It takes a lot of careful consideration by ski area operators to put together an end-to-end, family-friendly experience—and deliver on it. A ski area needs the right facilities and activities, and they need to be convenient both in access (i.e., uncomplicated to find) and proximity to where families are staying. Most importantly, and perhaps the most difficult family-friendliness factor for any ski area, is having the right people in the right places to help kids feel welcome and engaged and parents to feel taken care of and stress-free.
All these factors have clearly been considered at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vt., where our family visited for two nights in late January.
We got the full Okemo family experience staying at the Jackson Gore Inn. The Inn anchors the Jackson Gore base area, located a couple miles up the road from the resort’s main entrance. It’s a big hotel, but the quaint front desk and cozy lobby area remove any intimidation or confusion kids might feel when walking into a large chain hotel lobby, which are often cavernous and busy.
Family-friendly Okemo factor #1: The delightful woman at the front desk made it a point to hand the s’mores kits (part of our welcome packet and to be used at the slopeside fire pit) directly to our daughters, ages 9 and 11. This is a small gesture that scored big with the girls, who felt noticed and were immediately in love with the place.
Last tracks
We arrived around 3 p.m., just an hour before last chair. The Jackson Gore Inn is truly slopeside, so after checking in we booted up in the lobby and walked out the opposite side of the hotel, across the heated walkway and onto the snow where it was just a short skate to the Coleman Brook Express, a high-speed quad that accesses beginner terrain that filters right back to the Jackson Gore base.
Off the lift there are two choices: skier’s left is the main trail that goes under the lift for the first half, and then over a bridge with train tracks underneath before opening up into the base area; and skier’s right is a short detour that either loops you back to the main trail or takes you to the Quantum Six, a high-speed six-pack that summits at Jackson Gore Peak.
We stayed down low for our last tracks. The snow was excellent, especially considering the time of day—a testament to the quality of Okemo’s snowmaking and grooming. We did four laps before lifts closed, made possible by the fast lift and short runs, just enough after a day of sitting at desks and in the car. It was a great start to the trip.
Family-friendly Okemo factor #2: The Jackson Gore Inn has a heated underground garage for hotel guests. This removes the frustration factor of unloading the car with an audience looking on in the lobby. It’s dry, it’s warm, it’s convenient—it’s a luxury we never realized we needed.
Dinner at the Hotel
That first night, we had dinner in the Coleman Brook Tavern, just off the lobby. There’s a kid’s menu and plenty of options for the adults, including nightly specials. We enjoyed terrific service and the food was lovely.
Tip from us Vermonters: If you like cheese, when a nicer Vermont restaurant offers a cheese plate, it’s wise to get it. They’re usually not cheap and when it’s delivered to your table, it’s common to think, “man, that’s all we get?” That is, until you start eating it and realize there’s more than enough, which is what happened when we ordered the cheese plate at Coleman Brook. It came with a variety of cheeses, meats, fruit, spreads, and crackers. The cheese, of course, was unreal. Because Vermont.
If your kids need to wiggle, the nearby lobby is a safe and cozy place for them to excuse themselves to. It has a nice fireplace and plenty of comfy seats with a view of the snow front, where snowcats were working—and where we were going to be first thing the next morning.
Outdoor Heated Pool
After dinner, we found the outdoor heated pool, which seems bigger than similar pools at other resort hotels. It was just warm enough to be enjoyable, especially with the single-digit air temperature. There are a couple of outdoor hot tubs and one big indoor one.
We’ll have our 11-year-old take it from here:
The hotel amenities are amazing. The pool is heated, and outside! There is another pool at Okemo, but it isn’t in the hotel. It’s next door. And inside.
Little tip: to find the outdoor pool, you have to take a separate elevator to get to it. And, you have to have a room key. Also, the pool doesn’t supply towels anymore, so you have to bring your own [hotel supplied] from your room. The steam room is steamy and loud, but my parents liked it.
Lesson Check In
The next morning, we all got up, grabbed our skis from the complementary slopeside ski check, and made our way to what we’ll call the snow courtyard—i.e., the flat area of snow that the hotel horseshoes around—where the snowsports school has everything set up. Fences that say “Parent-free zone” and wind wings with the age groups marking where those groups should meet made navigation easy.
We checked the kids in for their full-day lesson. The instructors were very engaging. They gave us parents the lowdown and the ladies went off with a few other kids to ski. The process is so dialed that we had no worries and went off to our own lesson (more on our lesson experience coming soon in another post).
Lunch at Round House
For lunch, the went to the Round House Cafe, which is Okemo’s cafeteria connected to the Jackson Gore Inn. Normally, lunch at a resort cafeteria might not be worth mentioning here. However, the football-size burrito and loaded salad we got were notable, delicious, and made to order.
It was a Friday, and Round House was pretty busy. But we went right at noon, so it’s to be expected. Can’t complain about traffic if you leave work at 5. As always, it’s best to eat in high-volume resort eateries pre-noon or after 2 p.m. to avoid the crowd.
Afternoon Ski Time
With the kids still in their lesson until 3 p.m., we set out for some post-lunch laps, taking Coleman Brook Express to Quantum Six and making our way over to the main mountain area.
We’re what we call “light black”-level skiers, so Okemo’s terrain was great for us. The mountain skis bigger than it seems, with fun intermediate terrain and manageable expert trails, most of which were groomed (with a nice layer of fresh snow since it had been dumping all day). Some trails are wide swaths and others are narrower and fall-line following, some of which wind through neighborhoods of massive slopeside homes.
Mountain Coaster and Tubing
After an excellent day of skiing, it was time to try the mountain coaster.
Family-friendly Okemo factor #3: The mountain coaster and the tubing hill are both located steps away from the hotel. Proximity and easy access for hotel guests, or any other guest parked at the Jackson Gore base area = huge plus for families with tired kids who still want to do something fun.
Once again, our 11-year-old, who at first was not excited about riding the mountain coaster: The mountain coaster was awesome. It might look scary at first, but it’s actually really fun.
Here’s a tip: If you want to have a really fun time, you should go faster. Because the faster you go, the less it feels like you’re going to fall off on the turns.
And our 9-year-old, who is now a mountain coaster addict: I think the mountain coaster was fun because you do not have to go that fast, you can control your speed. (It’s worth noting that she went full speed almost the entire time, whereas our 11-year-old, who is more cautious, took her time, which is the great thing about mountain coasters—speed demons and slow-goers alike can have a blast.)
The tubing park is smaller, but fast and fun. Combined, the tubing hill and mountain coaster offer plenty of no skills, all-thrills fun for young and old.
After some face-numbing fun enjoying those gravity-propelled activities, it was time for a pre-dinner swim.
Pre-Dinner Swim
We found that our timing for the pool was similar to eating lunch before or after the rush. We got down there between 5:45-6 p.m., just as the many après swimmers were leaving to get ready for dinner, so after a few minutes we practically had the pool to ourselves. Granted, this meant we ate dinner a little later, but we don’t have an outdoor heated pool at home. So, priorities.
Dinner in Ludlow
We went to dinner in Ludlow that night. Downtown Ludlow is only a few minutes from the hotel, so it’s an easy jaunt for some off-resort food.
A local friend recommended Mojo Café. The burritos are amazing, and the space is small, but fun—probably more so if you’re there with only adults and not tired kids. Lots of folks were getting takeout while we were there. That’s what we’ll probably do next time if we have kids with us. Eating in was still cool, especially if you’re a music fan—lots of great music memorabilia adorn the walls of the restaurant. And the magnetic Scrabble tiles on the wall were a fun distraction.
Pulling back into the underground garage, eyes heavy from a long, excellent day, we found a parking spot right next to the elevator. We once again sang the praises of this subterranean luxury before heading upstairs with ambitions to watch a movie together, but once our heads hit any kind of pillow, we only saw the backs of our eyes until morning.
Finally, our 11-year-old: Okemo had really nice people and our hotel room [one-bedroom lockout with a studio (kitchenette and Murphy bed) connected to a standard hotel room with two queen beds] was amazing! Okemo was truly a fun place for me and my family and I hope you enjoy it too!
Guest writers, The Meekers, live in southern Vermont and frequent their local mountain, Mount Snow, where both mom and dad have spent many days talking skiing and providing great experiences for visiting families. Kim works at Mount Snow and is also a realtor with Southern Vermont Realty Group. Dave is the editor for Ski Area Management magazine.The girls don’t fall far from the tree with a love of skiing and writing and slopeside waffles with chocolate drizzle.
