I expected but safe), and skiing. The skiing is also very inexpensive for kids, especially if you’re spending time on the hill area at first to learn. We didn’t put our son in ski school at his age but I think it’s pretty good. It IS very, very cold in January, but thermal layers, real snow suit, hand and feet warmers did help. And lots of places to warm up as needed. Our ski day wasn’t more than 2-3 hours because of the cold, and our son lasted about 30 mins. Deer valley is much more forgiving on kids both snow (very soft and no ice) and weather wise, but more expensive than Montreal. They have a great ski school and great practice areas for kids to learn. |
Anonymous
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"DS9?"
Unless you're talking about Benjamin Sisko and Kira Nerys please never use that combination of letters and numbers ever again. |