Looking For Snow over Christmas (Trade)?

[Speargirl]

I know why would I ever leave the Florida Keys Well my two boys have never seen snow and the reefs are not what they want for Christmas this year. They wanat to see what snow is all about. So here I am trying to figure out where the snow is going to be this year over Christmas break. Granted I have not seen snow in over 20yrs. So this is going to be alot of fun for me also.
Question: Where is the snow around Dec 15th - Jan 1st in the U.S.
Question: Where is a good place to stay that has a place to eat like a lodge or something?
Question: How much is the average rate for a 5 night stay at a lodge. Needs to be clean not fancy (BUT WARM).

And last but not least I am willing to trade a Week here in the Keys for a Weeks stay up in the snow. If anyone has any thoughts please let me know I want my two boys to see what snow looks like besides on a TV or a snow cone.
Thanks
Becky

 

[Jimmer]

There will likely be plenty of snow at the ski resorts in Quebec. Lots of stuff to do there as well. Also it depends how much snow you want them to see, your idea of snow might be vastly different than mine. I don't consider it to be snowy until we have a good 8 inches on the ground, up to that point you don't need to shovel, just hit the gas coming in and out of the driveway .

 

[Speargirl]

I am looking for anything that has enough snow on the ground that the kids can build a big snowman and ride on sleds. I would like to stay somewhere other than Quebec. I have a friend that works for a airline so she will look into tickects for us once we know where we want to go.
any help would be great. I am willing to give a weeks stay here in Key Largo if anyone has a place we can come and stay for a week. It's myself my two sons Denis 10 and Tyler 8 very nice young men with manners.

 

[redrover]

Suggest you post this into somewhere like the Rocky Mt Oysters, Alaska Polar Bears, Pacific Northwest Orca Bait, New England Lobster Divahs who got snow and be more inclined for a sunny FL trade.
My first choice would be the Rocky Mt folk and hope for Utah, dry cold is way mo betta. You could even dive at Seabase.
Outside of a house to house; the ski lodging in Utah can be fairly rustic, homey and less expensive at Snow Basin, Solitude, Park West & Brighton. The airlines work in conjunction w/lodges and resorts with great packages including lifts etc. and treat yourselves to ski lessons – young boys whould love that. Stop off at a DI in SLC and dress everybody for nothing like retail prices, bring sandwiches and eat lunch in the daylodge things to trim down the $.
Nothing like the silence of a heavy snowfall, crisp mountain air, brilliant sunshine, I miss the snow.

 

[Speargirl]

A rustic cabin would be great up in the woods somewhere with a country store & town close by for Gro. If my boys saw a deer biger than a Key deer that would be something to them. Being truthful they have only seen life under the water, they have no idea what other things look like in the wild. Yes they have been to the Miami Zoo but it's just not the same it's like looking at tropical fish in a tank but knowing how they really live on the reefs. I want to share with my boys a white Christmas with all the "natural" toppings. If that kind of gives you an idea.
Thanks for everyones help here
OH I have a question Where is the wet snow and dry snow, I'd rather not be cold and wet.
Becky

 

[spectrum]

For Christmas break decent snow is likely here in Maine, especially if you head north and west into the foothills of the White Mountains. New Hampshire and Vermont are also strong choices. Most of the winter resorts are centered around alpine skiing and some offer cross country as well. If you are up for lessons and something new that's nice but as a novelty trip it's probably not what you want to do. There are some places that offer snow-tubing. A lift brings you up the hill and you fly down the slop on a big rubber tube, like a tire tube. Lots of fun and no real training required. Most have snow making capability so as long as we have the cold the trails will be good. We have places opening this weekend. There is also hiking, snowshoeing and snowmobiling but I"m not sure how you'd line up all of the resources. There are outfitters but the $$$ will add up fast. Most of the many tourist attractions shut down for winter leaving the winter sports with the market.

Many people have condominium units at the slopes and networking your swap should not be all that hard with some research.

Frankly there is a lot more to do in the other 3 seasons. That probably explains the glut of new births in this weekends paper!

I enjoyed skiing here once. New Hampshire King Pine Ski Area Family Ski Resort Skiing Snowboarding Stay and Ski Packages Lodging near North Conway NH check it out and go from there.

Pete

 

[Jimmer]

Well you could always head out to western Canada. Go to the right resort, and they can pretty much guarantee you to see Elk, Moose, Bear, etc. Good shot at Moose and Wolves in northern ontario too, and plenty of snow.

 

[redrover]

Every where can get wet snow and dry snow. Generally the closer to the ocean you are the wetter it normally is. I’ve got a bias for Utah with it’s orographic features more prone to dry snow, moved there for the best snow LOL (Utah 2% water density vs Alaska (home) with 100% water density.)

Things like tubing and sledding are fun, for a couple of hours. Snowmobiling is definitely a male sport and not to be discounted, but wouldn’t be my choice other than an experience. Sitting or riding on one gets cold and boring quickly, the fun things to do on a ‘bile is (IMHO with years spent on them) dangerous for young inexperienced boys.
If the objective is give those boys one he11 of a winter snow experience they’ll remember for a long time back in FL, I’d say a ski/snowboard resort is it. While skiing is a rich mans sport, I suggested Utah as it has family destination resorts geared to folks such as yourself – re flights, transfers, lodging, rental equip, lifts and lessons in very affordable packages compared to the world class ones (ie Snowbird, Alta and Deer Valley. Gung ho active boys before or after a daily lesson are off having a blast figuring out how to do it, keeping out of trouble and under foot pooping them selves out a large part of the day, have a much subdued energy level in the evenings and sleep like rocks.

Another thought since you mention big game is Yellowstone Nat Park. I used to go winter camp in the late fall and early spring (my off seasons when the tourist stuff wasn’t in operation) and explore there on my own, never did any commercial trips but there are various options for winter in the park.
The Bison and Elk herds were magnificent, terribly hard to resist walking in amongst them and petting them, force myself back in the truck when they moseyed on over. Then at least, it was nothing even resembling a zoo. Not as up close and personal as I’ve been around game but probably close second and a sure bet. The scenery in stormy weather is different than brilliant sunshine but equally breathtaking. The parks natural features (natural hot springs and geysers) are outstanding and the Rangers were very into education, lots and lots of snow.
Hmmm, after all that I went and looked online and there is not a lot of promotion for winter visits here, looks due for this winters scheduling update. Here is another more promising for info. Gee, if you could find anybody interested in a trade living near the park entrances - that would be the place! (You’d sure not be in Florida anymore.)

 

[eriediver2002]

Buffalo. We usually get more snow than we could ever want

altho we stayed clear till jan. last year

 

[Bonuss]

Colorado... We have it all, snow, cabins, yada yada. You can stay around Rocky Mountain National Park, see lots of Elk and Wildlife. but there are lots of locations throughout Colorado. If you don't plan to ski it is less expensive away from the typical ski area.

Bob in CO