Hi!
Has anyone in the Dallas area taken a ski vacation in the last couple of years?
I am looking for a place within 13 hours or Dallas.
I"d like to send my 5 year old to ski school or lessons part of the time.
It will be the 5 year's first time to ski. The husband has been a few times, and I grew up skiing, but neither of us has been in 10 years.
I am open about staying at a lodge, hotel, or cabin.
Let me know where you went, if you would go back.. any help with this is greatly appreciated!
We absolutely loved Breckinridge. It's a really nice town and the ski school is terrific. WE did the ultimate 4 for my 6 year old daughter and that was perfect. She was skiing by the end of the day and just loving it. Great Instructors. Have fun!
My son also learned how to ski at 5! Your child will love it!
We've never been skiing in NM but CO has some great resorts - Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Winterpark...as far as I know the first 2 have ski school (3+ yrs) but not sure about Winterpark because I went there before I had kids.
They will stick your your kid on ski's without poles and let them get used to just being on the skies. They'll work on pie stopping (pointing them together) as well as the proper way to fall. Crested Butte has a little hand lift that will pull the kids to a small hill and the kids go up and down that. I want to say by the 2nd or 3rd day, the kids are going down a very easy blue slope. At least my son ____@____.com fun. I'm jealous! We love skiing and we love CO.
Hi JT - I would highly recommend Crested Butte. It's a great resort with a small town feel and lots of great accomodations and it's south. If you're willing to go as far north as Winter Park, I would also recommend Keystone since they have a huge selection of green and blue runs and lodging galore. Check out VRBO.com - (vacation rentals by owner) for lodging. Can usually find some really fun places outside the usual hotel fair. Have fun!
We used to go to Wolf Creek, stay in Southfork or Creek. Takes about 13 hours with a caravan of three vehicles. Durango is good too. Of course, I've never actually skied at Taos or Angel FIre, but they're amazing places and I've always wanted to go!
Angel Fire in NM is great too, way less expensive than Colorado, smaller mountain and good ski school. Taos is a hard mountain for beginners. My only concern with NM is the snow in December. Colorado has better snow on those months, but again...it is always different every year. I love Colorado and Steamboat Springs is my favorite place. Have Fun!!
If you're looking to be a tourist, too, Santa Fe has a really nice little ski area! That's where I learned to ski (as an adult). It's a nice drive, and SF is about 10 hours from Dallas. Lots and lots to do nearby! (Let me know if you'd like more information on the area!)
I think the closest ski area to Dallas is Ski Apache at RuiDoso, NM. It doesn't have the cache that Aspen or Telluride has, but perfectly adequate for beginners. RuiDoso is about 10 hours away. There are plenty of lodging options of all types in town. RuiDoso is just a neat little ski town too.
I went to Sandia Peak in New Mexico. It was pretty neat, but I have only been there so nowhere else to compare it to.
I haven't been in awhile, but my husband (who's from there) goes almost every year. He and his bil love Copper Mountain. I think it is way too expensive and crowded.
Arapaho Basin is much more affordable. You can stay 10 minutes away in Dillon. I also like Loveland.
These places are about 16 hours away. There are closer places in CO, but the runs are not very good. At Durango, we put the boys in ski school. They lost my son!! They did not even tell us about it! We found out at dinner that night when our son told us about it. He got on the wrong lift and went into town. Thank goodness I had told him many times what to do if he ever got lost.
I have only been to Taos (ok) and Red River (thumbs down) in NM.
I love Steamboat Springs (15 hours). It is such a great experience! Another option is Breckenridge (13+ hours).
