Our ski trip to Steamboat was amazing! I am convinced that everyone needs to take a ski vacation at least once. EVEN if you don’t ski! We experienced all that Steamboat has to offer, and it did not disappoint and was great for families.  Which is why I’m so excited to share with you all of my tips on how to plan a family ski trip to Steamboat so you too can have an incredible ski experience with your family.

Planning a ski trip is not for the faint of heart.  It can be hard especially if it is your first time going on a family ski trip. Wondering where to start, what you need, and where to go.  It can be overwhelming and you may be half tempted just to do what you know;  hit the beach. I want this post to help you with planning your ski trip.

I am going to share my full review of Steamboat and how to prepare for your ski vacation.

How To Plan a Family Ski Trip to Steamboat

Picking the Right Resort

When it comes to planning a ski trip the place that you stay can make or break your trip. After a long day of hitting the slopes, all you want to do is get back to where you’re staying, take a hot shower, and be comfy while enjoying the amenities of your house for the week. Our family, we have only skied in Colorado but I know that there are many other places to go ski whether that be in New Mexico or Utah. I recommend researching and seeing which resort is within reasonable traveling distance that would be comfortable for you and your family.

Here’s What You Should Consider When Picking a Resort

Is it kid friendly? Having 5 kids I needed a place where the kids felt comfortable and family oriented. Steamboat was great for families and had many family activities.

Are there non-skiing activities? Unless you only plan to ski you want to have a resort that offers other amenities. Steamboat had Ice Skating, snowshoeing, and snowshoeing. My mom is not a skier so it is nice to give other options.  

Is there nearby Lodging? The resort will house several different lodging options. You can have options that have a ski in/out where you are at the footsteps of the mountain, some that are in the village, and others that are a short walk away.

Compare skiing costs. Price compare your favorite resorts.

Will there be snow? Most ski resorts make snow, but still consider if the resort has gotten significant snow. Most resorts share on their websites how much snow has fallen.

Airfare expense? We love flying into Denver because it is pretty affordable airfare. On this trip, we flew into the Steamboat airport which was so nice because it wasn’t a crazy far drive to our condo! If you don’t have a preference for ski location, consider looking at the airfare expense for each location.

Price Breakdown

Transparently, skiing is very expensive and I know many of you guys want plan a trip. I wanted to break down the expenses that we had during our ski trip at Steamboat resort.

What Are The Expenses of a Ski Trip to Steamboat

Airfare

Airport Transfers – This will be dependent upon the resort you choose. If you are flying into Denver airport most resorts are about an hour and a half away. We use Epic Mountain Express which met us after getting our luggage and drove us directly to our resort.

Lodging – I would recommend finding a place that is close to the mountain. It is a lot of work walking in ski gear.

Ski Rental – You will need to rent a helmet, skis, poles, and ski boots. We used Beaver Creek Ski Rentals and they sized us so you will not need to know. I recommend setting up your reservation online in advance.

Lift Tickets – This is to get you up and down the mountain. Book this in advance to get a cheaper rate.

Food/Drinks – There is great food in the village. We also went grocery shopping as our condo had a full kitchen. You can also find food places on the mountain when you want a quick break from skiing.

Ski Lockers – This is to store your skis closer to the mountain. 

Non-Ski activities – Each resort will have other activities you can partake in. It is always fun to get a break from skiing and doing different activities.

Ski Lessons

As far as ski lessons go, if there is any family member that has not been skiing before you should sign them up for ski lessons! On the first day, we did ski lessons for the majority of the family. Most of them had been skiing before but we always like to book ski lessons so we have a refresher and can get warmed up to ski the mountain. For most of the week, we had ski lessons for at least two kids every day we were at Steamboat. This year we also wanted to put Cyrus and Cash on a snowboard and see how they liked it compared to skiing. They both loved it and they both did such a good job. Cash was out there killing it and one of the ski instructors mentioned that he was doing as good or better than some of the five-year-olds.
Private Lessons- We did private ski lessons on the first and second days of our trip. I love private lessons because the instructors can be more intentional with the people that are doing the lessons. Every time we have done private ski lessons the instructors have always been so great! They are so fun and are such amazing teachers! With the instructors being more intentional it is easier to make more progress than if it were a larger group. The private lessons are a little bit more pricey than the group lessons.
Group Lessons- In the back half of the week we participated in group lessons. Since we had our private lessons earlier in the week, everyone had the main skills developed and was able to continue to grow on those skills easier since they had the basic knowledge and skills. There are adult and children group lessons. The adults are divided up by ability, don’t worry if you are not sure they will do a quick assessment to ensure the group you are in is the right fit. Children’s lessons look at age and ability. The children’s group lessons are great because the instructors make it so fun for the kids, to keep them interested the entire day.

Ski Apparel

I recommend checking out Amazon. I get the majority of our ski items from Amazon and it always works out perfectly for us. 

We ended up getting mostly new ski gear! From kids growing and the fit of apparel from last year we were challenged with getting a ton of new stuff! Rick, Cameron, and I found things that were from some different places like North Face, Amazon, and Burton.

It was super fun shopping for Calvin, Cyrus, and Cash! All of the ski stuff they have for kids is so cute! If I could get it all I would!

Here are a few of our outfits that we wore while we were not skiing!

Childcare

For this trip, my mom and my aunt were able to come with us so we had them for the majority of the trip covered as far as babysitting went. With this being our first family trip with Cecelia it was really nice to have my mom and aunt there to look after her since they weren’t skiing. One of the nights we did decide to hire a babysitter so that my mom and aunt could come out with us and enjoy snow-tubing! The company we used was called

With Cece being with us we wanted to make sure we had the appropriate accommodations for her! We utilized a company called Baby’s Away. We were able to rent a crib and a highchair for Cecelia and the process was super easy and seamless! They had a lot of different rental options and they are located all over the U.S. so if you are traveling with a baby it is worth checking out and seeing if the resort you are staying at is on their list of services.

Altitude

One thing that is always talked about regarding skiing and just being in the mountains is altitude. We had booked our first flight to be able to get to Steamboat the day before we were going to be skiing so that we would have time to let our bodies get accustomed to the altitude and help us from getting altitude sickness. To help with the altitude it is important to stay hydrated and drink plenty of water! If you are not accustomed to the mountains and the altitude you will get a little out of breath but that is ok! If you start to feel like you’re going to faint, go and find someone for help.

Dining in Steamboat

First, with us being in an Airbnb we do order groceries before and make meals at the home. This is a great way to save money. We typically do breakfast and lunches at thome. We visited Salt & Lime Mexican restaurant. WE LOVED IT! Great service, good drinks, food was yummy, and enjoyed the atmosphere. My mom and aunt also ate at Aurum Steamboat Yurt Experience! They said it was hands down one of the best dining experience they had. Their feedback was that they did not know how this would be for kids as it is a long dining experience.

Non-Ski Activities

Outside of skiing at Steamboat, there are other activities to do. The two activities that we scheduled were snowmobiling and snow-tubing. I highly recommend these two activities! The whole family was involved and loved it. Another activity that was in the main area of Steamboat was a big ice skating rink. We didn’t get the chance to try ice skating but you can never go wrong with ice skating. There are other things that you can book outside of the Steamboat resort through other companies that offer different activities like snowshoeing and other outdoor activities.

My Overall Review

We will be back to Steamboat. We loved it. Didn’t feel too big of a resort. Was easy to get to, and like I said everyone we encountered was so pleasant. I highly recommend visiting Steamboat if you are looking to go to a Colorado resort. What is your favorite resort?