Hit the slopes this winter
The temperatures are dropping and families like ours are planning winter ski and snowboard getaways. When traveling with teens, families need to do their research to make sure their destination is fun for all ages. We’ve found the following characteristics to be vital to a successful family ski vacation with teens:
- Terrain for a range of ski and snowboard skills
- Teen specific on-mountain programs and lessons
- High quality off-slope teen activities
- Off slope options for mom and dad (and younger siblings if needed)
- On-mountain lodging or a free shuttle to let teens come and go on their own
Many of the best mountains for teens will offer opportunities for teens to make new friends with teen only ski meet-ups and parent free evening teen zones. If you are going for several days or a week you can expect your teen to split their ski time between family and new friends.
Consider the option of taking along a friend of your teen’s - but make sure they are of the same ski or snowboarding ability or you may end up with someone feeling left out. If you are renting a condo it probably costs little more than the price of the ski ticket and some meals to add one more kid to the mix.
We find that families with teens really enjoy the resorts that keep the action going all night and day with fireworks, night skiing, snow tubing, skating, cross-country skiing and more. For teens (and parents) that might not have learned to ski when they were young, consider investing in a couple of private lessons to get them going quickly. Same for a skier who wants to try snowboarding or someone who hasn’t been on a mountain in a couple of years. Teens learn fast and really appreciate not wasting time in group lessons with younger kids or slower adults.
We’ve been collecting information from family ski resorts across the country looking for best bets for families with teens. We’ve already written about Smugglers’ Notch in Vermont as being on the top of our wish list! They have all the things mentioned above plus more. We are thrilled they have invited us to check it all out in person when we visit the resort in February 2011. We look forward to sharing our Smuggler’s Notch experiences with our readers when the time comes.
In the meantime, whether you are thinking about skiing in New England, Colorado or anywhere else across the US and Canada we’ll be sharing our top picks for teens in the weeks ahead. We’ll be starting with New England then looking West and North. Let us know if you have a favorite ski destination we should bring to the attention of families that travel with teens. Or if you have blogged about your own family with teens and tweens ski vacation please share a link.
Photo courtesy of Smugglers’ Notch
