Best Ski Resort Packages
These Deals and Bargains Make Skiing the West More Affordable
Ski and snowboard resorts are getting ready for the new season with some affordable packages to lure you to the slopes in the Rockies and Sierras.
Sometimes, the best travel adventure is visiting a place you've never been before, and that includes ski and snowboard resorts.
Here are some great packages at lesser-known resorts, which offer the same snow as their larger, better known and more crowded neighbors:
Diamond Peak is just down the road from Squaw Valley and Heavenly in the Lake Tahoe area, just 30 minutes from the Reno/Tahoe Airport. The resort has teamed with Grand Sierra Resort and Casino for a $159 package that includes a one night accommodation for two (weekdays -- $179 on wekeends) , a $10 food and a $10 Reserve Wine Card for sampling one of 80 different apres ski reds and whites at the Reserve Wine Bar.
The Grand Sierra Resort and Casino is family-friendly, with children's activities and a bowling alley. Not to mention great lake views.
River Rock Lodge is a charming Montana-style lodge just down the mountain from world-class skiing at Big Sky and Moonlight Basin, 45 miles from Bozeman, Montana and even less from the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The value package is priced from $84 per person for quad occupancy and $111 per person double, and kids age 10 and under stay and ski for free!.
Big Sky is a huge resort with sweeping views of surrounding ranchland. The tougher skiing is on Lone Peak. A new triple chairlift this season will help reduce the lines on the tram. The chair improves access to Bavarian Forest and 212 newly opened acres of Dakota Territories.
Copper Mountain, about one hour from Denver in the Colorado Rockies, is a favorite of locals who watch long-distance visitors drive right past this formidable mountain to drive another 30 minutes or more for Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone and Steamboat. If you book before November 18, you'll get a 20% discount off both accommodations and lessons. And, kids 12 and under ski free and stay free. There's great bowl skiing here, both above the tree line and in the almost endless glades. Solid intermediates can try both in Union Bowl -- steep, yes, but with some wide open areas that are less intimidating.
There's also a terrific deal for your friends, lovers, in-laws, who you've been trying to get on the slopes but they always have an excuse. No more excuses with this $25 super-duper Learn to Ski and Board bargain for the weekend of Devember 8-9. The $25 price includes an all-day beginner lift ticket, group lesson, gear rental, and the end of excuses.
The first-timers deal is good at a choice of Tahoe resorts including Alpine Meadows, Boreal Mountain Resort, Diamond Peak, Granlibakken, Homewood Mountain Resort, Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe, Northstar-at-Tahoe, Squaw Valley USA and Sugar Bowl. Reservations are not required, but participants should arrive early.
See you on the slopes!
