Take a fun family vacation this winter – speeding down a slope at 50 miles per hour not required
The thrill of the downslope. The challenge of that double-black run. The … long recovery time. Just because you don’t ski or snowboard – or don’t want to run the risk of soreness aprèsski – doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a winter getaway. There are plenty of ways to get your frost on without mastering the slopes, oftentimes with the whole family in tow and regardless of their familiarity with the white stuff. And best of all, these cool destinations are all easy to reach from the Southland by road or plane.
Yosemite
Yosemite National Park bid to host the 1932 Winter Olympics and barely lost out to Lake Placid. So, its winter cred is classic and well-earned.
As part of the bid, the park had to construct a few sample sports venues. Several of those are still active including the Curry Village Ice Rink, where visitors can rent skates for a spin around a frozen outdoor oval complemented by mood music and a blazing fire pit to warm you afterwards.
Another relic of the Olympic bid is the Badger Pass Ski Area, considered one of the best places in the Sierras for kids to learn how to downhill or cross-country ski while proud parents can look on (and not have to participate).
There’s a family-friendly tubing slope with rental tubes available at the Badger Pass Nordic Center. Guided snowshoe hikes through the Badger Pass wilderness and along snowcovered Glacier Point Road are offered by the Yosemite Mountaineering School & Guide Service.
And don’t miss a chance to stroll through Yosemite’s giant sequoias. There’s nothing like a blanket of snow around the feet of the ruddy giants in Mariposa Grove and Tuolumne Grove.
Getting there: Yosemite Valley is around a six-hour drive from Downtown Los Angeles. Alternatively, you can hop on a one-hour, nonstop United Airlines flight from LAX to Fresno and rent a car for a quick 1.5-hour drive.
Flagstaff
Arizona doesn’t seem like the most obvious place for a snowy vacation – that is, until you’re talking about Flagstaff, which sits at a lofty 7,000 feet above sea level and gets an impressive average of around 100 inches of snow each winter.
Close to town, Flagstaff Snow Park offers tube rentals and tubing runs for both adults and children, while Jay Lively Activity Center has an indoor ice-skating rink with public hours as well as skate rentals.
Just 20 minutes north of town, the Arizona Nordic Village renders overnights in comfy yurts or cabins and 35 miles of forest trails ideal for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
The nearby Arizona Snowbowl is the state’s premier downhill skiing and snowboarding resort. But they also offer a brand-new way to glide down the slopes that doesn’t take any prior experience – a bike-like contraption called a Sno-Go that can be hoisted up the mountain on a chairlift for an exhilarating downhill ride.
Getting there: Flagstaff is a seven-hour drive from the Southland via Interstates 15 and 40. American Airlines offers 90-minute nonstop flights from LAX to Flagstaff.
Taos
This northern New Mexico city is liable to get snow any time between Thanksgiving and Easter, a white winter that Taos celebrates with in-town festivals and out-of-town recreation in the nearby Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
With roots stretching back more than 400 years to the start of Spanish colonization, the Las Posadas Festival spans nine nights leading up to Christmas Eve, many homes and businesses decorated with farolitos (paper lanterns) and special events at 18th-century San Francisco de Asis Church, a national historic landmark.
Among the other yuletide season happenings are chamber music at the Harwood Museum of Art, several art and craft fairs, the big Christmas tree in Taos Plaza and Taos Pueblo events like the Procession of the Virgin Mary on Christmas Eve and the Deer and Matachina Dance on Christmas Day.
A 30-minute drive into the snowy mountains leads to Taos Ski Valley. Though renowned for its downhill skiing and snowboarding, the resort also offers an ice rink with skating for all ages, ice bocce ball and skating silent disco on Saturday nights, plus guided snowmobile tours into the Carson National Forest wilderness.
Getting there: Taos is a marathon 14-hour drive from the Southland (although you could break up the journey with a stop in Flagstaff). Delta and Alaska offer two-hour, nonstop flights from LAX to Albuquerque, then it’s a 2.5-hour drive to Taos.
Southwest Utah
With mountains rising to around 10,000 feet, the highlands of Southwest Utah average more than 360 inches of snow each winter with the heaviest amount falling in January and February.
With 71 pistes and several terrain parks — and a well-earned reputation for dry powder — Brian Head is the region’s top snow sports resort.
Non-skiers of any age can tube down the slope at Giant Steps or get creative, creating a crazy costume for events like the snowy tug-of-war competition or helping the kids build out a racer for their cardboard box bobsled derby.
Bryce Canyon National Park is more spectacular in the winter — the towering red-rock hoodoos mantled in show — than any other season. Rangers lead daytime and full-moon snowshoe hikes. Trails are open for winter hiking inside the canyon and cross-country skiing along the rim.
Just outside the park entrance, Ruby’s Inn Winter Adventure Center rents snowshoes and crosscountry skis for exploring more than 20 miles of snow-covered trails in and around Bryce Canyon. Ruby’s also offers the Bryce Canyon Ice Ribbon for skating and organizes the Bryce Canyon Winter Festival in February.
Getting there: Brian Head and Bryce Canyon are around an eight-hour drive from the Southland via Las Vegas. The closest airport is in St. George, Utah, with nonstop service from LAX on United Airlines.
Yellowstone
The world’s oldest national park is almost totally closed to vehicular traffic during the winter season. But that doesn’t mean you can’t watch Old Faithful do its steamy thing on a chilly winter day or photograph the park’s famous bison and wolves in the snow. Not to mention the fact that Yellowstone is much less crowded in the winter.
Outfitters in the Montana towns of Gardiner and West Yellowstone offer guided snowcoach and snowmobile tours to iconic spots like Old Faithful and Yellowstone Falls.
Cross-country skiers or snowshoers with winter survival experience can undertake a self-guided trek across Yellowstone after obtaining a mandatory backcountry camping permit.
The only overnight lodging inside the park during the colder months is the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Old Faithful Snow Lodge. Both are open mid-December to early March. You can drive to Mammoth Hot Springs, but reaching Old Faithful in winter requires a snowcoach transfer.
Getting there: Yellowstone National Park is a 16-hour drive from the Los Angeles area (but you can break up the journey with a stop in Southwest Utah). Multiple airlines offer a three-hour, nonstop flight from LAX to Bozeman, Montana, while Delta offers a one-stop service to nearby Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
-Joe Yogerst