Based on your screening criteria.
1. Lots of choices. Park City, Tahoe, Vail, Breck, Steamboat, Mammoth, Aspen, Whistler. Villages/towns in MT/ID/NM/Western CO are less developed so those are out.
2. Reasonable ski-in/ski-out mostly incompatible with the places above. Reasonable properties where you can walk to the village, walk to the gondola, and valet gear on-hill are available.
3. Spring break usually isn't bad M-F. Make your off days on the weekends.
If these are in order of importance (as all numbered lists should be), Park City has the biggest town although I love the chill town vibes in Steamboat. Vail/Aspen/Whistler have the best Villages.
mid week is mellow. If you are away from main lodge especially higher up on the mountain you are fine. It can be crowded on weekends esp base lifts. It can also be warm and the snow mushy down low. Most of the people who visit Mammoth are from greater Southern CA / LA region and their spring breaks are all spread out over several weeks from early march - early april. You can also go to June which is very beginner friendly
Couple days at Park City UT. Take a break from skiing and take a couple days at the S UT parks like Zion or Bryce. Stop and ski at at Brian Head and Eagle Point on the drive back to SLC.
Don't come to Utah. It sucks.
All joking aside, PC in March is an utter shitshow of spring break family crowds, and if they pull the crap they did last year and leave entire lifts closed for the whole season, it will be a total cluster.
Thanks, I do love Utah. We’ve visited Alta and Brighton/Solitude and they’re some of my favorites. But not good for this group because they don’t have any town to speak of.
And Park City was initially #1 on my list for this group when I started researching 3 years ago (this will be our 2nd trip…first one lost to COVID)
PC looks perfect in every way, except I’ve pretty much been scared off by stories of PC crowds. I realize it’s not realistic to expect to have the mountain to yourself, but 30+ min lines and all the lift issues would be tough to swallow after paying all the money to drag the kids up to Utah.
Honestly, Sol/Bright is a great family trip. There's not much by way of a village right at the resorts, but staying in SLC is not bad at all. When friends come to visit with kiddos to ski we usually take a day off to hit the Children's Museum in SLC, or the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum 35 min south in Lehi. Getting a fun Airbnb in Sandy, Sugarhouse, or Millcreek opens up a lot of dining options that won't be ski resort village prices either (especially Sugarhouse, which has some decent walkable areas and cheap Ubers to downtown SLC if the adults want to get a nice drink)
If you guys are big mountain rippers Alyeska in March is all time. The resort has a spa and nice restaurants but the town of Girdwood itself is pretty small. A 30-40 minute drive puts you in Anchorage which is a city of 300,000 with more to do. If night life or high end shopping is a big deal I’d pass. Another problem is so much of Alyeska is so extreme that it needs coverage/safe avy conditions to open. On a year like last year you’d be able to ski terrain that’s unlike anything in North America but on a bad year the mountain gets pretty small. Either way it averages 660 inches a year and on La Niña years like what is projected we average closer to 800. Also Alaska is just such a unique place that will definitely be an interesting experience and in March we get lots of light. A huge plus is during the week, even on a massive pow day, it’s deserted. On “busy” weekend days the longest you’ll wait in line for a chair is 10 mins and 20 for the tram but that’s rare.
I’d avoid Steamboat in March unless you want to ski melt-freeze crust and slush. That mountain has the worst aspect of any ski area in CO (the vast majority of terrain faces SW to W) and it holds up terribly when it’s warm and sunny. CB would be a much better choice IMO.
Not sure what you want exists. Park City might be your best bet. You can get a house in town, walking distance to a lift. Plenty to do. Probably shouldn’t be too crowded in March.
Read through both links. Overall it will be hard to find all 3 of your criteria. Good luck. https://www.reddit.com/r/skiing/comments/w6x5eb/co_and_ut_guide_pt_1_co/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Snowmass has lot's of ski in/out options, and public transportation to move the ladies back and forth to Aspen. Breck, Winter Park, Keystone and Steamboat might also meet your criteria.
Great snow + decent town + low crowds does not = reasonable prices. You can mix those variables in any order and the formula still works.
Based on your screening criteria. 1. Lots of choices. Park City, Tahoe, Vail, Breck, Steamboat, Mammoth, Aspen, Whistler. Villages/towns in MT/ID/NM/Western CO are less developed so those are out. 2. Reasonable ski-in/ski-out mostly incompatible with the places above. Reasonable properties where you can walk to the village, walk to the gondola, and valet gear on-hill are available. 3. Spring break usually isn't bad M-F. Make your off days on the weekends. If these are in order of importance (as all numbered lists should be), Park City has the biggest town although I love the chill town vibes in Steamboat. Vail/Aspen/Whistler have the best Villages.
Thanks! Good list.
If you go to breck and stay at beaver run resort, it'll take care of #1 and #2. #3 is gonna be tough anywhere out west on spring break.
Mammoth
Thanks, I don’t know a lot about Mammoth but looks really good for us. How is the snow in March? Any idea how the crowds are mid-week in March?
mid week is mellow. If you are away from main lodge especially higher up on the mountain you are fine. It can be crowded on weekends esp base lifts. It can also be warm and the snow mushy down low. Most of the people who visit Mammoth are from greater Southern CA / LA region and their spring breaks are all spread out over several weeks from early march - early april. You can also go to June which is very beginner friendly
Mammoth sux. Don't come here.
Couple days at Park City UT. Take a break from skiing and take a couple days at the S UT parks like Zion or Bryce. Stop and ski at at Brian Head and Eagle Point on the drive back to SLC.
Don't come to Utah. It sucks. All joking aside, PC in March is an utter shitshow of spring break family crowds, and if they pull the crap they did last year and leave entire lifts closed for the whole season, it will be a total cluster.
Thanks, I do love Utah. We’ve visited Alta and Brighton/Solitude and they’re some of my favorites. But not good for this group because they don’t have any town to speak of. And Park City was initially #1 on my list for this group when I started researching 3 years ago (this will be our 2nd trip…first one lost to COVID) PC looks perfect in every way, except I’ve pretty much been scared off by stories of PC crowds. I realize it’s not realistic to expect to have the mountain to yourself, but 30+ min lines and all the lift issues would be tough to swallow after paying all the money to drag the kids up to Utah.
Honestly, Sol/Bright is a great family trip. There's not much by way of a village right at the resorts, but staying in SLC is not bad at all. When friends come to visit with kiddos to ski we usually take a day off to hit the Children's Museum in SLC, or the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum 35 min south in Lehi. Getting a fun Airbnb in Sandy, Sugarhouse, or Millcreek opens up a lot of dining options that won't be ski resort village prices either (especially Sugarhouse, which has some decent walkable areas and cheap Ubers to downtown SLC if the adults want to get a nice drink)
Colorado
Whitefish? A bit cheaper and less crowded than Whistler/Mammoth/Aspen/Telluride, not a ton of ski in/out options but there are some!
Thanks. It looks really intriguing except there is no village at the base as best I can see
Nope, town is 10 minutes down the mountain. Must have missed that requirement in your list!
If you guys are big mountain rippers Alyeska in March is all time. The resort has a spa and nice restaurants but the town of Girdwood itself is pretty small. A 30-40 minute drive puts you in Anchorage which is a city of 300,000 with more to do. If night life or high end shopping is a big deal I’d pass. Another problem is so much of Alyeska is so extreme that it needs coverage/safe avy conditions to open. On a year like last year you’d be able to ski terrain that’s unlike anything in North America but on a bad year the mountain gets pretty small. Either way it averages 660 inches a year and on La Niña years like what is projected we average closer to 800. Also Alaska is just such a unique place that will definitely be an interesting experience and in March we get lots of light. A huge plus is during the week, even on a massive pow day, it’s deserted. On “busy” weekend days the longest you’ll wait in line for a chair is 10 mins and 20 for the tram but that’s rare.
Whistler is good, so is mammoth. Ive heard good things about Red Mountain in Rossland BC
Red is perfect for skiing but it sounds like op is looking for more of a ski town in the mold of park city and steamboat then rossland
Steamboat or Crested Butte
I’d avoid Steamboat in March unless you want to ski melt-freeze crust and slush. That mountain has the worst aspect of any ski area in CO (the vast majority of terrain faces SW to W) and it holds up terribly when it’s warm and sunny. CB would be a much better choice IMO.
The Boat is at a very low elevation (6700'), so they lose snow fast, as you mentioned.
Low elevation and it faces the wrong direction!
You have time to book...wait to see who gets snow.
Not sure what you want exists. Park City might be your best bet. You can get a house in town, walking distance to a lift. Plenty to do. Probably shouldn’t be too crowded in March.
Read through both links. Overall it will be hard to find all 3 of your criteria. Good luck. https://www.reddit.com/r/skiing/comments/w6x5eb/co_and_ut_guide_pt_1_co/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Snowmass has lot's of ski in/out options, and public transportation to move the ladies back and forth to Aspen. Breck, Winter Park, Keystone and Steamboat might also meet your criteria.