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Family ski vacations can be tricky beasts. Dad wants to hit the steeps, Mom wants to try telemarking, Sis wants to make some new friends and Junior is more interested in video games. Not a problem at Big Sky Resort (www.bigskyresort.com), Montana’s biggest ski hill. Nearly every chair has a mixture of greens, blues, and blacks, so the family can pick and choose lines without splitting up. The ski school offers a variety of family-friendly programs, as well. Last year they started a popular series of three-day women’s-specific telemark camps, and their Kids’ Club gives the little ones something to do from 3–6 p.m., allowing parents to enjoy a little après-ski fun.

Need a second opinion? How about President Obama’s? The First Family stayed the night at Big Sky’s Summit Lodge last summer while visiting Yellowstone National Park.

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Try the Family Fun Zone, opened last year, which brings tubing to the Adrian’s Way beginner area once the lifts close. An immensely popular winter zip line tour shoots you through trees and valleys for two and a half hours ($59). And the “Crazy Austrians” comedy show, held nightly at Chet’s Bar & Grill, supplies plenty of laughs for adults and mature teens, though the language and lewd humor is decidedly PG-13. Big Sky also offers plenty of deals to lure skiing families. Example: Season pass holders to Big Sky’s sister resorts Sugarloaf, Sunday River or Loon get 10 free lift tickets by booking a hotel through the resort.

Getting There

Big Sky is a one-hour drive from Bozeman’s Gallatin Field Airport.

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As America’s first ski resort, opened in 1936, Sun Valley (www.sunvalley.com) has seen its share of the rich and famous. Though it doesn’t have the cachet it did when Ernest Hemingway called the place home, you’ll still run across the occasional celeb (Bruce Willis owns a home in nearby Hailey). New luxury amenities include the eight-passenger Roundhouse Gondola, which shelters skiers from Idaho’s subzero mid-winter temperatures en route to Bald Mountain. A 60,000-square-foot indoor golf training center opened this summer, providing an appealing alternative for down days. Not that you’ll need one, though; meticulously groomed runs fall away from the summit at pitches neither too flat nor too steep. It’s no wonder a young Warren Miller set up in the parking lot to shoot ski videos here in the 1940s.

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Foodies will rejoice over the wide variety of eateries in Sun Valley and neighboring Ketchum. CK’s Real Food (www.cksrealfood.com) focuses on locally sourced dishes like Idaho-caught trout bathed in Cajun spices ($25). Homegrown celebrities like Mariel Hemingway head to the Ketchum Grill (www.ketchumgrill.com), located in Ketchum’s oldest standing home, for the 150-bottle wine list and dishes like herb and feta ravioli with exotic mushrooms ($14). For beds, try the Sun Valley Lodge, built in 1936 (www.sunvalley.com; $189–$489 per night). It pairs traditional French décor with 21st-century accoutrements like big-screen televisions. All of the six parlor suites feature fireplaces, and the half-dozen private cottages have a second-home-away-from-home vibe for families of four to eight.

Getting There

Airport and grab a twice-daily shuttle to the Sun Valley Lodge.

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Taos Ski Valley (www.skitaos.org) dropped its 65-year-old “skiers only” policy and opened its doors to snowboarders in March of 2007. But catering to knuckle-draggers isn’t why this highaltitude resort is one of the best deals in ski country—it’s the location. An upscale resort in an otherwise workingclass state, Taos offers lift tickets for just $69—significantly less than what you’d pay in Colorado. The resort caters heavily to experts, with the 400- to 450-vertical-foot black and doubleblack diamond shots along Highline Ridge giving skiers plenty to tackle. Traverse toward Kachina Peak and powder-filled gullies like Twin Trees Chutes for even more challenging slopes. Still, beginners and intermediates can find plenty of appropriate terrain near lifts 7 and 8.

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Lodging can be pricey at the mountain, so stay in town, about 20 miles away. Here you’ll find funky adobe hotels like the 44-room Historic Taos Inn (www.taosinn.com) serving up hearty portions of Southwestern charm for $189 per night. But food is the real reason to go—Northern New Mexican cuisine is unlike anything else, anywhere. The town is full of intimate eateries, each offering their unique version of local favorites: burritos and enchiladas smothered in fresh-made green or red chile sauce; fire-roasted chile rellenos; and cinnamon-sugar topped sopaipillas for dessert. Eske’s Brewpub (www.eskesbrewpub.com) offers a mix of local cuisine and burgers for under $10.

Getting There

Taos is a threeand-a-half hour drive north from Albuquerque’s International Sunport.

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Every skier should have the experience of standing on the deck awaiting the arrival of Snowbird’s 125-person Aerial Tram. The cold air filling your lungs…the anticipation of reaching 11,000-foot Hidden Peak… the mingled smell of ski wax and axle grease. On your way up, look to the right to see locals dropping into skiwide couloirs and 20-foot cliffs in The Cirque. Once you’re at the top, it’s all steep. Ski right off the cat track for Great Scott, a tight entrance that aprons into a 32-degree black-diamond covered in Utah’s famous “five percent” powder. Or head back from the tram toward Mineral Basin, where rocky chutes and open bowls offer so many picturesque lines, you’ll wish you’d brought a photographer.

Ski Tip: At Snowbird, even easy spots have hidden steeps. The Gad Valley is home to plenty of blues and greens, but duck into the trees and you’ll be whisked down a constricted creek bed that ends atop four or five high-angle turns.

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Not much happens in Little Cottonwood Canyon. For nightlife, you’ll either have to drive 30 miles down to Salt Lake or live it up at one of The Cliff Lodge’s bars. The Aerie Lounge, on the top floor, has decent sushi and a laid-back atmosphere. But the best course of action is to BYOB to one of the outdoor hot tubs on the third floor and relax as the alpenglow descends on the Wasatch Front.

Getting There

It’s 45 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport to the ski hill aboard Canyon Transportation (www.canyontransport.com).

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Vail (vail.snow.com) has a reputation as a winter playground for the rich and famous. But with 5,289 acres of skiing, it’s also the largest ski area in the U.S., so you’ll find skiing you like regardless of your socio-economic background. The Back Bowls—seven powder-filled, wide-open faces—are the main draw for most. Lift lines fill up fast after a big snow, as skiers race to Sundown Bowl and Blue Sky Basin for intricate gullies, tree shots and the breathtaking views for which Colorado is known. Some 325 inches of featherlight snow fall here each year—more than in neighboring Summit County resorts like Breckenridge and Keystone.

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Like the slopes above, Vail Village offers a little of everything. Après ski specials? Chill out at The Red Lion (www.theredlion.com), a cozy tavern with great local music Thursday–Sunday. Sundecks and sports? Garfinkel’s (www.garfsvail.com) in Lionshead Village has both. Late-night dancing? Duck into the low-ceilinged Samana Lounge (www.samanalounge.com). There’s no shortage of fine dining options, including Larkspur (www.larkspurvail.com) and Terra Bistro (www.vailmountainlodge.com/terra-bistro). Equally plentiful are familyfriendly pizza joints like Vendetta’s (www.vendettasvail.com) and Pazzo’s (www.itsblank.com/pazzos). And there are also special events happening nearly every weekend. April’s World Pond Skimming Championship— where 100 costumed fools try to ski or ride across a 40-foot pond of barelyabove-freezing water—is a must-see.

Getting There

From Denver International Airport, take a Colorado Mountain Express shuttle to Vail (www.ridecme.com).