When deciding which family ski resort to visit, you are likely looking for ways to save money on your ski trip. One of the key decisions will be to choose a ski resort that is easily accessible.
Find a ski resort near an airport
When planning a family ski trip, you will need to budget for accommodation, lift tickets, meals, and other expenses. Be sure to include travel expenses in your decision.
One option might be to find a cheap flight to a major airport, like Denver, and then choose a ski resort within driving distance. Another option is to choose a ski resort closer to a smaller airport. And a third option is to choose a resort that requires a lot of driving from the nearest airport.
How much is your time worth?
There are good reasons to choose a ski resort that is reasonably close to an airport. Children probably do not go to school for a limited number of days. Parents probably have limited vacation days. Nobody likes to spend most of their vacation just to get to the destination.
Once you’ve landed in mountain country, there can be big variations in the time it takes to get to the ski resort. Most Colorado resorts, for example, are at least a two to three hour drive from Denver International Airport, assuming no traffic (a big factor on weekends). If you rent a car, add another 30-60 minutes to get your vehicle.
However, flying into the smaller and more remote Yampa Valley Airport in Hayden will get you to Steamboat Springs in about an hour. You have just earned several more hours of vacation that you can spend on the slopes or enjoy the resort. Another benefit of choosing a resort that is closer to a small airport is that it will likely be less crowded.
Note that the example above assumes that you can fly directly to the smaller airport, which should be feasible from major hubs like Dallas, Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New York.
The most accessible western ski resorts
There are some gems in ski country that are just a short drive from an airport.
- Aspen-Snowmass is a great ski destination that is just minutes from the local Aspen-Pitken County Airport. A 20 minute bus ride can take you from the airport to the ski town. If you are efficient, you could ski in an hour after the wheels of your plane touch down. Also, the Aspen airport now has many direct flights. However, flying into this airport can be expensive, so be sure to book early or get a sale.
- Salt Lake City is a major Delta hub just 45-60 minutes from at least half a dozen great ski resorts including Snowbird, Solitude, The Canyons, Deer Valley, and Park City. Not only does the area receive a lot of snow, but this major airport has direct flights from virtually anywhere in the country.
- Fly into the Reno-Tahoe International Airport and an hour later you could be on the runways at Northstar, Squaw Valley, Heavenly, or Alpine Meadows.
- Further north, in Wyoming and Montana, Jackson Hole and Big Sky are about an hour from small but well-served airports in Jackson and Bozeman, respectively. In Idaho, the Sun Valley Resort is served by the local airport just minutes away and is served by sizable seasonal flight selections.
By reducing your airport to pending time, you can find savings on family travel expenses, such as:
- Not having to rent a car, when a shorter trip to the slopes can be done comfortably on an airport shuttle or taxi
- Reduce one night’s accommodation because the logistics of returning home are simpler and more direct
- Reducing the risk of getting caught in a snowstorm or traffic jam trying to get to the runways from the airport, reducing gas and incidental expenses.
By factoring airport-to-pending times into your plans, you’ll be one step closer to achieving one of the goals of any family trip: spending your time on vacation, not getting there.
Paul Johnson is the editor of Family Ski Hub, a website dedicated to helping ski families plan and enjoy family ski vacations.
– Edited by Suzanne Rowan Kelleher
