Top 10 New England Ski Resorts for Families
Featured on Boston.com

By Heather Burke
Photos by Greg Burke

 
What makes a great family ski vacation? Different families have different needs and varying speeds, ever changing as the kids grow from small to tall. Here are ten very different resorts (in alpha order), each capable of serving up a fabulous family ski trip. Flip through to find one that sounds best for you and your crew this winter. www.familyskitrips.com
Photo: Sunday River Resort (by Greg Burke)
Ascutney, Vermont
Ascutney Mountain Resort is a condensed ski area and slopeside village that doesn’t get all the accolades its neighboring Vermont resorts do… and that can be a good thing. Ascutney is proof you don’t need a cruise ship roster of programs to be successful; with just enough stuff to keep everyone in the family happy. Ascutney has borrowed some key programming from Smugglers’ including a ‘cheesy’ mascot mouse named Cheddar, Duckling Daycare for the little ones, Young Olympians ski and ride camps for ages 4-12, and a recently added Bumps Center for teens to hang out at after the lifts stop. While Ascutney is neither vast nor venerable, families will enjoy that it is manageable, and ski and stay packages in the Hotel and surrounding condominiums are affordable, and include use of the Fitness Center and Pool.

Photo: Perfectly Groomed Terrain (by Greg Burke)
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
You can never go wrong staying at the elegant Hotel Mount Washington for a winter getaway. Skiing at Bretton Woods, NH’s largest ski area, is a treat for the skis and the eyes, featuring well-groomed snow, a good variety of glades, and dramatic views of the highest peak on the Eastern Seaboard, Mount Washington at 6,288’. There isn’t anything particularly precipitous, but there is plenty of terrain served by swift lifts.

Photo: Bretton Woods Rosebrook Canyon Quad (by Greg Burke)

This season, Bretton Woods’ Family Center will have an improved look and feel, expanding upon the reliable Babes in the Woods daycare and Hobbit ski programs that have taught so many kids over the years. If you like to skinny ski, The Nordic Center and trails are just awesome. Days are filled with outdoor adventure, followed up with supervised kids’ parties into the evening, Mom and Dad might actually find time for adult après and nightlife in their ski trip.

Jiminy Peak, Massachusetts
For folks from the south (southern New England that is), you can’t beat Jiminy Peak for proximity. With a beautiful new Village Center, all-suite Inn lodging, and well-groomed terrain served by a six-pack chair, Jiminy Peak is a top spot for young families from south of the Vermont border.
Photo: Snuggly Chairlift Ride (by Greg Burke)
Killington/Pico, Vermont
Despite Killington’s reputation as a sprawling beast of a resort, the recent improvement of Ram’s Head and Snowshed Family Adventure Center make the Big-K more amiable for families. Killington hosts special events like “Kids Rule” week. Watch out for SpongeBob on snow during Nickelodeon weeks. Obviously with six mountains of terrain, Killington has something for everyone in your pack. Bear Mountain is devoted to freeskiers and riders with all the parks and pipes your gen-y’er could whine for.

With a vast array of intersecting trails and separate base areas, Killington can be confusing for those not in the know. A side trip to sister resort Pico is ideal for families looking for one single panoramic peak with un-crowded trails funneling to a friendly base. Pico has a Vermont-syrupy flavor - the antithesis of big-brother Killington.
Photo: Killington (by Greg Burke)
Okemo, Vermont
Maybe it takes a husband and wife team to understand what families need on a ski trip. Diane and Tim Mueller have created the culminating family ski resort in Vermont. Okemo has mega-mountainside lodging, a friendly staff, superb on-mountain cuisine and all the lesson programs your family should require. Okemo’s mountain scene will captivate you with lovely pastoral views of the Vermont river valley, and the exceptional snowmaking and grooming will keep you coming back, like the SUV-loads of families who have already discovered their so-coined “Okemo-difference.”
Photo: Okemo (by Greg Burke)
Smugglers’ Notch, Vermont
If you are looking for the ski program du jour, Smugglers’ Notch Resort is the leader in the family programming. Whether its learning to turn with your child in their unique ‘Mom & Me’ lesson, or teaching your ‘Little Rascal,’ to start skiing at age two, Smuggs’ has thought up the most innovative instruction in snow country. This northern Vermont resort continues to re-invent the family ski experience, and hoard the family awards because of it.

Slopes upon slopes of condominiums, and tons to do in the Village after the lifts close, make The Smugglers’ vacation complete. Smugglers’ is also home to treasures of tricky terrain on Madonna Mountain for expert parents who want to drop in after they drop off their kids at ski camp. Just be prepared for long chairlift ride chats on the dawdling double chairs.
Photo: Smugglers' Notch Resort (by Greg Burke)
Stowe, Vermont
Stowe is best saved as a destination once your kids get bigger, and everyone can do justice to this vertical venue. The legendary Front Four on Mansfield will humble even the most boastful of teens. Your kids can night-ski while you dine at the European-style Cliff House via gondola. Non-skiers in the family can exercise the credit cards at boutiques up and down the Mountain Road in Stowe. Stowe Mountain Resort is on the move with a new interconnect lift whisking Mansfield skiers across the Notch to the revitalized Spruce area where an extravagant resort village is being constructed. This new ski base is home to primo on-slope lodging, which Stowe has lacked up till now.

Photo: Stowe (by Greg Burke)
Sugarloaf, Maine
Sugarloaf is one big mountain, with one strong allegiance. Families appreciate loyalty and the folks at the Loaf are as legion as they come. The warm welcome you receive here separates this Maine mountain oasis from the others both spiritually and geographically. The terrain here is hearty, and so is the social life so far north – drawing skiers to its snowy pulpit. Sugarloaf throws weekly themed parties for families in the rustic but real base village, and a cast of woodsy characters like Amos the Moose, Blueberry Bear, and Pierre the Logger, are on hand to keep your kids smiling, making up for the long “are we there yet?” drive.

Photo: Sugarloaf USA (by Greg Burke)

Suicide Six, Vermont
The name sounds daunting for a family ski trip, but if you want to educate your kids on skiing from decades back, this original ski slope is just the classroom. The base lodge is a veritable ski museum, and lunch is like Grandma used to make. Combine your pleasant day of cruising Suicide’s dozen runs with a stay at parent company’s luxurious Woodstock Inn. Your ski trip becomes a complete history lesson as you walk in the Rockefeller family’s footsteps around this classic Vermont town.
 
Photo: Suicide Six Ski Area (by Greg Burke)
Sunday River, Maine
It doesn’t get much more convenient than staying at the Grand Summit Hotel at Sunday River. Walk to restaurants and the outdoor heated pool, ski down to the lifts for first chair, and slide over to the Tubing Hill and White Cap Fun Center for evening entertainment. There is even a free Mountain Explorer shuttle to take you into the bustling (by Maine standards) town of Bethel. Sunday River also has an abundance of slopeside condos, Cascade being particularly convenient for young families with kids in ski school. Sunday River’s Perfect Turns program will have your munchkins making pizza wedges and French fries in no time. While Sunday River Resort doesn’t ooze New England charm, it does pump out talcum powder snow in tremendous quantity, and sports an impressive lift and trail network, making The River a reliable resort from December into April.

Photo: Sunday River Resort (by Greg Burke)
See you on the slopes! By Heather Burke, Ski Journalist ESWA/NASJA, Greg Burke Ski Photographer ESWA/NASJA, www.familyskitrips.com
 
All Photography by Greg Burke
 
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