It is the fall season, and for those planning a winter holiday the most common question asked is sun or snow? That was the question a golfing buddy asked me a couple of days ago. I know he and his wife are golf fanatics, and they loved traveling to golf resorts in Florida or out west during the cold Ohio winters. He mentioned he wanted to take his daughter and her 2 college age children on a vacation during the kids spring break in early March for a little sun and golf. The problem was that the kids wanted to go snowboarding on a real mountain over spring break, and he wanted some ideas on how to convince then to travel someplace warm, instead of on a ski trip. I asked him instead of a choice between traveling for sun or snow, why not do both. With a little planning, flexibility,and a little luck from mother nature, his extended family could have a winter vacation were everyone could get what they wanted; grandpa gets to play golf, and the grand kids enjoyed some snowboarding. If your planning a winter buddy trip, or you family has an early spring break, there is no reason you could not go from a warm sunny beach or pool in the morning to the slopes in the afternoon if you want.
The key is planning your trip to destinations out west that feature both warm weather and high mountains, within driving distance of each other, which gives you the opportunities for both a quick day trip or an extended stay . Fortunately, we have many options close to popular winter travel destinations to choice from. For example, most people flying to the world class ski resorts near Lake Tahoe, go thru the airport in Reno, NV. and drive the 1.5 hours to the Lake Tahoe area. What most of these travellers miss is that the Reno area itself has some fantastic resorts and vacation options. With moderate temperatures in the low 60's F. in February and early March, the golfer in your life might enjoy staying a night in Reno; and warming up after your time on the slopes while shaking off the the winter rust on one of the world class golf courses in the Reno area. The warm weather, great resorts, and excellent golf courses make Las Vegas a popular winter vacation destination. What most people don't know is that Las Vegas, can also be a base for the skiers in your life who want to experience some Western powder. If you want to do something different on your Las Vegas vacation, why not take a day trip less than an hour from the Strip to the Las Vegas Ski Resort. At a base elevation of 8500 feet with a vertical drop of 2300 feet, the ski park offers a fun way of enjoying some skiing in the Rockies. If you want to do some serious Rockies skiing or snow boarding, why not go where the Vegas locals go, and head 3 hours north to the Brian Head Resort outside of St. George Utah. This full service ski resort offers over 360 inches of great powder annually at a base elevation of 9600 feet. With great skiing and little crowds, this resort offers you a great way to really enjoy a sun and snow vacation.
Other options to enjoy a sun and snow vacation can be had from most of the popular warm weather winter destinations out west. If you get tired from surfing and the beaches of Southern California, and want to do something different with your kids, try one of the ski areas less than an hour east of Los Angeles. Both Mt. Baldy, and Mountain High Resort have a base elevation of over 6500 feet and receive over 140 inches of snow annually and are open from December thru mid April. If your staying in the Palm Springs areas; maybe you want to release some stress after a frustrating found of golf, or burn some calories after sampling the excellent area restaurants to much, try a day of skiing at one of the ski resorts near San Bernadeno CA., less than an hour from Palm Springs.
The state of Arizona; with its high mountains and warm, deep valleys offers some interesting options for the family or group who wants to enjoy a warm weather vacation, but also wants to experience the fun and challenging ski runs you can only experience out west. Only an hour east of the great western town of Tucson, Mt. Lemmon Ski Valley offer a great day of skiing and boarding surrounded by some spectacular mountain views. Only 2 hours distance from Phoenix via I-17 is the Arizona SnowBowl. Located near the great resort town of Flagstaff, and only an hour from the Grand Canyon. The SnowBowl offers deep snow, and long runs, and is a great reason to take a break from the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, or to experience another part of the state.
The great benefit of adding some skiing to your sun vacation is you don't have to bring your ski gear. All the ski resorts rent all the equipment you would need, some including snow pants. Since these ski resorts are not in prime ski areas, the cost of the rental gear and lift tickets is a great value for anyone from out east wanting to do some big mountain skiing, and the service at these small ski areas is usually great. Staying a couple of nights at some of these full service resorts can add a great and different dimension to a typical winter warm weather vacation. Another added benefit, is with so many day trip ski areas close to the major warm weather vacation areas, you can wait till you get their to decide if the ski area has enough snow to go skiing, no added commitment needed if you wanted to get some Western skiing. Low added costs, no commitments, good to great skiing conditions, doing something unique; are all great reasons that a sun and snow vacation should be in your future. It may be the one trip were everyone in your party; from the golfer, to the sun worshipper, to the ski bum can all agree on, and have a great time.
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