Starting Off On The Slopes: 4 Family Ski Areas For First-Time Skiers

When one or more family members is a beginning skier, coordinating the family ski trip comes with a few extra hurdles (and we’re talkin’ more than just trees and other skiers). New England boasts a lengthy lineup of ski resorts fit for a fantastic family ski vacation — but some, in particular, stand out with top-notch training programs and beginner ski slopes. Get acquainted with our favorite alpine activity at these family-focused ski areas in New England.

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Starting Off On The Slopes: 4 Family Ski Areas For First-Time Skiers

1. Stowe Mountain (Stowe, Vt.)

116 stunning trails make Stowe Mountain a standard for family ski vacations, but if you’re just starting out on the slopes, the options for learning to ski are just as attention-grabbing as those vivid Vermont views. As any mountain guide will attest, the learning process varies by age — that’s why Stowe runs programs for both kids and adults, from group instruction to private lessons. The family-friendly area attractions don’t stop with skiing, though. An indoor ice rink, the Ben & Jerry’s factory, and horse-drawn sleigh rides make Stowe an all-around winner for a winter family vacation.

2. Magic Mountain (Londonderry, Vt.)

For those who have a downhill desire, but don’t want to venture too far up the state, turn to the Magic Mountain Ski Area in southern Vermont. Group and private lessons run all day long, and if you get worn out from repeated tumbles on the terrain, you can always slide into the snow tubing park. Learning to ski at Magic Mountain gives you several places to put down your poles at night (unless you’re renting them, of course). With Manchester to the west and Grafton to the east, cozy Vermont lodging lives on either side of your family ski adventure.

3. Black Mountain (Jackson, N.H.)

If there’s a mixed bag of skill levels in your skiing squad, Black Mountain in Jackson, New Hampshire has the hills to make your whole party happy: slopes for novices, cruising trails for intermediates, and black diamond trails for experts. It’s also one of the more affordable options in the Mount Washington Valley for adults learning to ski, with lesson-and-rental bundles that don’t require purchasing a full mountain pass.

4. Bousquet Ski Area (Lenox, Mass.)

Think northern New England has all the noteworthy family ski areas covered? Don’t be so sure. With all the big-name mountains out there, It’s easy to overlook a place like Bousquet Ski Area in western Massachusetts, but it’s just what the doctor ordered for any nervous nellies looking to ease their way into skiing. Enroll the kids in a first-timer’s lesson, glide down the non-threatening Snow Carpet, and then take to the town (or three of them) for a Berkshires vacation. With a mountain’s worth of family ski areas in New England, there’s no need to be scared of the slopes. In fact, having so many superb spots to choose from makes the skiing journey even easier in our eyes — if you tackle a new ski town each year with our ski and stay packages, you’ll be a pro in the snow before you know it.