This article is part of a hosted stay at Bolton Valley. All opinions are my own.
A few weeks ago we made our first ski trip of the season– to Bolton Valley in Vermont. Any day is a good day when I get to visit Vermont, especially if it’s to go skiing! There are many reasons that Bolton Valley is an ideal spot to take your family on a ski trip, and here are just a few…
Bolton Valley Offers Affordable Lodging and Lift Tickets
One of the biggest obstacles to family skiing is cost– it’s not inexpensive to take everyone on a ski trip. Thankfully there are mountains like Bolton Valley that make it more affordable to take the kids to the slopes! They’ve recently gotten a few feet of a snow, so now is a great time to head up to Vermont for a ski weekend. 🙂
You can get deals on lift tickets for as low as $25 (for night skiing and non-peak Mondays!). Weekend lift tickets are $64 for youth and $79 for adults. They also offer packages that include a lift ticket and ski equipment rentals.
Lodging at Bolton Valley
When given the option, we prefer to stay right on the mountain. With kids, being on the mountain means less distance and time required to get them (and all of their gear!) to the slopes! It’s also great when you need an afternoon break or power nap. Our main goal with skiing for the kids is to make it fun and enjoyable, so having the flexibility that comes with being slopeside is HUGE.
While at Bolton Valley, we stayed in a one-bedroom condo with a pullout couch. The boys loved having some extra space to play around and especially loved watching the Vertical Challenge set-up from the porch of our unit! We were located in the same building as the Village Cafe, so we could wake up and grab breakfast without leaving the building. I love that continental breakfast is included with the stay, though you can also order from the full breakfast menu.\
Dining at the Mountain
We arrived late on Friday night, so we stopped for pizza in Waterbury at The Blue Stone (great pizza with locally sourced ingredients!), but the rest of our meals were right at Bolton Valley. My favorite meal was at the James Moore Tavern at the base of the mountain. The menu was quite varied and there was something for everyone–including our resident vegetarian! I always love dining in Vermont because they have the BEST vegetarian cuisine! I enjoyed the FGC salad, which I topped with grilled chicken: arugula, fried goat cheese, candied walnuts, roasted beets, pickled onions and lemon vinaigrette. The tavern also has a great selection of local craft brews.
Skiing and Lessons at Bolton Valley
The two older boys made a lot of progress with their skiing last year, so my husband and I were anxious to see how they would do this year. They each had half-day lessons on Saturday afternoon and we were very pleased with the student/instructor ratio and the quality of instruction they received. We were able to speak with their ski instructors at pick up and both boys had big smiles which were most important for us! They really enjoyed the lessons and couldn’t wait to show us what they learned! My oldest started to do more parallel skiing and my middle son is now comfortable making turns down the mountain.
Childcare and Little Tots Lessons at Bolton Valley Childcare
I cannot say enough good things about the childcare at Bolton Valley. My 3-year-old went for an afternoon session (1-5 p.m.) that included a Little Tots ski lesson. I was nervous about how he would do in a new place after a morning of skiing and being a little sleep-deprived! When we brought him to childcare, he immediately felt comfortable and got started with play time. They had a nice, dark quiet space for napping but turns out he wanted to head out for his Little Tots ski lesson instead of sleeping (that’s my boy!). If your child is between the ages of 2-6 you can add a Little Tots lesson during your morning or afternoon session.
My son loved his lesson which consisted of some indoor learning about safety and gear and then outdoor time on skis. We got a full report of his lesson from the instructor during pick up. I finished skiing around 3:30 and stopped in to see if he wanted to leave childcare early. He was busy having a snack and told me that he wanted to stay until the end at 5 (they finished the day with some sledding!)! That said it all for me, and I would definitely recommend the childcare if you would like to get some adult ski time!
Overall Impressions of Bolton Valley
The staff at this mountain were AWESOME. It’s a great family mountain for skiing, where you can let the older kids go off to ski on their own and meet them at the base. I really love that they offer a number of different packages and specials to make skiing accessible for families. We can’t wait to visit again!
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