I didn’t start skiing until 2004. My husband took me to Lake Tahoe, NV where I was thrown on skies and told to wing it. Not so much. Even now, 13 years later, I am not the best skier, but I do love the sport. I stay on the blue and green runs, which assures me no broken bones. I should probably challenge myself a little more, but I am ok with keeping it safe.
Lake Tahoe was beautiful. We stayed at The Harrahs Casino, which was also much fun. The evening we arrived, a snow storm came through and dumped 12+’ of snow, so the lifts were closed the next day, which forced us to go snowmobiling. Now THAT was fun! The scenery over the lake was outstanding.
My next ski trip back to Colorado was to Breckenridge. I skied with a couple girlfriends. We had some good laughs on that mountain. We stayed at the Beaver Run Resort. It was a ski in and ski out resort and walking distance to everything in Breck. You absolutely MUST stand in line at Crepes A La Carte! Oh my goodness, those things are delish! I’ve stood in the snow for almost two hours waiting on one. Totally worth it. Another Breck favorite is Empire Burger, where you can get THE BEST bison burger in town! We went back a few years ago and took our son. He enjoyed it. Although, it wasn’t as kid-friendly as Keystone (mentioned below), he had a great time. We go to ski and thats mostly what we do…well, besides eat.
A few years ago (2014), we skied in Vail, Colorado. Vail is an upscale ski town with wonderful restaurants and luxury accommodations. We stayed at Mountain Haus in Vail Village and it was perfect. It was located just over the covered bridge and a couple minute walk to the ski lifts. Antler’s Room at Pepi’s Restaurant and Bar was suburb with lots of wild game options (we ate elk, lamb and caribou). I should also mention that The Red Lion is a fun bar in the village with live music.
“…I’ve stood in the snow for almost two hours waiting on one. Totally worth it. “
Last year (2016) for Spring Break, we took both kids to Keystone, Colorado. This was a family-friendly resort and the kids loved it. They offer so many activities for the young ones. Their ski school is top notch! My daughter was 5 at the time and fit right in. We took her for 3 days in a row, which was perfect. My son has become quite the skier and said he enjoyed the runs in Keystone more than Breckinridge. They had some fun trails for the kids that I even enjoyed. We stayed at the Timbers Lodge and I highly recommend it. We booked everything through a Keystone travel agent and I feel we got a great deal. The little town square has everything you need. They do have shuttles to other properties, but we walked everywhere. They even have a small market. Starbucks was a 3 minute walk as well several other cute little restaurants and cafes. And, plenty of shops. New Moon was a great spot for breakfast and Zuma was great for lunch! Ski rentals were all in the square as well and our Keystone travel agent prearranged all of that as well.
Denver is the closest airport to all of these ski resorts. The Mountain Express is a bus/transport service that takes you from the airport to the ski resorts. Pricey, but worth it. Always looking forward to ski season. The one time a year, I enjoy the snow…..as long as I am not driving in it!
