Utah and kids

I lived in the Alta Lodge for one season before moving up to Jackson, this was in 97/98. It's a special place but other than skiing there isn't anything going on. If that works for the OP's fam then sweet. If not don't stay at Alta. There is NOTHING going on there other than skiing. Being a parent I have discovered that I just want my kid to enjoy herself and a vacation at Alta would not be my first choice for this. Park City is a cool town and there is a lot of other activity's there. It's a very short drive (and not too bad either, unlike driving up I70 in a snowstorm) from the airport and gets reliable enough snow.

I'm not personally into the ski resorts of Park City but it would be great for a family from the east coast.

I'm actually thinking about taking my daughter this year to Las Vegas for a mini two day ski vacation. I know, it's weird but.....she would love the lights and activities in the city, 25 bucks a night for lodging, amusement rides and a little bit of skiing only 4 hours away will be a big hit with her. Trust me, it's not about the skiing but if they ever get a big year I want to visit with some touring buddies to explore the back country on Mount Charleston. The terrain looks sick!

Whether or not a kid enjoys a lodge in Alta depends on their personality.  My outgoing daughter loved Alta Lodge (age 7-12) because she could always make a new friend or two.  When she was younger, often she was more interested in heading back to play at the lodge than getting in a few more runs.  I liked it as a parent because the parents were also very into skiing.  We usually spent some time skiing with other families when the kids weren't in ski school.  The free kids' program from 4:30-8:15 makes it a very relaxing time for parents as well as fun for the kids.  They aren't just stuck in a hotel room in front of a TV.

marznc wrote

Whether or not a kid enjoys a lodge in Alta depends on their personality.  My outgoing daughter loved Alta Lodge (age 7-12) because she could always make a new friend or two.  When she was younger, often she was more interested in heading back to play at the lodge than getting in a few more runs.  I liked it as a parent because the parents were also very into skiing.  We usually spent some time skiing with other families when the kids weren't in ski school.  The free kids' program from 4:30-8:15 makes it a very relaxing time for parents as well as fun for the kids.  They aren't just stuck in a hotel room in front of a TV.

And from a parent's perspective, I think ease and proximity of the Alta Lodges to the slopes plus the mealplans make it a really easy vacation.  Not having to prepare and clean up after meals is a big plus when I go away on vacation with the kids!

I have been having some second thoughts based on some of the responses. Maybe she is not ready for Utah yet.  Maybe somewhere like Breckenridge or Vail/Beaver Creek would be a better choice.  It would make the flight even cheaper.  

Claude

Breckenridge is very very crowded around spring break time. I made that mistake a few years ago.

Vail/Beaver is a pretty good bet for your needs. Tons of skiing on most levels, although I hate Vail on a high level. But, that won't matter to a seven year old.

Agree with Benny.  Avoid summit county during spring break.

Winter Park is not a bad option though.  Also like Steamboat as I mentioned before but if you are going to fly into Denver the drive is a b!tch.  Better to fly to Hayden or Eagle

Steamboat is a great family destination. I lived there for the 95/96 and 96/97 seasons. It gets good snow too, nothing steep tho. I'm still confused on how Park City is a bad idea for a family ski vacation. I have never skied there and I don't think it's my sort of ski hill but for a family from the east that is used to 700 vertical foot bumps it would be awesome. The town is fun and you could probably get a shuttle from the airport and not have to drive the whole time if you pick some in town lodging. Alta is great too if all you want to do is ski and chill at night, and by ski I mean more advanced terrain. My 7 year old daughter would be very limited to what she could experience there right now.

I have driven by all of the ski areas on the I-70 corridor but I have only skied at A-Basin and the surrounding backcountry. I have honestly never felt a need to visit any of those ski areas. Shoot, some of them look flatter than Okemo! It gets busy and for an expert skier they don't offer that much. Breck is a great family ski vacation town but yeah, spring break would not be my idea of fun.

I'd second steamboat for a family destination as well as park city. I know there's a lot of pcmr haters on here and it wouldn't be my first choice for a trip with my ski buds or son ( although I think it would be nirvana for poco loco and his dad). I've ski'd both steamboat and pcmr with my wife and both were a perfect fit for her strong  intermediate abilities and there's'  plenty of fun terrain at both areas to break off for a few more challenging runs. I like the vibe and terrain more at steamboat but the travel and lodging logistics are so damn easy in park city I'd certainly considerate it for a family vacations with a 7 year old.

raisingarizona wrote

I have driven by all of the ski areas on the I-70 corridor but I have only skied at A-Basin and the surrounding backcountry. I have honestly never felt a need to visit any of those ski areas. Shoot, some of them look flatter than Okemo!

Yup, never ever stop at Loveland. It really sucks. Yup, even flatter than Okemo.

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I have been having some second thoughts based on some of the responses. Maybe she is not ready for Utah yet.  Maybe somewhere like Breckenridge or Vail/Beaver Creek would be a better choice.  It would make the flight even cheaper.  

Claude

Breckenridge has tons of great intermediate terrain and it's a pretty easy drive from Denver.  It also has a fantastic town right at the base of the mountain. If you stay in the Peak 9 area, you can walk to the lifts and walk to town and never need a car.  The only issue we had there was altitude - it is really high.  I have heard that Keystone is good for intermediates as well, but I have never been there.

We also really enjoyed Steamboat, but getting there may be a big hassle for you. We were lucky in that at the time, we could get a nonstop flight right in to the local airport. I don't know what is available from Buffalo.  Also, the town is not at the mountain, so you need to decide whether to stay in town or at the mountain and drive in between.  On the plus side, there is a great local hill in town with a fun tubing park and ice rink.  While we were there, we watched the local high school kids practicing ski jumping. My kids were completely fascinated by that.

I love Vail - CMR proposed to me there.  Lodging is VERY expensive there.  Every time I try to plan a trip to Vail, I give up because I can't justify the lodging prices compared to other mountains.  Beaver Creek seems to have more affordable lodging, surprisingly.

I don't think you can go wrong no matter where you go.  If I were you, I would stick with Utah for a first trip - the traveling is so much easier. SLC airport is much easier to deal with than Denver, and the mountains are much closer.

The big difference between Steamboat and PCMR is the quality of the snow.  Steamboat has excellent dry snow.  Park City makes lots of snow because they don't get that much especially on the lower half.

Break is great skiing but the spring break crowds will be huge since it's more of a party town.  It's also the only place I've had trouble sleeping because it's so freaking high elevation at the base.

Benny Profane wrote

raisingarizona wrote

I have driven by all of the ski areas on the I-70 corridor but I have only skied at A-Basin and the surrounding backcountry. I have honestly never felt a need to visit any of those ski areas. Shoot, some of them look flatter than Okemo!

Yup, never ever stop at Loveland. It really sucks. Yup, even flatter than Okemo.

that's one I have always wanted to try but it never worked out. During my Colorado years I didn't have money so we used to climb up Grizzly Peak next to A-Basin during spring snow cycles and then ski a Shit For Brains, Dog Leg, or Duck Shit and then traverse up to the upper lifts. Then you could just hammer the upper mountain and hike the east Wall if it was open (they used to never check passes on the upper mountain) until you were worked then head down to the beach for apres. We even hitch hiked a few times from the Boat to camp on the beach.

A Basin is a special place. It will be my home mountain this winter.

Loveland is the Saturday mountain, because it isn't Epic. It is also an amazing place to catch the day after a storm if chair 9 is running, on a weekday. I have had awesome powder days there.

Hitch hiking our way towards A-Basin, 1996

Camping at the Beach, 2001



Shit For Brains, 2001

Claude,
I too am from Southern Ontario- and I can assure you, no one in our area knows more about planning a trip to Utah than me... I find it funny that when I tell people I'm going to Salt Lake City to ski, they look at me with this blank stare.  After telling him I go to SLC most years, a friend of my brother's asked me... "but have you ever skied in the Rocky Mountains"? My retort was yes... I've skied Utah and Colorado.  Again he replied "but have you ever skied the ROCKY mountains?". Clueless

Anyhow, unless your daughter gets a lot better, I would suggest NOT going to Snowbird for more than a day.  If she gets to the point where she's blasting the blacks and the glades at Blue Mountain without fear, she might be ready. Check out this Snowbird trail map... http://www.snowbird.com/imagelib/trailmaps/Snowbird_TrailMap_Web.pdf

Using the Memory Lane black diamond trail at Blue Mountain as a benchmark, of the major runs, only Big Emma, Bassackwards, and Bananas would compare.  Anything else, including the greens off the Baldy chair (because they're narrow cat track like trails) would be "scarier".  Possibly the stuff of Baby Thunder might be okay, but to be honest, its out of the way, and I've never bothered to go down there... its a small fixed grip... maybe 700ft vert.

All that said, Snowbird is still worth a day.

Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbasin are all awesome.  I can guarantee you, the kids will love Brighton... Yes it's smaller, but you can ski pretty much every sq ft of the resort.  Angle wise, most of the terrain is similar to Blue Mountain.  All of the trees between each of the runs are skiable by any solid intermediate.  The snow in the trees stays powdery for ever, because the evergreen canopy overhead makes it so the sun doesn't bake / crystalize it... plus the crowds are so sparse, it never gets packed down.  Solitude is worth a day too... again shorter runs, but awesome snow with NO crowds.  Solitude on-piste is overall more challenging than Brighton, but much less than Snowbird.

The town of Park City is really nice, but the skiing sucks (relatively).  Overall, PC, Canyons, and Deer Valley state decent verticals but if you look at the trail map, you can see you can only ski maybe 1000-1500ft at a time.  But unlike Solitude and Brighton that are also small, the snow isn't as good, and either is the terrain (or scenery).

Snowbasin is probably the best mountain in Utah terrain wise... but snow conditions aren't as reliable as the Salt Lake City resorts... its still good though.  

If you're hitting multiple resorts and don't need the ski town atmosphere of a Park City, stay in SLC.  We always stay at the Crystal Inn Midvale... though the prices have been creeping up over the years, its a good clean place to stay which includes a good breakfast.  There are a ton of other similar hotels too in the Midvale / Sandy area that could be had for WELL under $100/night.

Going out of KW, I would almost definitely say to fly out of Detroit instead of Buffalo.  You'll find the flight options a lot better.  What you lose in drive time, you'll save in flight time.

Anyhow, if you have specific questions, I'm more than happy to help.  If you decide Utah's not for you... I can help you out on a CO trip as well.

joeschmoe wrote

Using the Memory Lane black diamond trail at Blue Mountain as a benchmark, of the major runs, only Big Emma, Bassackwards, and Bananas would compare.  

The town of Park City is really nice, but the skiing sucks (relatively).  Overall, PC, Canyons, and Deer Valley state decent verticals but if you look at the trail map, you can see you can only ski maybe 1000-1500ft at a time.  But unlike Solitude and Brighton that are also small, the snow isn't as good, and either is the terrain (or scenery).

Finally someone agrees with me on Park City.  The Main Street is nice but the rest seems very strip mall like to me

I never skied Blue Mt but I'm pretty sure I've never heard anyone ever compare it to Snowbird before.

I agree with the rest.  We like staying in Downtown SLC so we can walk to dozens of restaurants.  We like the Shearton and the Doubletree.

I stayed down in strip mall hell in Draper last year, because the room was cheap. I ate some incredible Mexican for cheap.

I made the comparison to blue mountain only to say that one of the tougher trails there would be the easiest at snowbird. Downtown SLC is good for sure, especially if you're heading out to snowbasin. "Strip mall hell" to an American can be a bit of a paradise to a Canadian given all the shopping and restaurants we don't have at home... Though that may depend on where the dollar is next year. To you guys it's anywhere town USA, but to Canadians there is appeal.

Benny Profane wrote

I stayed down in strip mall hell in Draper last year, because the room was cheap. I ate some incredible Mexican for cheap.

If I am skiing LCWC & BCWC I stay at the Residence Inn in Sandy, yes - strip malls, but cheap room and cheap groceries & quick access. I don't bother with a 4WD car, I use the bus if the weather is bad, otherwise a 2WD will get up and down just fine. My preference though is the Rustler or GMD, but sometimes I want to explore more than the one canyon.