It’s massive, hence the name…
Most people’s love for skiing starts at an early age and develops into a lifelong passion. Some of my earliest memories date back to ski holidays with my family—weekends at Kirkwood, daytrips to Squaw, and, more recently, Christmas spent in Aspen. I cherish the time we spend together on the snow, on the chairlifts, and by the fire.
While all resorts cater to the family ski vacation, one Colorado mountain’s focus is solely the family-friendly experience: Snowmass.
The legendary terrain at Snowmass gets a lot of attention in ski films; however, children love to explore the tree trails that wind throughout the bottom portions of the mountain. (The trail that connects Hal’s Hollow and Scooper is especially cool. Ask the lift operators at the Midway Unloading Station on the Village Express chairlift to point you in the right direction.) If your clan has progressed beyond green square skiing you should check out the rollers on Naked Lady (kids love it for more than the name). And for the dads that want to snag some footage of their kids doing tricks, the Scooper and Makaha parks are tailored to a beginner and intermediate park rat, respectively.
For an on-mountain lunch that will surely satisfy everyone in the family, the cafeteria-style setup at Gwyn’s High Alpine has so much to choose from that it might get hard to make a decision. And, after a great day of skiing together, families with young ones (and grown-ups with a sweet tooth) have to stop at the Base Village for complementary s’mores by the fire!
