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Keystone Resort Walks the Walk for Families

By Eric Cohen October 14, 2014
A lot of ski resorts “talk the talk” about catering to families, but few “walk the walk” as well as Keystone. We skied there a few years ago and had a great time and when they invited us back to see what was new for families, we were intrigued... how could they up the ante?

Sure enough, Keystone has upped the ante to keep kids happy. Starting with their Camp Keystone experience. As a ski trip is centered around skiing, making the kids' ski sessions fun is goal number one. Camp Keystone one-ups summer camp. It’s more than ski school, where kids will not only learn to ski and ride, but also get to participate in an array of on-snow activities, kids’ nights out, themed days and more. And when your kids are in camp for more than three days, they have the same camp counselor every day. Being more comfortable with their instructor means they’ll feel more comfortable on the snow, have more fun and learn even more. During our stay, our son did great with his instructor -- they were more like pals than student/teacher and he learned a ton.

When we skied together as a family, we hit The School Yard. The first of its kind, the School Yard is a family ski trail is designed to engage skiers and riders of all ages. Along with Rockin' Rollers and Tornado Alley, it was a great place for the kids to show off what they learned that day at Camp Keystone.

Burgers

Then of course there’s Kidtopia. Kidtopia offers a range of on and off mountain activities to keep kids and families engaged and excited. We had a fun night at Ready, Paint, Fire, where we painted our own pottery with the kids. The resort also brought in a special treat from their pastry chef ... these burgers were actually brownies for dessert! There was also ice skating, the awesome mountain top Kidtopia snow fort with built-in slide, face painting and more. Try to book a Saturday night stay so you can catch the weekly Kidtopia fireworks display.

Paint

Another way that Keystone walks the walk is that kids ski free. Stay at their lodging for two or more nights, and kids under 12 ski free. No red-tape, no fine print. This is the third year they’ve offered this and it’s hugely popular (for obvious reasons). Staying at Keystone lodging is a good bet to keep the kids happy. There are pools for an apres-ski swim, as well as restaurants for all kinds of dining. We are partial to the River Run base area as it has everything right there. 

KatSki

Keeping the kids happy and under control gives parents a chance to have their own fun. Keystone is a great ski mountain with terrain for all and for the adventurous, there’s Kat Adventure Tours snowcat skiing. We took a ride on the Outback Shuttle to some adventurous terrain where you can ski for a while, or  you can book an entire day.



A big part of making memories together is capturing them to relive the experience. Keystone, like all Vail Resorts, has their Epic Mix program where your pass is linked to an app that allows you to capture your ski stats, as well as coordinate pictures from the on mountain photographers. It’s a pretty neat feature and worth taking advantage of.

Our three day trip (provided by the Resort for purposes of this article), certainly reinforced our impression of Keystone as a place that “gets families” and walks the walk. The great thing about skiing is that it’s a sport families can enjoy for generations. Starting the kids off on a good note is crucial and Keystone is a great place to start or continue your family ski tradition.