For westerners, two things stand out about ski resorts "back east": the height of the mountains (less), and the cold (brrr). Learn to ski there, and you'll know how to handle ice.
Top billing goes to:
Smuggler's Notch, VT, the embodiment of "Family Ski Resort", with FamilyFest packages, myriad kids programs, slopeside childcare center, teen centers, Night School for boarding and jibbing. Guests can snowshoe, skate, tube-slide, snowmobile, horse-ride, sleigh-ride, swim in a heated pool, do an art workshop; enjoy bonfires, fireworks, family games nights, indoor FunZone, minigolf. Lodgings are condo's or vacation homes. The biggest of three mountains, Madonna, has a vertical drop of 2610' and some darn steep slopes.
Also in Vermont:
Okemo
-is another place that earns the name "family ski resort", with excellent kids' programs, lots of intermediate runs, many different types of lodging; kids six and under ski free.
Killington
A dominant mountain in the northeast, with seven peaks, and plenty for the party crowd; families are welcome too, with programs from daycare (from 12 weeks old) to "Camp Freeride" for real keen teens.
Meanwhile, in Maine, is Sugarloaf: it's a trek (8-9 hours from NYC, four from Boston), but once there, you've got hotel, inn, condos, buses, restaurants, shops, tube park, Outdoor Center, family games nights, and Maine's second-highest peak, with 2820' vert and an area above the treeline (-double-diamond, though!) Look for well-priced packages; kids are free during Children's Festival Week.*
In NH, Bretton Woods is the biggest ski area with 430 acres; it's partners with the historic Mt. Washington Hotel. Family Center takes babes from two months old.
- see an overview of Vermont Ski Resort Kids' Programs
- check out Powder Passport: deal for sixteen of the Northeast's ski resorts.
*always check ski resort sites for updates!
