 Poster: A snowHead
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We are planning to go to Canada/USA next Easter with our two kids (6 and 7 years old) for two weeks. They’ve been skiing this year in France for the first time and can now do easy red runs. We all love skiing but are maybe interested in a '2 centre' holiday with some non-winter activities within driving (short flight?) distance e.g. city break / national parks / etc ? Any advice would be welcomed.
Elena
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Elena,
Lake Tahoe in Calafornia. Reasonably close to San Fransisco and Vegas.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Without second thoughts, try Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Rated one of the top destinations in North America. (see www.whistler.com).
Plus, they will be home to the 2010 winter Olympics, so will give you a chance to scope it out before then.
Whistler is my own backyard - I live in Vancouver, and its a mecca destination of individuals around Canada and US. A little pricey as it is a luxury resort, but you can scoop some good deals by renting directly from home owners, though you'd need to check out special sites that cater to that (ex. www.Bamja.com - Whistler Accommodations).
Whether you go there in the winter, spring or summer, Whistler's an awesome place for families and just couples. Aside from the skiing and boarding, you can golf, mountain bike, river raft, train ride, zip line, etc. Lots of good restaurants, and only 2 1/2 hours from vancouver.
Highly recommend it.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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kael21, Welcome to snowHeads 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Elena, Either Lake Tahoe as johnboy, suggests, and I dont mean Heavenly either try the other nearby resorts , or you could try Banff as theres plenty to do in and around Banff especially if you hire a car. Its right in the middle of Canadas first National Park with plenty of others close by.
Having done Whistler, the sking is excellent I would think Banff would suit your needs more, unless you are certain you wish to Visit Vancouver.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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In no particular order (depends on what you like...):
- Lake Tahoe, as mentioned. One week at south lake and one at north, with San Francisco as the city break.
- Utah, Park City as one and the Cottonwood Canyons as the second cernter ski-wise. Quite a few national parks you can drive to as a break. (personal favorate is Arches, about 4-5 hrs away...) And Salt Lake City itself can consume another day.
- Banff, drive around the national parks. Other resorts to choose from for the "second" base.
- Whistler, with Vancouver as the city break, but not sure about what the second center would be
The 2-week part is a bit of the issue...
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Banff is great for families, as the town has stuff going on for all ages. You could drive up to Jasper on the Icefields Parkway for a few days, dropping in to the Columbia Icefield. Banff and Jasper both offer other outdoor stuff to do than skiing. Somewhere in California would also be good as you could combine it with visits to all sorts of places. In no particular order and to name but a few; Yosemite (valley floor at least), Death Valley, San Francisco, the coast in general, Monterey (pleasant town, fantastic aquarium), LA for Disneyland and other similar horrors, if you have to.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Tue 25-03-08 13:32; edited 1 time in total
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Big White & Silver Star as a 2 resort holiday in BC Canada. Both are ideally suited for families and much less crowded than the more internationally famous resorts. They're only about 2 hours apart from each other and a 5 hour drive (1 hour flight) from Vancouver or Calgary. Virtually all the accommodation is true ski-in/out too, which is a bonus for North America.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Consider Big Sky. It's a big journey, but it offers the ultimate family day trip - a day out in Yellowstone National Park. My kids were 6, 7 and 9 when we went there, and it was one of the most memorable days of our lives - huge herds of animals, eagles, coyotes, geysers. The kids loved it.
Big Sky is a great place, too. I think it's the second largest resort in North America, but it only sees about 2,000 skiers on a busy day. You'll have the slopes to yourselves - perfect for children to progress in safety.
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Meant to add that the second centre for a trip to Big Sky could be one of the Utah resorts. I'm not familiar with them myself but they get great reviews and, as you'd need to change plane in Salt Lake City, it would be a natural stopover .
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Elena, have a look at tremblant/montreal but depends when easter falls next year, lots of non ski activities and a good alround family resort
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I'd second Big White/Silver Star as great resorts for kids/families. But there's not much non-skiing activities to do. Banff and area is good for non-skiing activities and has the 3 separate ski areas.
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Big, Big THANK YOU to everyone who answered. We decided on Lake Tahoe. Any recommendations on a resort there? The only requirements are lots of child friendly cruising slopes and some good restaurants with "slow" food. Thanks a lot again!
Elena
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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North lake Tahoe, I think Northstar is known for good cruising terrain. But you can also drivef to other resorts such as Squaw, Mt. Rose and Sugarbowl.
South lake, there're actually more resorts catering to intermediates. Sierra-at-Tahoe is quite good. I like Heavenly for casually cruising around.
I'm not that good at recommending cruising resorts since I'm not a cruiser myeself. Mostly second hand opinion of peole I ski with who actually like cruising about.
As mentioned by others occasionally, one of the benefit of skiing in N.America is instruction in native language. Perhaps you should take advantage of that. Once the youngsters are comfortable with red, they can be put in instruction groups that take them off piste. Most American skiers start going off-piste before they start hitting the blacks. It's a lot of fun to do fun things in the park also.
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FAQ
) Kings Beach area, Incline etc plenty of good accom. if doing a search. All Heavenly gets you is a Brit magnet and Casinos which is fine for a visit.
