Ah, Beaver Creek. An entire ski resort designed with families in mind. In fact, we’ve been known to say that Beaver Creek does family ski vacations better than just about anyone. Here are ten reasons why.
1. The Escalators. It’s not just that there are escalators to help you get your gear (and your kids) from the village to the base area, it’s what the escalators represent -- a commitment by Beaver Creek to make your ski day as easy to navigate as possible. And this year, they've added one more in the heart of the village.
2. The Ski School and The Ranch. At many ski areas, ski school feels like something of an afterthought with ski school check-in in a basement, and ski school instructors rolling in at 9:00 to figure out the groups for the day. Ski school at Beaver Creek is different. Check in is right at the base and there you will find Ski School Ambassadors whose job it is to lend a hand ... be it to figure out where to go, which forms to complete or how to get your kid geared up and to the correct place. But it is a facility that parents rarely see that makes Beaver Creek’s ski school extraordinary. The Ranch is a free-standing building just at the top of Buckaroo Gondola where kids stop in for hot cocoa, hit for bathroom breaks and stop for lunch. It is a bright, sunny happy place with food that simply doesn't belong in a ski school cafeteria, with lots of yummy, healthy choices (would you like edamame with your burger Timmy?). Beaver Creek’s Ski & Snowboard School is not one-size fits all. In addition to traditional ski school groups and privates, Ultimate 4 provides a semi-private option, Ski Girls Rock empowers girls 7-14 and family privates deliver huge flexibility, enabling you to learn as a family and then leave the little ones with the instructor for a couple of hours of adult ski time.
3. The Food. Speaking of food, family meals are a critical component of a family ski vacation. At Beaver Creek no cars or buses are necessary ... just a stroll through the village to find a wide variety of choices. We are super casual when we are on a ski adventure, so while there is much fine dining to be had, what can I say, we love Blue Moose Pizza. For a step up from pizza, Chophouse is also a favorite with fish, steaks, an extensive kids menu and, at least the night we were there, an onsite magician who performs table to table. For a very special occasion, take an open air sleigh ride to dinner at Beano’s cabin, a gorgeous, intimate cabin with spectacular food.
4. Holiday Magic. Beaver Creek Village is magical and even more so over the holidays. There are surprises and delights around every corner. Santa hiding in a little white house with a huge stash of candy canes. Incredible animals carved from ice. Snowflakes projected on building sides. The ice rink glows, the tree is lit and it is, truly, a little holiday magic.
5. A Chance to Meet the Mountain. Beaver Creek doesn't want you to feel like a visitor, they want you to feel like an insider. If it is your first time to BC, we encourage you to check out the daily “Mountain Welcome Tour” where intermediate and advanced skiers will join a guide for a 2-hour exploration. And on Wednesdays, its ladies only, so tuck the kids into ski school, send the husband in search of the bumps and join a group of like-minded skiing women!6. The chocolate chip cookies. I don’t know of another ski area where a small team of chefs greets skiers at the end of that last run with plates of warm chocolate chip cookies. So seriously do they take their chocolate chip cookies, that Beaver Creek will hold its Ninth Chocolate Chip Cookie Competition on opening day (November 27) where five finalists will each bake and serve 1,000 cookies to hungry skiers and riders. The cookie that receives the most votes will be designated the 2014 Official Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe of Beaver Creek.
7. Surefoot. When I first learned to ski (in my 20s), I had the most amazing pair of ski boots. They were so comfortable that I never understood why other people complained. But since retiring those boots more than a decade ago, I’ve come to appreciate the challenge of finding the right boots and customizing them to provide performance while you are skiing and bearable comfort while you are not. The team at Surefoot Beaver Creek is nothing short of amazing. Bring them your new creaky boots, and your aching feet and they will push this corner out a hair here, shave that down a touch there, pad in that corner and send you back out to take a few runs to see how that feels. Not quite right? They’ll keep adjusting. And, if those old boots just can’t be made right and the budget allows, they will create custom bootliners, designed just to fit your feet, in one day.
8. Winterfest. Beaver Creek celebrates all things kids and families during their annual Winterfest celebration. While details for this season aren’t yet available, keep an eye on their website here for the first look at this year's Winterfest happenings.
9. Vilar Performing Arts Center. Right in the center of town is the Vilar Performing Arts Center which brings an incredible line up of entertainment to the mountains each season (and summer). From Broadway’s musical comedy to children’s performances and classical music and dance, check their calendar at www.vilarpac.org when you plan your trip to round out your “ski adventure” with a little
10. Beaver Creek Lodge. With one of the Village's most convenient locations, Beaver Creek Lodge is a Preferred Boutique hotel just a few steps (and convenient escalator rides) from the slopes, ski school, dining and more. When traveling with kids on a ski trip, the value of convenience cannot be underestimated. Though it is small, it has all the amenities of a bigger hotel including pool & hot tub, on premise ski storage and full ski shop, restaurants and a central lounge. But its boutique size lends a comfortable and familiar ambiance without the hustle & bustle of the larger ilk.
We stayed in a suite that had a separate room for the kids with pullout couch and rollaway bed. There was a small kitchen that allowed us to keep food in the fridge and heat up breakfast and snacks for the kids. The décor was tasteful and the room was spotlessly clean. Usually when traveling from NY to Colorado, I sleep poorly for one or two nights at the high elevation. This trip I slept as well as I can remember on a ski vacation, and I credit Beaver Creek Lodge.
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The writer and her family were guests of Beaver Creek for three days in December 2012.
