ArcaMax

Ready to explore a gigantic ice fort? Maybe you’d rather zoom down an Olympic bobsled track or race your family on fast multi-lane tubing hills. Let’s not forget moonlit snowshoe tours, sleigh rides to gourmet dinners or a horseback ride in the snow.

These days, heading to a snow resort offers a lot more than skiing and riding wherever you find yourself looking for some fun in the snow. And even the fittest person will likely need a day off from the slopes. (Massage, anyone?) Ski town resorts are known for their fabulous spas! (Find more fun in the snow options in our Winter Getaways section!)

Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado, where kids 12 and under ski free with two or more nights of lodging, boasts the World’s Largest Mountaintop Snow Fort, complete with snow caves, ice slides and a free kid-friendly tubing hill through the heart of the fort. (The resort’s eight-lane tubing hill is right next door.)

Come in January to Breckenridge, Colorado, for the International Snow Sculpture Championships (Jan. 24 to Feb. 3) and from Jan. 24 to 28 you can watch teams from around the world work on the giant sculptures.

If you are getting excited for the Winter Olympics in Italy (Feb. 6 to Feb 22) You can challenge yourself on the fast ride down the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Games Sliding Track in Park City, Utah, that was home to bobsled, skeleton and luge events and has continued to host World Cub and World Championship events. Your pilot will be a professional and you must be 13 and at least 100 pounds to ride.

Also popular in Park City is fat-tire biking. The oversized tires create a smooth pedaling experience. Make sure to wear water- resistant hiking shoes or boots. There are places you can rent bikes and go on your own or with guides.

On the East Coast in Lake Placid, New York, you can also ride down a real bobsled track, at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex. A similar "Cliffside Coaster" follows the path of the 1980 track. Skate on the Olympic Speed Skating Oval or cross-country sky on the same trails used by Olympians. Perhaps you would want to ride a zipline from the top of the Ski Jumping complex. Lake Placid was home to the third Olympic Winter Games in 1932 and again in 1980 when the US Men’s Hockey Team famously defeated the Soviet team in what became known as “The Miracle on Ice.”

For an entirely different kind of experience, consider a dude ranch in winter, as we did at Vista Verde in tiny Clark, Colorado, and about a 40-minute drive from Steamboat Springs and a world away from a busy snow resort. We went back-country skiing, snowmobiling, horseback riding, soaked in hot tubs on our cabin porch and dined on delicious meals none of us had to cook. The Dude Ranchers Association can help you find one to suit that is open in winter.

Visit Jackson Hole in winter and you can explore Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks without the crowds. The Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole can arrange Yellowstone Old Faithful snow coach tours as well as tours on snowmobiles.

In Vail you can take a tour of the free Colorado Snowsports Museum and in Stowe, Vermont, the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum. While you are in Vail stop in for a Haute Chocolat gigantic hot chocolate concoction that has gained fame on Instagram. I dare you to be able to finish one! In Breckenridge, stop in at the Breckenridge Visitor Center Museum where you can sign up for an outdoor tour in this historic mining town. Also, Vail Resorts announced a new discount averaging over 30 percent off lift tickets at 12 of its top destination resorts for guests who purchase four or more weeks in advance.

There is plenty of fun in the snow to be had for those with special challenges. The National Sports Center for the Disabled has been going strong for 55 years offering adaptive skiing, snowboarding, ski bike and Nordic ski. There are at least 10 other adaptive programs at resorts, including Aspen, Steamboat, Telluride, Breckenridge and Crested Butte.

Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports has locations at snow resorts throughout Vermont. Adaptive ski programs are available in California at resorts like Palisades Tahoe and Northstar California Resort through the Achieve Tahoe program. Adaptive snow sports lessons are offered at 12 of Utah’s 15 mountain resorts, including the National Ability Center in Park City.

Not only do these programs offer scholarships, special programs for veterans, as well as kids, but they also enable families to get out and enjoy the snow together in ways that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

Snowshoe and Nordic equipment and tours are offered at most snow resorts. One of the most unique might be the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) snowshoe tour to the Ashcroft ghost town where you will learn all about the mining history of the region. ACES also offers snowshoe tours on Aspen and Snowmass mountains, as well as the chance to meet resident raptors like the golden eagle and great horned owl and learn all about them.

Another option to learn about animals is to opt for a dog sled tour that is offered at many snow resorts.

You may also have the chance to take a moonlit evening snow shoe tour at resorts as long as there is moonlight and clear skies, including at Purgatory Resort in Colorado in the Mount Hood National Forest in Park City and Lake Tahoe.

Many families, especially if visiting a snow resort for the first time, opt for a sleigh ride to a dinner which usually includes music. Be forewarned that while fun, it can be a long evening for young kids who have just spent a day on the slopes.

My favorite snow country dinner (if we aren’t too pooped) is Fireside Dining at Deer Valley, Utah’s Canyon Lodge where all four courses are cooked over open fires (think raclette cheese, stews, lamb and plenty of fondue for dessert). You will need a reservation!

========

(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)

©2025 Eileen Ogintz. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c) 2025 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.