Good Ski Areas in New England? (Boston, Burlington: condo, hotel, vacation)

[haberstroh]

Now that we are settled in the house we would like to go on a well deserved ski vacation. We are taking the kids (of course ;-)) and are looking at an area that has classes and child care for children. Looking at New Hampshire or Vermont at the end of February. We would like to stay in a condo or vacation home. Thanks so much!

[TexasSooner]

snowmass...

[TheWereRabbit]

snowmass is kinda not in new england. Sunday River and Killington are the big mountains. Waterville and Loon are nice but expensive too

[momoffive]

if you are looking to put children in classes/child care book it now (especially for school vacations) as they fill up before hand.

[drouhin]

Smugglers Notch, near Burlington, VT, is reknowned for its kids' programs:

http://travelwithkids.about.com/cs/s...s/a/smuggs.htm

[vter]

Smaller areas to check out would be Burke Mountain in Vermont, Crotched Mountain in NH, Bolton Valley VT. If you want a bigger ski area, I highly recommend Sugarbush in Vermont.
Locally to the Boston area you have a couple options which would be great for kids to learn how to ski for a day trip...Nashoba Valley being one.
Hope you have fun!

[beachlady58]

My vote is for Waterville Valley - they have the little town in the valley with Black Bear or Golden Eagle as condo hotel units. It is easy to get to off 93 and they offer valet parking. Love it! Tix are inexpensive and kids are cheap too. The tix exchange with Loon about 1/2 up the highway. Fireworks on Sat nights, sleigh rides, skating rink, huge indoor pool...cannot go wrong!

[pjscdn]

Expect to pay a premium to ski during February vacation. All the resorts jack up their rates during this period, and the popular ones get crowded. In VT, put Killington, Okemo, Stratton and possibly Stowe on that list. For NH, Look and Bretton Woods are popular with families.

Also, the resorts that are further south are more popular, since they are closer to major population centers like NYC. So, those in southern VT are impacted.

Where are you located? If you're in northern MA, I wouldn't rule out a run to Maine. From there, you can reach Sunday River in about 4 hours. It is quite good, especially for families, but again very popular.

What age and what level of skier are your kids? If they are novice, it doesn't make sense to go to a big resort like Killington. You may be better off at a medium-sized, family-friendly resort. Something like Smugglers Notch or possibly Gunstock might be a good choice.

I'd avoid ski sreas that do not have a town center nearby, since there won't be activities for the kids. Cannon in NH and possibly Sunapee would fall into this category.

See you on the slopes!

[haberstroh]

Thanks for all the responses. Since we have to travel over the President's Day weekend I had to book fast. Also our kids are young (4 and 7) and although I enrolled them in ski-classes, they might not want to do that all day (I am thinking of the child with cold hands, lost hat, runny nose and crying for mom LOL) so other child care options were important. So, I decided to book Sugar Bush, VT. The 5 days cost us $2500 including slope side condo, ski passes for kids and adults, ski lessons for the kids, childcare. Seems expensive but Smugglers Notch quoted me over $4000 for a similar package. There goes hubby's bonus ha ha. Oh what the heck...spending money is good for the economy. :-)

[bingo08]

Originally Posted by vter

Smaller areas to check out would be Burke Mountain in Vermont, Crotched Mountain in NH, Bolton Valley VT. If you want a bigger ski area, I highly recommend Sugarbush in Vermont.
Locally to the Boston area you have a couple options which would be great for kids to learn how to ski for a day trip...Nashoba Valley being one.
Hope you have fun!

I love Sugarbush in Vt. I also like loon mt in n.h., it is closer to get to.