Best US Ski Resorts for Families for this Ski Season

Dreaming of a snowy family escape this winter? Whether your crew is carving black diamonds, mastering the bunny hill, or just in it for the hot cocoa, we’ve got you covered. Our ski-loving SheBuysTravel contributors rounded up the best family-friendly ski resorts in the U.S.—with picks for every age, ability, and vacation style.

So, which resort is right for your family? That depends on a few key things:

• Are you chasing the best powder—or sticking to the groomers?
• Do you have little beginners or fearless teens?
• Is ski school a must?
• Or is a killer terrain park at the top of your list?

Our answers below!

Planning for a Family Ski Trip

Kid-free skiers and snowboarders follow the snow. But families with school-age kids have far less flexibility. They generally focus on booking ski trips over school vacations and during the holidays. So ski resorts book up quickly during those times of the year.

If you haven’t yet booked your 2025-2026 family ski trip, we’ll tell you which ski areas in North America:

• offer the best ski lessons
• allow kids to ski free
• have the best off-mountain activities
• where to find family-friendly events.

SheBuysTravel Tip: If this is your first family ski trip, check out these tips for first-time skiers, before hitting the slopes.

Pro Tips for Planning a Family Ski Vacation

• Be flexible.
• Buy travel insurance and understand your cancellation policies.
• Make reservations for everything as early as possible – that includes ski lessons, gear rentals, even restaurants and off-slope activities.
• Pack your patience. Ski trips are fun but can be a lot of work gearing up and getting kids to their ski lessons.

Best Colorado Ski Resorts for Families

Beaver Creek Resort

Beaver Creek is the place where locals — my kids included — learn to ski. The ski school is first class. At one point, my son’s ski instructor convinced him that his wipeouts were backflips. He was excited to tell us about all the backflips he did on the mountain that day.

The mountain has really fun but non-intimidating areas for beginners to learn. There are plenty of groomers and terrain parks with fun stops. These include Ghost Town and Riparoo’s Cabin. There are acres of groomed trails at McCoy Park, terrain that’s designed to help beginner and intermediate skiers/riders sharpen their skills.

Beaver Creek can be a pricey place to learn to ski. But it really doesn’t get any more hassle-free with lots of ski-in/ ski-out lodging, escalators to take you up to the slopes and more.

More Family Fun Activities at Beaver Creek

Candy Cabin and the warm chocolate chip cookies served every afternoon at 3pm at the bottom of Haymeadow and Centennial Express Lifts provide much-needed motivation for the kiddos.

Ski bikes are available at the Beaver Creek ice skating rink. Lots of fun art can be found throughout the village. And, additional fire pits and seating areas have been added for outdoor dining and warming up.

Breckenridge

Breckenridge is conveniently located a couple of hours west of Denver. It’s fun to walk along Main Street, which is lined with quaint, historic buildings. Plus, there are plenty of fun on-mountain activities besides skiing and snowboarding.

Plus, the area is home to some of the best snow tubing hills in the state.

Copper Mountain

There are so many reasons to love Copper Mountain, from its convenient location and affordable accommodations to great snow conditions and ski schools,

Copper’s Western Territory on the resort’s western-most side of the mountain is dedicated to inspiring beginner skiers while also connecting skiers with Copper’s history. While on the slopes, learn about the history of western exploration at two family-friendly adventure zones.

When it comes to lodging, Element 29 offers a full-service hotel experience complete with après-ski activities and food at Bar 29, a contemporary lobby bar featuring small plates and drinks.

In addition, the resort typically offers free childcare to families spending time and money in town. For example, Wednesday through Saturday from 5:30-10:30pm during ski season, parents can drop their kids off for up to three hours of babysitting. Just bring along your dinner or shopping receipt for $30 or more at pick-up.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Get a room! Seriously make it a long weekend and book a condo or hotel room. Totally worth bunking down together and creating more memories with the family

Keystone

SheBuysTravel contributor Breeze Leonard says that beautiful Keystone, Colorado has one of the most wonderful ski resorts for families. Her favorite reason to visit: kids 12 and under ski for FREE!

During her entire stay, the resort had Kidtopia activities for families off the slopes which meant the fun didn’t end once they got off the mountain.

Families can take sleigh rides or play in the world’s largest snow fort. Enjoy family game nights, winter movie matinees, River Run fireworks, parades and so much more! Everything is conveniently located in the village so you can eat lunch, rent your ski gear and warm up next to a campfire before or after skiing.

SheBuysTravel Tip: The Colorado Mountain Express will transport you from the Denver, Colorado, airport to Keystone. And once you arrive, the resort has its own shuttle service that will take you to lodging locations, local restaurants, and the River Run village.

Snowmass

Snowmass has always been a family-friendly ski resort with ski-in/ski-out slope-side condos at the base of the mountain. But the resort has really upped its game in recent years.

For example, the resort introduced The Collective Snowmass, a cozy base village with fire pits, a free ice skating rink and an arts and entertainment center. It is an ideal place to enjoy a family-friendly après-ski experience.

In addition, be sure to take a thrilling ride on the mountaintop alpine coaster. And, Snowmass boasts a 54-foot-high indoor rock climbing wall. It runs directly up the Limelight Hotel Snowmass.

Foodie Fun at Snowmass

This is also the place for foodies. Many of Aspen Mountain’s chefs are making their mark on Snowmass. Be sure to check out Sam’s located at the top of the Village Express lift. It is a special dining experience where the food may only be outmatched by the views.

Snowmass Base Village is the place to find Kenichi, which offers sushi and pan-Asian cuisine, and Aurum, which offers seasonal new American cuisine in an elegantly casual dining space.

If you’re in town around the winter holidays, check out Snowmass Luminescence, a festive arts and sparkling holiday light display.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Snowmass in summer may even be more fun for families!

Aspen Mountain

While we’ve already mentioned Snowmass, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also include Aspen Mountain. This historic Colorado mountain town is home to upscale dining and shopping. Note that the Aspen ski slopes are best suited for intermediate to advanced skiers and snowboarders.

In addition to its reputation as a top ski resort, Aspen is a progressive town that prides itself on its commitment to sustainability and climate change. Aspen Snowmass also operates Buttermilk (home of the X Games) and Aspen Highlands.

Sunlight

SheBuysTravel contributor Susie Kelloggsays Sunlight Mountain Resort, located just outside Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on the Western Slope, is among the least crowded ski resorts in Colorado. Plus, Glenwood Springs is one of Colorado’s many charming and historic mountain towns.

Sunlight Mountain Resort is small, affordable and rugged. The amenities are limited, but the snow is great. Sunlight’s tagline is “Where the Powder Lasts For Days.”

SheBuysTravel Tip: At the top of the mountain, there is a bathroom with a vault toilet. Stop at the little hut with heaters to warm up on the coldest of days.

Vail Mountain

Skiers looking for unlimited terrain head to Vail. With 5,289 skiable acres, Vail is one of the largest ski resorts in North America. Two high-speed gondolas run out of the two quaint alpine-themed mountain villages. The back bowls are epic. Skiers could ski all week long and not repeat a ski run. The ski resort is best for families with older kids or more advanced ski families. Teens will love the terrain parks.

Some of the local hotels will offer free loaner sleds and snowshoes. Moonlight snowshoeing is another great family activity. The town has much to offer too, with a free bus system and a variety of dining and family winter activities.

Best Utah Ski Resorts for Families

Park City

Park City Mountain is the largest ski resort in the US with more than 7,300 skiable acres. And, 60% of this ski terrain is beginner and intermediate terrain with plenty of groomers. Thirteen bowls and eight terrain parks add to the fun.

But there are also so many fun things to do off the slopes. Try dog sledding, snowshoeing, ice skating or snow tubing. More options include taking an art class or relaxing in a geothermal pool.

Park City has the most expansive snowmaking system in Utah. This ensures world-class skiing conditions all season long, regardless of natural snowfall.

​​Plus, there’s a wide variety of lodging options, including hotels, condos, houses, ski-in-ski-out properties and more.

Best New Mexico Ski Resorts for Families

Taos

Taos, less than a five-hour drive from Denver, has nearly 1,300 skiable acres with 13 ski lifts and a Children’s Center.

Located just 18 miles from the town of Taos, Taos Ski Valley is a privately owned ski destination, with fewer crowds and more fun in a family-centric winter playground. From her adult daughter to her 4-year-old granddaughter, everyone loved the slow pace with fewer people on the Taos mountain.

In addition to skiing, visitors can also glide on the Eis Haus ice-skating rink or enjoy a sleigh ride to dinner on the mountain. With a state-of-the-art snowcat, 13 high-efficiency snow guns, and enhanced snowmaking pipes, Taos offers excellent snow conditions all season long.

Best California Ski Resorts for Families

Palisades Tahoe, Lake Tahoe

​​After years of lessons and scooting down bunny hills, SheBuysTravel writer Catherine Parker introduced her kids, then ages 9, 12 and 14, to Palisades Tahoe, formerly known as Squaw Valley. It was an epic weekend where they ran the mountain like Olympians. There’s nothing better than carving the perfect line through glistening snow while sneaking peeks of the pristine alpine lake.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Take everything you need in one trip since the good green skiing is at the top of the mountain. Also, check the weather before heading out. The winds can be brutal for little people. It’s Catherine’s favorite place to ski in North America under a bluebird sky.

Best Wyoming Ski Resorts for Families

Jackson Hole

A trip to ski in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, always gets off to a breathtaking start, landing in Jackson Hole Airport, located entirely within Grand Teton National Park. Combining skiing with day trips to the Grand Tetons and nearby Yellowstone National Park makes for a great vacation!

Jackson Hole is home to some of the country’s most amazing expert terrain. But beginners can also find green runs off of Teewinot Quad and Eagle’s Chair.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Another perk for families? At Jackson Hole Mountain Resort kids ski free, one child per paying adult, with a four-night resort condo rental. Sweet deal!

Midwest Ski Resorts for Families

The Midwest may not have big mountains, but it still has fun, family-friendly skiing. One of the Midwest’s biggest and best ski hills is at Boyne Mountain, in northwest Michigan. Besides well-groomed ski runs for beginners and experts, kids love its large indoor water park with a surfing simulator, and on-site fudge and ice cream shops.

Skiing is just one of the many winter activities – like fat-tire snow biking and snowmobiling – at the lovely Crystal Mountain Resort in Thompsonville, Michigan. For a day trip from Chicago, the newly renovated Wilmot Mountain  – just over the Illinois border in Wilmot, Wisconsin – is a solid choice. Its long, smooth bunny hills are equipped with magic carpets (a type of conveyor belt) that bring skiers from the bottom to the top.

SheBuysTravel Tip: For a no-frills, budget-friendly ski resort, try Indianhead Mountain in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The price is much lower than most Midwest ski spots, and it has an outstanding ski school. Since it’s in the Lake Superior snow belt, expect tons of real snow up until late March (spring break!) – none of the fake slushy stuff.

Montana Ski Resorts for Families

Big Sky

Don’t let Big Sky’s big mountain reputation scare you away. The 5,800 acres of skiable terrain include 870 acres of beginner terrain. For example, Lone Wolf, Mr. K, Cinnabar and Deep South are some of the best beginner runs. It has ski programs for the bigger kids and childcare for the smallest. Off the slopes, there are sleigh rides and zip lines,

While there’s plenty of beginner and intermediate terrain at Big Sky, it may be best known for the extreme Big Couloir. Don’t attempt this run without first reviewing safety precautions.

What Ski Pass Should You Get for Your Family?

If you live near multiple ski resorts or ski often, you should consider investing in either the Epic Pass or the Ikon Pass. Both the Epic Pass and Ikon Pass have different levels of passes that give access to a different quantity of ski days at each resort. Be sure to read all of the fine print and other details before you buy.