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Top Ski Resorts

Jackson Hole
Granite Loop Road
Teton Village, WY 83025
888/DEEP-SNO, 307/733-2292
Originally opened in 1966, Wyoming's Jackson Hole mountain resort has always encouraged and promoted family travel. In fact, when FTF first reviewed it in 1998, it had just opened a Kids Ranch to provide families with a licensed daycare option for infants 2-months through 5-years-old. Ten years later, however, the program has grown tremendously, now catering to all ages and stages from 6-months through 17-years with activities that are specifically tailored to each age group. Teenagers, who previously had no recreational programming geared towards them, especially reap the benefits as they now have peer movie nights and customized snowboarding instruction.

Anna Olson, the Brand Director of Jackson Hole, comments on the need to satisfy a tremendous growth of winter family travel at their resort in recent years. Instead of offering more of the expected Kids Club fare of arts'n'crafts and sing-a-longs, she adds, "Lots of these kids want to spend time in the terrain parks and pipes." Thus was born the resort's Park and Pipe Camp, a three-day extravaganza in a terrain park filled with pipes, ramps and rails, exclusively for teens ages 12-17 who are intermediate or higher level skiers or snowboarders.

While Jackson Hole has excelled at meeting the needs of families with teens, parents of tinies should keep in mind that since 1998, pricing for slopeside childcare has nearly doubled. And with its focus on snow-filled fun and activities, it does not offer the wide variety of all season kid-friendly activities that some of our other past winners provide today.

Taos Ski Valley
Taos Ski Valley
New Mexico 87525
866/968-7386, 505/776-2291
The huge news here is that in 2008, the formerly skis-only Taos opened up the mountain to snowboarders, and even has plans to incorporate a snowboarding class for kids ages 6 and up at its legendary Ski School. Why? Taos' Marketing Manager, Adriana Blake, explains that snowboarding had become such a huge family sport in recent years that many family guests could no longer enjoy the village. But in order to make families feel more welcome, over the past 10 years, Taos had already introduced a myriad of other activities such as a terrain park for freestyle skiers, a NASTAR Racecourse, snowmobile tours, a tubing hill, visits to historical pueblos, ice-skating and even hot air ballooning in fair weather.

Other family benefits abound: kids up to 18 may ski and stay free (with some restrictions) at Taos Ski Valley. The adolescent crowd will also be pleased to know that since 1998, the resort's famous ski school that once taught only children ages 3-12, has grown to accommodate kids as old as 15. Also, this season is one of the first that has seen the comfy Taos Teen Center open with video games, a TV, snacks and drinks (for purchase). It is a place for the older kids to hang out, take a break from Mom and Dad and make some new friends.

Yet, catering to teens has not stopped Taos from taking even better care of the younger set than they did a decade ago. KinderCare, Taos' licensed childcare program, once grouped together all children from 6-months-old to 3-years of age. But now, with the addition of BebeCare, the tiniest of travelers younger than 12-months have their own personal staff, where the ratio is one caregiver to two infants.