Winter Park, Colorado. All photography is ours. Some links on this page are affiliate links.
Home/Destinations/Ski trips
Family Ski Trips
We’ve been on quite a few spring break ski trips over the years. Park City was our first family ski trip, back when it was still Canyons Resort. Since then we’ve skied Whistler, Winter Park, Purgatory, Sun Valley, and the Japanese Alps.
Carrick learned to ski at Winter Park as a kid. Carrie had only skied once before our first family trip, and he’s (barely) convinced her it’s fun. Family ski trips aren’t always easy to pull off, so here are the resorts, the hotels, and the passes in one place.
Ski trip guide · Updated October 2026
When we go
Spring break, in March
Resorts skied
Six, in three states, Canada & Japan
Our first
Canyons, now Park City
Passes compared
Ikon, Epic, Mountain Collective
How we get there
Cash + Miles & Points
Ski trips with kids
The resorts we’ve skied as a family
We’ve skied six resorts, from a Colorado classic to deep snow in the Japanese Alps. Tap a photo for the whole trip.
Where to stay
Where we stayed, and a few we’d try
The hotel we booked at each resort comes first. The rest are the ones we’d look at next time.
Winter Park
The Vintage Hotel
The Vintage Hotel has large rooms with fireplaces and access to the village on the Cabriolet lift. This is where we stayed.
- The Vintage Hotel
- Fraser Crossing, comfortable condos a walk from the village
- Zephyr Mountain Lodge, the only ski-in, ski-out lodging at Winter Park
Whistler
The Westin Resort and Spa
Where we stayed. Awesome access to the slopes and the gondola, and the ski concierge is perfect for families.
- Westin Resort and Spa Whistler
- Four Seasons Resort Whistler if a luxe trip is your thing
- Fairmont Chateau Whistler, right on the mountain
- More Whistler lodging for families
Park City
Hyatt Centric Park City
We stayed here and loved it. It has ski-in, ski-out access, a free shuttle to the village, and well appointed rooms.
- Hyatt Centric Park City
- Marriott’s MountainSide Villas, condo-style rooms with a lift out the door
- Marriott’s Summit Watch, next to the lifts and close to Main Street
Hakuba, Japan
Sierra Resort Hakuba
Sierra Resort Hakuba has on-site rentals, treats for the kids, après ski wine for the adults, and a free breakfast buffet. We loved it and would absolutely go back.
Ski passes
Ikon, Epic, or Mountain Collective?
Skiing is not a cheap activity, so finding a deal matters. Instead of buying lift tickets at the window, look at one of these passes. Depending on where you want to ski and how often, one of them can be a great deal for families.
Unlimited days
Best forFamilies who ski a lot of days or take more than one trip
KidsDiscounted for ages 5 to 12
Ski daysUnlimited at 18 destinations, plus 7 days each at 58 more
Blackout datesNone (the Base Pass blacks out holiday weekends)
Extra daysNo discount, but 25% off Friends & Family tickets
Upgrade to a season passYes, Base to full Ikon
Resorts78, including Winter Park, Copper, Steamboat, Eldora, Palisades Tahoe, Mammoth, Deer Valley, Aspen Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Taos, Big Sky, and Tremblant
InternationalCanada, Japan, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and Chile
Most popular
Best forFamilies taking one ski trip (also sold in 1 to 7 day versions)
KidsDiscounted for ages 5 to 12
Ski days4 days, used whenever you like, plus 4 bonus days at Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton, and Wilmot
Blackout datesPeak holiday dates, unless you add them
Extra daysNo discount
Upgrade to a season passNo
Resorts32, including Vail, Beaver Creek, Whistler Blackcomb, Breckenridge, Keystone, Park City, Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, Stowe, and Telluride
InternationalWhistler Blackcomb and the Canadian Rockies with the 4-day All Resorts pass
Two days everywhere
Best forFamilies who like to try a different resort every year
KidsDiscounted kids and teen passes
Ski days2 days at each of 27 destinations (54 in all)
Blackout datesNone
Extra days50% off
Upgrade to a season passNo
Resorts27, including Alta, Aspen Snowmass, Big Sky, Jackson Hole, Palisades Tahoe, Snowbasin, Snowbird, Sugarbush, Sun Valley, Taos, Banff Sunshine, and Lake Louise
InternationalCanada, Japan, Chile, France, New Zealand, and Australia
Details are for the 2026-27 season. Check each pass for current pricing and resorts before you buy.
Good to know
Questions families ask us about ski trips
We ski over spring break, usually a week in March. Book the day you know your dates. Spring break is prime season, and the ski-in, ski-out hotels go first.
Winter Park is the one we’d point most families to first. The ski school is excellent, the village is cozy, and the red wagons for hauling gear are a nice touch. It’s also one of the closest big resorts to Denver. Purgatory outside Durango is smaller and cheaper, with kid-approved groomers top to bottom. Sun Valley’s Dollar Mountain is a separate beginner hill, so new skiers aren’t sharing runs with experts.
It depends on how many days you’ll ski. The Epic 4-Day Pass is made for a family taking one ski trip. The Ikon Pass makes sense if you’ll ski a lot of days or take several trips. The Mountain Collective gives you two days at each of 27 resorts, which is great if you like to try somewhere new. Kids’ prices on all three are a fraction of the adult price.
Yes, it is. Ski school is at the base of the village, and there’s plenty of green and blue terrain on both mountains. We stayed ski-in, ski-out at the Westin, and it made the logistics easy.
For us it was. Our ski trip to the Japanese Alps is the trip that started this blog. It’s more complicated to plan than a trip to the Rockies, and we only skied two days so we could see more of Japan. The runs at Tsugaike Kogen in Hakuba were wide open with no lift lines. If you’re in Nagano, don’t miss the snow monkeys at Jigokudani. Kids adore them.
Keep exploring
More ski trip planning
We asked other family travel bloggers where they ski and put it all in one post. It covers resorts all over North America.