Wolf creek was the best I've ever skied in Colorado or New Mexico. Go to Colorado if you can, red river is fun too though.
I stayed in Taos this summer, and it'd be a neat place, but I'd def stay in the ski valley there, that's got to be a miserable drive into Taos with backed up texans.

Wolf Creek near Pagosa Springs, CO. I would only go here if you are looking for a more country feel as there is not a whole lot of shopping and things like that, but it is a beautiful and peaceful area. There is some shopping and some restaurants but nothing like the bigger ski towns. But the advantage you get with that is much shorter lift lines, cheaper lift tickets, etc. Also Wolf Creek is known for getting the most snow in CO. 12 hour drive from DFW.

I left half my knee ligaments on Ski Apache in Ruidoso, NM. Still feeling that one and its been 5 years. Breckinridge is really spectacular, and massive. Been to Monarch, CO as well, but as a kid and I barely remember that one.

wolf Creek pass?

we have driven (years ago) to various NM & CO resorts ... Angel Fire and Apache (if they have snow) were great with kids. A little known place in northern NM is Ski Rio that used to be tucked away hidden gem that didn't have any crowds or lines to fight, but they aren't very close to any towns for shopping/dining, at least the last time we were there. Purgatory north of Durango was also really fun for both adults & kids. Crested Butte is another good one within driving distance that is good for families that has local shopping/dining conveniences.

I’ve been to park city and Breckinridge. I liked park city better.

I would strongly consider Keystone in Colorado. Better value than some bigger resorts like Breckinridge, Copper or Winter Park. Stay in the River Run Village area and you will never need to use your car again once you arrive. The Village has shops, restaurants, ski stores, bars and outdoor fire pits to hang around. The ski lift is in the Village and usually no more than 100 yds from any lodging. The mountain has good slopes, great ski school and fun tubing park.

I would recommend Angel Fire NM. The Colorado resorts are bigger and better but a further drive.

About half price too.. I believe kids ski free during certain times but the adult ticket prices are about half of the big resorts in Colorado. I’m a huge fan of Colorado and can give you some go tos but being first timers and driving, Angel Fire is a safe bet.

monarch or one of the N.M. areas mentioned (if they get snow/can blow it).

monarch is a less popular area for breaks as it is a smaller area and has less hard skiing, stay in salida.

wolf creek is great but I doubt you can book a room for 50 mi. any direction.

driving kind of limits you.

flying, keystone/breckenridge/A basin and I think now copper are all on one ticket so you can ski any of those with no extra cost for tickets. can probably still get a booking in the area but it won't be cheap. look in dillon and frisco for better deals (this also puts you in the middle of the areas so you can pick which to go to).
I lived in this area for 15 of the 20 I lived in colorado, other 5 were durango.



best right now for driving is monarch for snow cover, this only makes it better as the yr. goes on.

Park City is hands down my favorite. Beautiful setting they have there and the runs are awesome.

Yep that's the road leading up to Wolf Creek ski area from Pagosa. We stay in South Fork on the opposite side of the mountain from Pagosa. Not quite as treacherous of a drive after a heavy snow. Pucker factor is definitely still there though.

It all depends on the, but you will have to have made reservations a long time in advance. Some places have no room in the inn a year or maybe even 2 in advance.

Years ago when we rented our house in Ruidoso, snow was almost a guarantee, people never backed out at the last minute. Foe about the last 10 years, we use it, but there have been multiple years of no snow, and short shirt sleeve weather. I have worn shorts on Thanksgiving setting on the deck.

It takes about 8 and half hours for our son at Keller to go to Ruidoso, to Colorado to ski it is 12 plus, but where snow is more likely. Reservations at the hotels can likely be made at Ruidoso, but if the snow is there, it quickly can be a hit or miss. El Paso is 2 1/2 hours away, an easy weekend get away for them, Midland Odessa is 4 and 1/2, between them and El Paso the hotels can get filled in a hurry after a good snow.

Does Cloudcroft NM even have slopes anymore? I know they were never highly regarded but just wondering. Used to live in El Pothole and travel up there in the summer and winter. Was a neat little town.

My all time favorite is Crested Butte, but it’s a drive. The mountain is great and has some nice bowls up top, and the town is real cool too. If you are looking to ski a few different places on the same trip, you can hit Copper, Keystone, Breckenridge, and A Basin. Vail is not too far from there either. All are nice.

My family has skied almost every resort in CO, NM, and UT over the years.

If you guys are beginners, Granby, CO is the place to go. Smaller mountain where the kids can go up by themselves if the adults get tired and you won't worry about them. Bar at the bottom of the mountain where you can wait on them. Stay at Base Camp One. It's the most ski-in, ski-out place we've ever stayed. Lifts are literally 100 ft. out the back door. Super easy to run back to your condo for a break or for lunch. You can also take care of your own meals in there if want to save a little money, but the restaurants and the resort and in town are great as well. If you put the kids in ski school, ask for Demo. Great guy who teaches skiing and snow boarding. He's actually from Port Arthur, TX of all places. I can't recommend Granby highly enough for the first time skiing family.

Our favorite is Telluride, but it's a massive place and you'd appreciate it more after you get a little more experience.

skip anything in NM that isn't named Taos, head north to Co.

Lot of good suggestions,
Even though Nm & Co do a good job with the roads, getting caught making the trip during or just after a large snow fall can add a few hours to double your drive time.
We've been held up at least a dozen times over the years, nothing to do with us / our vehicles just what happens & how much problems others in front of you have.

All the kids in our family & extended family learned to ski at either Angle Fire or Red River Nm, even those that live in Co.
When our kids were young we either got lucky or the snow was more predictable and just more of it.
The last several years the snow in Nm has been iffy / lacking.
Be sure to keep up with snow reports, usually there will be some openings in Red River or Angle Fire even during peak, excluding around Christmas.
Like everything folks have their favorites, we've tried Taos a few times, not a good experience.

The kids are all grown adults with kids of their own now, those living in Tx, Co & Ca took/take their kids to learn & ski the first couple years to Granby Co, ( Granby Ranch?) about 1.5 hrs from Denver driving.
My son lives in Ct and will be taking our grand daughter for her first real ski experiance to Granby to meet up with a cousin & his family this winter.
I've never been but I trust what our nieces & nephews say about the place.

The closer to the ski slopes / lifts you can stay ( ski in ski out ) the more time to ski, play & have fun you & your kids will have.
Loading everyone & everything up & driving 5 - 20 miles to a ski area gets monotonous & time consuming.

Wolf Creek is where I learned to snow board, ( I can't ski, at all ) I would never recommend this to anyone I liked.
Back then their learners slope or at least where my instructor took me was equivalent to many other ski areas black diamond.
I was sore for more than a month.

Another for Wolf Creek. I have skied there 4 times and once with my kiddos when they were about 13 & 15. We stayed in Pagosa Springs the first 3 times and South Fork the last time.
Great thing about staying in Pagosa Springs if you get bored Durango is not that far of a drive.

Novice - Family - Drive = Red River NM

As a bachelor I started with Angel Fire , progressed to RR, Wolf Creek, Crested Butte. With a family -Red River meets every need

If you're looking for the most snow close to Tx, Wolf Creek Co no doubt about it.

The ski area is about a 30 min drive from Pagosa on a good day, about the same maybe 5 min less, from South Fork.

Durango about 1 hr 15min.

If they get enough snow, Red River, Angle Fire Nm, is hard to beat for a good place for a drive to ski trip with family / kids.

Thanks for all of the suggestions - great info. And obviously we need to plan better in the future.

We are planning to book within the next 24HRS....somewhere.

Question- any thoughts on Beaver Creek? I have some hotel points I can use then, but it seems lift tickets are more than NM (and I’m sure everything else).

Several offer discounts if you buy lift tickets in advance, I know Beaver creek does.

Be sure to read & understand their policies before buying.

I'm not a fan of any of the Co big name resort type places, they're all beautiful & lots to do, easy to spend a couple to several hundred dollars each on lift tickets & equipment rentals, crowds, lines frequently get annoying.

From a few days before Christmas till around Jan 5th it is difficult to find openings, might be best to focus on where has lodging available when you can travel (your preferred dates) instead of on any specific place until after you confirm availability & rates and get a better idea of options.

Many of the well know Co ski areas are great places to spend a couple boatloads of money, very few make much effort to tell you about all the extra fee's until you show up.

When you get rates, make sure the include resort fees and taxes some are pretty steep, if your staying away from the resort, factor in parking it can be pretty steep.

Weather, all good plans, even the best of plans can go to hell in a handbasket within hours if a storm blows in. In our case the best was 5 days of our son and his family, and 3 other couples. 10 adults and 2 kids in a 2 bedroom one bath house. 8 of the adults were to spend their day time skiing, and night times on the bar and casino circuit. First evening the ice storm blew in, then the snow, by midnight we were locked in. Food, no problem we had stocked up the day before, beer no problem, there was coolers full of beer on the deck that the others brought. But that next morning we had 1/2" of ice and about 8" of fresh snow. But we did not get a snow plow on our street for 2 days. 12 people in 1100 square feet was a lot of fun. The adults skied on the streets in the neighborhood, we drug the kids up the hill and they sled down them, and we drug them up the hill and they sled down them.

On the 4th day, the roads were opened, the other adults went to town, they had skied the roads and were happy, We took the grandkids to the tubing park, they wanted to go back to the house and use the sleds. The next afternoon they left, for 2 days we could hear silence, absolute silence, and the toilet was always available when needed.

Memories, Priceless!