Planning for your family’s first ski trip? Be sure to check out our ski trip essentials at our NEW Amazon Store. As an Amazon Associate we, earn from qualifying purchases. So you can support Out and About Mom when you shop!
Please note, this post was written in 2022, and while it should still give you a great overview of the experience, it may also contain some outdated information. Please be sure to check Stowe’s website for the most current information.
We visited again in 2024 and made a few updates! They are noted below.
2022 Post:
Over the recent long weekend, our family embarked on a totally new-to-us kind of adventure– we went skiing! The boys have been begging us for years to take them skiing but, save a one-time lesson at Powder Ridge Park here in CT, they had zero experience. I grew up skiing, and though I am fairly confident in my abilities, I was also realistic that teaching my kids to ski was not something I could do. So I knew before we even started booking the trip that I wanted to enroll my kids in a full day ski school program so they would have proper instruction and lots of it! Plus, as part of the ski school I knew they would always get to cut the lift lines–hey, that’s no small thing on a holiday weekend!
I had not been to Stowe, VT in upwards of 20 years, but I had some very fond memories from time spent there as a teen. Plus, the further north we went, I figured, the better chance for snow given the crazy climate swings we have been experiencing the last few seasons. Of course, this would also be the kids’ first road trip since our pilgrimage to Hershey Park way back in 2018, so I didn’t want to go too crazy. Three and a half hours seemed like a reasonable amount of car time, and the route to Stowe is pleasantly punctuated with luxury-like welcome centers and rest stops that would ease those “but where do we stop” worries on an unfamiliar drive.
The second big decision, after #1: selecting our destination, was where to stay. As a family of five with small children, having a suite-like set-up is ideal for us. Throw in a kitchenette and it’s even better! We didn’t bother looking at rental locations on the mountain because that “ski in, ski out” allure wouldn’t really be useful to us with three newbie skiers. So instead we focused on finding a comfortable location that met the above listed criteria that was not too far out from the ski area and where we also had easy access to restaurants and convenience stores. Happily, we were able to find exactly such a place and book our stay through Vacassa.
The rental condo was in a complex called The Village Green Condos and ended up being just perfect. I’ll give you a little verbal tour (sorry! we were so messy on vacation that I couldn’t bring myself to take any pictures! Haha!) in case this kind of setup might work well for your family too. It was by no means fancy, but it had all the essentials! This unit was two levels, with the kitchen and living space on the bottom floor and the bedrooms and baths upstairs. It also had a fabulous mudroom/foyer where we could leave all our wet gear and not have to bring it into the living space. The master bedroom had its own ensuite full bath, and then there was a second bedroom with twin beds and another full bath. There was also a pull-out couch on the first level, making for a total of four available beds. This arrangement worked for us because my 11-year-old was more than happy to sleep downstairs by himself, but if our kids had been smaller I’m not sure I would have wanted any of them on that lower level without me.
Parking was conveniently located right outside our unit and upon arrival we just got our key from a small lock box (they had given us the code ahead of time) placed near the front door. No office. No check-in. No waiting. Just open the door and go in! Which is exactly what I wanted to do after 3+ hours in the car with those kiddos LOL.
But enough about the condo. Let’s get to the reason you’re really here: the skiing!
Unbeknownst to me, Stowe Resort, particularly the new Spruce Peak area, which is where the ski school currently operates, underwent a massive renovation in the early 2000’s. So it looked a little bit different than the last time I was there (I won’t specify year but let’s just say there were certainly no cell phones that could snap pictures back then, gulp.) We felt like we’d won the ski vacation lottery! The Village, with its stores, restaurants, coffee shops, beautiful base camp lodge and spacious cafeteria, was just steps away from the hub of the ski school program. Not to mention the three chair lifts ascending Spruce Peak mountain (find a base area map here and a trail map here) with its plethora of beginner and intermediate terrain! There’s also an ice skating rink that opens midday and you can get rental skates (there is no charge to skate if you bring your own skates, but there is a fee to get rental skates). A toy and candy shop that offers free family programs. And important for parents, restrooms and food are never far away.
The effect was that although our kids were all enrolled in a 9-3:00 ski school program, we never had to be very far away from them. And all the while my husband and I got to enjoy ourselves too– skiing Spruce Peak trails while keeping an eye on the kiddos as they followed their instructors on the same terrain (it was a fun game to try to spot them from the chair lift!), grabbing a cup of coffee while we sat by the ice skating rink, and chatting like real grownups over gourmet lunch in the Spruce Peak Base Camp Lodge (see more dining options here). Seriously, I had a sweet potato masala cauliflower rice bowl with a side of flat bread. Ski lodge food has definitely evolved since my childhood days of grab-and-go foil-wrapped cheeseburgers! (Don’t worry, you can still get a cheeseburger.)
We registered the kids for ski school, reserved our rental equipment and bought our ski passes all online well in advance of our trip. Because you can pick up your rentals after 3pm and you won’t be charged for that day, we planned to arrive early enough in the afternoon to pick everything up at Spruce Peak–ski school tickets, lift passes, equipment–before our first day on the mountain. (That was a stroke of accidental genius, by the way– no line at the rental place at 3pm, even on that holiday weekend!) While the kids’ rental equipment was through the Stowe Resort, my husband and I accidentally rented our equipment from a different place a few doors down called Tru North (so easy to click on a link online and wham, you’re somewhere else and you didn’t even know it LOL). This actually ended up being fantastic because Tru North will let you return your equipment (skis, poles and even boots if you want!) at the end of the day and then you can just pick up your skis and poles from a rack outside the shop the next morning (boots would be kept inside and you’d have to go in for those). Everything is labeled with your name so no worries about finding the right equipment. Since we were already shlepping 3 sets of kid skis and boots across on the gondola, we were more than happy to deposit our equipment slope-side for the night and not have to carry it with us! (Update from our 2024 visit: You can also store your skis and poles overnight when you rent through Stowe resort as well.)
Even though we had all our gear and our lift passes, I had been apprehensive about our first day on the mountain, insisting on a 6:30am wakeup to get us out the door, to the parking area, on the gondola that takes you over to the Spruce Peak ski area (Spruce Peak is accessible by car but there’s VERY limited public parking over there and it’s VERY expensive) and on the mountain by 8:30am, 30 minutes before go time. But things went so smoothly, let’s just say that the second day I let everyone sleep a little later 🙂
Ski school for the boys was 9:00am-3:00pm. The kids had snacks and lunch as part of their program in their own separate dining space within the ski school building. I had reports of chips and pizza and other classic kid foods that even my picky eaters seemed happy to munch. (I did observe one child with special dietary restrictions bring her own food with her, so that is an option too if you need it.)
We started the boys (ages 8 & 11) in the true beginner group despite having had that brief ski experience a few years back. I had been a little worried that they would be surrounded by younger kids given that we’d waited so long to introduce them to the sport, but happily there were plenty of 7, 8, 9, and 10-year-olds in their group. By the end of the first day the boys were riding the chair lift by themselves and skiing down a bonafide green circle trail. By the end of the second day, they had taken another chair further up the mountain and were even tackling blue square runs. It was amazing to see the progress they made in just two days of ski school, and it reinforced our decision to put them in that type of immersive program.
Our little lady, age 4, was in a separate preschooler program. This group got started at 9:30am (update from 2024 visit: ski school for this age group started at 9:00am and ended at 3:00 this time) and they stayed mainly on their own little bunny hill, complete with its own “magic carpet.” They also had snacks and lunch in the ski school building. The first day, Little Miss made it until about 12:30pm before I got a phone call that she had had enough for the day (side note: the kids actually wear your cell phone numbers as they are printed on their ticket so your contact info is never far away). They told us that’s very common with the little ones when it’s their first time on skis because there is so much new information that first day they get a little overwhelmed and exhausted. But I’m happy to report that the second day she made it all the way until 3:00pm. She would have made it until the official 3:30pm end time if I hadn’t come over to try to watch her for a bit–once she saw mom and dad, that was it, she was done (insert forehead slap emoji here).
(This section has been updated with restaurant info from our 2024 visit) Since lunch was taken care of, and we had brought our own food to eat at the condo for breakfast, the only family meal we had to source was dinner. The first night we picked Piecasso, a funky pizza place with a mini arcade inside. This restaurant does not accept advance reservations (it did when we were there during Covid in 2022), but you can join their virtual wait list online. For the following night we ordered takeout from a place called The Whip. Both of these restaurants have super easy online ordering for takeout and you’ll even get an estimate of when your order will be ready and text updates. (Pro tip: order early! Like, really early. We found our online takeout orders during busy weekends could have wait times up to 2 hours!) Our last night in town, we made a game-time decision and ordered takeout from The Backyard. I don’t think there was online ordering there–we just called it in. All three had great kid-friendly options! (I found this article with some other, more adventures recommendations if your kiddos are not quite so narrow-minded when it comes to cuisine as mine are!)
Those two days on the mountain really flew by, and before we knew it we were packing up the car. On the drive home, we stopped at a place we had discovered on the drive up–the Maplewood Travel Center, which is about 30minutes from Stowe in Berlin, VT (just past Montpelier) for lunch and to pick up a few Vermont-made treats.
This worked out well. With full bellies and exhausted from two days of rigorous skiing, the kids napped for the better part of the 3-hour drive remaining– we didn’t have to stop again at all!
Our first family ski trip was certainly a success. It look a lot of careful planning and preparation, but we couldn’t have picked a better destination for the kids’ first ski experience. And as an added bonus, my husband and I felt like we actually got a little bit of a vacation as well. A win-win!
Do you have questions about learning to ski at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont? Leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer!
Stowe Mountain Resort
Mountain Road, Stowe, VT
(802) 253-3000
stoweinfo@vailresorts.com
Find them on Facebook and Instagram!
Hours:
Find information on hours, open trails and lift status here.
Pricing:
Find pricing information on lift passes here. Find rental information here. Find lesson information here.
Details:
Stroller Friendly: YES! This was one of my biggest and most welcome surprises–there were babies EVERYWHERE! Babies in strollers, babies in wearable carriers, babies on hips. This is definitely a very baby-friendly ski area (at least Spruce Peak is, we did not have a chance to explore the other mountain). There is even a nursing “pod” in the Spruce Base Camp Lodge. Obviously the babies aren’t skiing, but there were many parents there with older kids taking lessons who were able to maneuver pretty easily with their infants in tow.
Coffee Mug Friendly: You can certainly hang out slope-side with your cup o’ joe! We did 😉
Restroom: YES- restrooms with an area suitable for diaper-changing.
Parking: YES, limited pay-by-the-hour parking at Spruce Peak (works well for running in to get your tickets and rentals the afternoon you arrive!). Free parking at the Mansfield Mountain base area with access to the Over Easy Gondola (no pass or ticket required for that lift).
Food for Sale: YES
Outside Food Allowed: YES, but eating is only allowed in designated areas.
Cash Required: Not that we encountered.
Dress Code and Other Requirements: Children age 14 and under must wear a winter sport protective helmet (available for rental) while participating in ski & ride school. Helmets are recommended for all skiers and riders of any age. Ski goggles are also recommended as is sunscreen (even on cloudy days). Please check their website for details about mask wearing. Proof of Covid-19 vaccination required for indoor dining at cafeteria-style restaurants for guests ages 12+; this includes for kids ages 12+ enrolled in ski and ride school programs that include lunch.
Age Recommendation: Ski school starts as young as age 3!
Getting back to business? Out and About Mom can help!
Welcome back more visitors with Out and About Mom! We can help you get the word out about your latest offerings and happenings during these ever-changing and challenging times. Our dedicated readers count on Out and About Mom to give them information on things to do with kids in (and around) Connecticut. Put your destination front and center with our budget-friendly sponsorship program, giveaways, and more!
Want to keep up with things to do with kids in Connecticut?
Check back every week as we dish up more Momsense for getting out and about with your little ones. Don’t have time to check back in? Let us send you an automatic notification of new posts straight to your email inbox by signing up here. Also, you can like us on Facebook and Twitter and follow us on Instagram to keep up with the latest posts and get some extra tidbits we share only through those sites.
