We just got back from our first ski trip as a family and it was amazing. I had very low expectations since our kids are still young and had only put on skis once. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how much they loved skiing by the end. We arrived at Keystone on a Tuesday afternoon and left that Saturday. We spent almost 3 full days on the slopes!
Getting There
We flew into Denver and rented a car. There are shuttles available as well that are an option. However, we wanted to have the freedom to make some stops along the way. For example, my company has an office right off 70 in the foothills so we stopped there for a visit. Then we continued onto Idaho Springs to have lunch at Beau Jo’s. I can’t believe we had lived in Denver in a prior life and never had Beau Jo’s pizza! It was absolutely delicious!
You can stay on the highway and take 70 most of the way. However, we opted to drive over Loveland pass. Of course it started snowing as we got off the exit. Right off the same exit is the Loveland Ski Area. Driving over Loveland pass always makes me nervous but I love the view at the top and wanted the boys to experience that. On the way down the back of Loveland Pass you will go past Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. This is popular with locals and has a good degree of difficulty. Not too far from there you run into Keystone. If you don’t make any stops, you can get from the airport to Keystone in under 2 hours.
Accommodations
We stayed at The Timbers Lone Eagle which is a ski in/ski out location. It is at the base just before River Run Village. We have stayed at Keystone many times in the past and this was by far the best location. You can’t beat coming straight off the slopes and dropping off your skis and boots in a locker. The condos have kitchens which is the best amenity. I don’t like to cook on vacation (or ever) so we just had basics like frozen waffles, bacon, cinnamon toast, muffins, fruit, soup, etc. We had breakfast and most lunches in the condo and went out for dinner. The village is just a quick walk away so I can’t say enough about it being the ideal spot for us with kids. Did I mention there was a hot tub!!!
We usually just reserve a condo from VRBO. The next best location would be just about any unit within River Run Village. We have stayed there many times in different buildings and they were all great. You just have to walk a little ways to the lifts which was never a big deal but now that we have kids in tow…..we knew that probably wouldn’t go as well.
The Village
River Run Village is great! It is not too big and not too small. There are plenty of shops and restaurants for options but not too many to make it overwhelming and crowded. There are souvenir shops, a candy store, crepes, North Face, liquor, and so on. All the restaurants seemed to be family friendly and I know at least Zuma’s Roadhouse and Luigi’s had gluten-free options. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to sample other restaurants because my kids were obsessed with the butter pasta at Luigi’s. They begged every night to go there. Soooo….happy kids, happy parents!
There is also a little playground we found in the Village that the kids enjoyed.
The Mountain
We bought our ski tickets online and then had to go to the ticket window to pick them up. Right across from the ticket office is the Ski School where we dropped off the kids the first day. Since they were still beginners we thought this would be the best plan of action. We dropped them off at 9:30am and picked them up at 3:30pm. Our oldest son loved it and was so excited to show off his new skills. Our youngest….well….lets just say the instructor told us he ended up napping. My initial response was anger and then I remembered the kid was up at 4:00am. Once he saw us I saw the tears start flowing so I knew he was having a rough day. He was complaining that his head hurt (probably from the altitude). So I guess I should just appreciate that they took care of him and didn’t call us LOL! Ski school ended up being worth it. Our oldest came out of there ready to try some challenging runs while the youngest at least had the basics down. It made a huge difference!
While the kids were off at ski school, we were able to explore the trails. We ended up at the back of the mountain in some of the more difficult areas. There is plenty to explore! The second day we spent most of our time at the top on the bunny hill. Our youngest was a little apprehensive still and wasn’t ready for a real run. However, our oldest was getting bored and needed more of a challenge. Therefore, the little guy and I retreated back down the gondola and into the condo for lunch while my husband and oldest son stayed on the slopes. It didn’t help that it was absolutely freezing that day. It was snowing and the wind was whipping which led to poor visibility as well. At one point they had shut down the gondola due to the wind.
I thought that would be the end of my youngest skiing due to all the yard sales and tears that he had that second day, but that wasn’t the case. He got up early on the 3rd day and was dressed (full gear!) and ready well before the lifts even opened. We were on the lift by 8:30 and ready to go. We did our first run together as a family. We did School Marm which is 3.5 miles long and just about the only green. My boys did great and I could have shed a tear if I was physically capable of crying. After that we got a little crazy and ventured over to the terrain park. The kids were dare devils while I tried one little jump and screamed like a little girl.
We stopped in for a lunch break at the condo. Again, I can’t say enough how I am now obsessed with ski in/ski out locations (sorry hubs!). Then we went back out in the afternoon and did some more difficult blue runs. I have to mention that the weather was in the 30s and made a huge difference. It felt much warmer and the sun was shining. I still can’t believe the kids were able to hang. It was soooo exciting to see them have so much fun and have us all be together supporting each other. The little guy and I did one last run and headed in as my legs were jello. The other two stayed out for a little longer to do some blacks and moguls. I couldn’t believe it, my oldest is already better at skiing than me….and I couldn’t be more proud. He really is my husband’s mini me!
Activities
I had no idea how much there was to do at Keystone. We always just dropped in for a weekend of skiing before we had kids. There is so much to do other than skiing! I thought we would have plenty of time to do some other activities but we ended up spending more time on the slopes than anticipated and I didn’t want to discourage my boys.
- Snow Tubing
- Ice Skating
- Kidtopia Snow Fort
- Snowmobiling
- Sleigh Ride
- Cat Tour
- Snow Shoeing
Additional information on activities can be found here.
The one activity we did get to attend was the Ice Castle. This was a unique experience that I highly recommend. It was about 10-15 minutes away in Dillon. We went at 4pm since my kids were having trouble staying up past 5pm. However, I would recommend going at night as they had it full of different colored lights and it looked gorgeous.
It probably takes about an hour to walk through. There were a few tunnels and slides that the kids enjoyed. The ice was beautiful and there were many photo ops!
Click here for Dillon Ice Castles
Conclusion
I was completely surprised how great Keystone is for families. We had always gone without kids so I had no idea the options for families. This ended up being one of those vacations with amazing memories that hopefully will stick with my boys forever. They had a blast and said it was their favorite vacation ever….even better than Disney or our beach resort vacations. I guess that settles it, we are going to have to try to go on a yearly ski trip now (sorry again hubs)!
Tips
- Rent a condo in River Run Village
- Buy groceries – there is a City Market and Target not too far away-near 70.
- Put kids in at least one session at ski school.
- Avoid eating at the top of the mountain – we had a minimal lunch one day that cost $56 for 2 of us.
- Drink tons of water as often as possible.
- It can get very cold and windy on the mountain so dress in plenty of layers. We even used hand warmers one day to put inside our gloves.
- We rented skis for the kids from Larsons in Wheatridge. It is off 70 before you get to the mountains and was cheaper than renting at the resort. The staff was great and the gear was top notch!
- Get the kids a bright-colored helmet so they are easy to spot.
- Be flexible – I always try to have a strict itinerary for each day down to the hour. However, I had to learn to not schedule anything and just go with the flow.
- If you rent a car, stop at Beau Jo’s Pizza in Idaho Springs off 70 on the way.
- Also, try to stop at Red Rocks which is on the way near Morrison.
Click here to checkout our favorite Amazon finds.
Follow our adventures on instagram
…
