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A family hits the slopes in this child-friendly Canadian winter wonderland, where cheap lift tickets and lessons mean learning the sport is affordable and fun.

It's French, it's snowy and it's very welcoming, with children of all ages giggling on the slopes and beaten-snow paths around the tiny village. It's Mont-Sainte-Anne, Québec, one of Canada's top ski resorts, and one of the best kept secrets in the Northeast.

At our recent visit over Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, we met other Americans who had discovered that there were no 'holiday rates' in effect here; in fact, our very large, balconied room with kitchenette in the four-star Chateau Mont Sainte-Anne was priced as a 'winter special'.

We had a two-night package for just 199$CAN per adult (kids sleep free in parents' room) for two days of posh ski in/ski out accommodations including lift tickets and breakfast. Throughout the resort's mid-November to early May opening, Americans will find similar unexpected opportunities for very good skiing and boarding at great rates.

The downside is a long drive (about 575 miles from New York City or 400 miles from Boston), but it's only 30 minutes by bus from the charming Québec City (served by air and Amtrak.) Though the tiny spa area was disappointing, the modern, convention-catering Chateau Mont Sainte-Anne hotel does have other perks, such as two family films shown daily (one in English, one French), an unkempt toddler playroom, an arcade with shuffleboard, ping pong and inexpensive video games, and periodic organized family activities like marshmallow roasts and hot chocolate breaks around the lobby fireplace. 

Best of all was our view from the balcony over the slopes each evening, as Mont-Sainte-Anne lit up to accommodate hardy night skiers and boarders.

Friendly Mountain

Our first day there was like it is so often on family ski weekends: a rough time waking up; a hearty but quickly consumed breakfast; an hour's wait at the well organized Sports Alpins (418/827-3708) rental shop, an anxious registration for our 10-year-old's snowboarding clinic, then way too much fun skiing for us.

Mont-Sainte-Anne, with its main south face overlooking the frozen-crusted St. Lawrence, and smaller north and west sides facing the forest, is large enough to provide a weekend of varied expert and intermediate runs and small enough to be manageable for young skiers out on their own.  The lift staff is accommodating, there's a charming log cabin 'sugar shack' for maple treats, and the runs are well groomed, manmade powder over an ice base that wore well in this snow-starved season.

After much exploration, our family's six out-of-shape legs cried, "Stop!" for the day about 4pm.

Après Ski

Tired but delighted, we returned to the Chateau's large, functional lobby to play billiards and video games. While our damp snow gear toasted over the room's hearty radiator, we took our bathing suits down to the basement level pool, longing for a swim and a hot tub.

This was certainly the least classy of the Chateau experiences: the little pool was chilly and crowded; the hot tub was shoulder-to-shoulder with a family of 12 who wouldn't leave; the small sauna was jammed. You had to slosh barefoot around the "spa's" slippery tile floors to find a tiny changing stall, no lockers and soap-less showers. Is this a typical first-come, first-serve experience at the spa on weekends? Sadly, since the Chateau serves many groups and small business conventions, it's probably the case weekdays, too.