It’s May, and ski season is over.
But for a growing number of smart travelers, now is the time to really hit the slopes. We’ve tracked down some of the most popular ski resorts that have grown into year-round destinations to see what kind of activities they have to offer — and, more importantly, what kind of savings you’ll find.
If you can swing an impromptu vacation now through the end of May, and in some cases throughout the summer, you may just find some the cheapest rates of the year.
Vail Mountain, Colorado
When you hear the word Vail, it’s hard not to think of skiing. After all, it is the largest ski mountain in the country, with 193 marked trails available on 5,289 acres of ski-able terrain.
The resort opened in 1962 with the sole purpose of being a ski destination, suggesting that it might turn into a ghost town in the warmer months. Not true…
So what is there to do when the slopes shut down? First off, Vail Valley truly is a quaint little mountain town, with European-style pedestrian streets and hundreds of shops and restaurants that are open year round.
Next, think about it…it’s a mountain. That means miles of hiking trails, mountain biking and gondolas that run year round to carry you to spectacular heights.
It also means activities that can cost significantly less than a day of skiing; take, for example, the Adventure Ridge Action Pass: for $40 ($35 for children ages 5-12), you can spend a whole day on top of the mountain, with the pass including a lift ticket, lunch, three games of laser tag, hiking and scenic gondola rides, among other things.
Local officials also try to lure off-season visitors by hosting outdoorsy events all summer long. On May 30-June 3, the town is celebrating its 6th annual Teva Mountain Games, the largest adventure sports festival in the country. Athletes can compete in kayaking, rafting, climbing, mountain biking and fly fishing, for a total of $100,000 in cash prizes. Between June 24-August 2, the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival highlights classical music, with guests like The New York Philharmonic and the National Repertory Orchestra.
The area makes much of its money off ski enthusiasts who purchase houses and condominiums so that their winter getaway is their summertime getaway as well. But for those of you who don’t have the luxury of owning a second home in Colorado, you’re still in luck.
Typically, summer hotel rates are about half the price of the winter rates. Generally speaking, peak winter season runs from Thanksgiving through mid-April, while peak summer season starts at Memorial Day and runs through August. The Beaver Creek Park Hyatt’s winter prices start at $239 a night for a standard double room, while summer prices start at $169 a night. At the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort and Spa, prices during the high winter season can run anywhere from $189-$379 a night; prices in high summer season don’t drop too significantly, but the range narrows dramatically, from about $179-$219 a night.
And from now until Memorial Day, it’s one of the most inexpensive times of the year; you can snag a room for $129 a night. If you can’t take off now, check back in October to find those rates again. https://vail.snow.com/summerhome.asp
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek
970-949-1234; https://beavercreek.hyatt.com
Vail Marriott Mountain Resort & Spa
1-970-476-4444; https://marriott.com/
Vail Cascade Resort & Spa
800-282-4183; www.vailcascade.com
Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado
Aspen/Snowmass is made up of two towns with four mountains, and has grown into one of the country’s most popular ski resorts. It has won numerous awards touting its environmental programs, including habitat protection and enhancement, energy and water efficiency, recycling and alternative transportation.
Aspen/Snowmass is also widely known as being a great family-oriented ski resort, which is reflected in its summer activities as well. You can jump into a game of family paint ball, stop by Free Movie Night every Tuesday between late June through August, and send the kids off to the Silver Nugget Dig that hails back to Aspen’s history as a silver mining town.
More adventurous types can take to the skies on a hot air balloon ride over the Rocky Mountains, the Summer Zip Line that traverses over 1,000 feet, or the Silver Queen Gondola that travels to the 11,212-foot summit of Aspen Mountain. The hot-air balloon ride is probably the priciest, at anywhere from $195 to $225 per adult and $175 for kids ages 6-12, but most other activities are free or range about $6-$10 per person.
Here, you can also save on summer hotel rates, like at the high-end St. Regis Resort. While peak winter prices start at $745 per night, summer rates drop by about $300, with several packages available for even more savings, like deluxe room accommodations and 25% off Remede Spa treatments for prices starting at $205. And like we saw in Vail, the prices between mid-April and the end of May drop even more dramatically, down to about $225 a night. At the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa, a standard room starts at $119 a night in mid-May, jumps up to anywhere from $174 to $394 after Memorial Day, down to $219 in mid- October, and then in December, well, the standard room are already booked up — so you’re looking at a deluxe for about $389 a night. The lesson here? Don’t follow the crowd and you’ll probably save yourself a bundle. www.aspensnowmass.com/summer_rec
St. Regis Resort- Aspen
(970) 920-3300; www.stregisaspen.com
Park City Mountain Resort, Utah
If the 2002 Olympics didn’t already inspire you to visit this world-famous ski resort, its Olympic-style thrill rides might do so. At the resort is the ZipRider, the world’s steepest zip line, which starts you off 1,100 feet above the ski runs, and zips you down at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. At $19 a pop, that’s not a bad deal for getting your heart lodged in your throat.
For $11, you can also try out the Alpine Slide (one of the longest in the world), with over 3,000 feet of tracks that drop you down 550 vertical feet.
And there’s the Alpine Coaster, which, for $17 a ride, rushes you along an elevated track through nearly 4,000 feet of curves and loops; it’s basically a roller coaster with much prettier scenery.
Since the peak seasons in Utah follow the same model as Colorado, you can expect some great deals there as well. For example, ski season rates at the Park City Marriott start at $269 a night, and are slashed to about $109 in the summer. You can get even better deals if you go with a packaged deal: The $99 Park City Mountain Blast Package includes a 3-night, 2-day stay at the Hampton Inn and Suites, two adult one-day ski passes to Deer Valley or The Canyons, and a hot breakfast every morning. www.saveonresorts.com/
Marriott Park City Hotel
435-649-2900; www.parkcitymarriott.com
Stowe, Vermont
If your family is eastbound this summer, check out Stowe, where skiing turns into a faded memory as summer activities abound. First stop, golf, golf and more golf. In town is the Stowe Country Club, a former dairy farm-turned-scenic golf course. Right now is the cheapest time to go… the course is open for play, but the off-season rates of $45-$85 are still in effect through May 25. Rates then go up $5-$10 per round through Labor Day.
Stowe also caters to family travel with the Kids’ Summer Mountain Adventure Program where kids can participate in arts and crafts projects and scavenger hunts, among other activities. They can zip down the 2,300-foot Alpine Slide, bike the 5.3-mile paved Stowe Recreational Path, create arts and crafts, and even try their hands at cooking. Don’t worry, grown-ups can get a chance to rush down the Alpine Slide themselves… it’s open daily from late June to early September, and on weekends from September to mid-October, and only costs $15.
And if you can brave the bungee trampoline (only $8 per adult and $7 per junior), our only advice is to eat light beforehand.
The off seasons in Stowe run just slightly longer than their western counterparts: the least expensive times to go are at the end of March until Memorial Day, and at the end of October through mid-December. At the Top Notch Resort and Spa, peak summer and winter rates tend not to vary much, starting at about $385 a night, but its spring and fall rates drop significantly to $150 a night. https://summer.stowe.com
Innsbruck Inn
802-253-8582; www.innsbruckinn.com
Top Notch Resort
800-451-8686; www.topnotchresort.com
Mont-Tremblant, Quebec
Planning on visiting our friends to the North? This mountain resort, located about 90 miles north of Montreal, boasts 94 runs on with stunning views, and has been named the “#1 Ski and Golf Resort in the North America East” by Ski Magazine.
Quebec is an especially choice destination for Americans who have a hankering for something with a European flair without shelling out the bucks for a trans-Atlantic flight. It also manages to be both family-friendly and gay-friendly.
Better yet, if you head here in the summertime, you’ll even have the luxury of avoiding the “touristy” crowds and hanging with the locals — summer visitors tend to be 80-85 percent Canadian, particularly coming from Quebec and Ontario (winter numbers tend to be about 50 percent Canadian and 30-40 percent American, with the rest coming from abroad).
Mont-Tremblant offers plenty of outdoorsy activities to entice visitors, like hiking, mountain biking, sailing and wakeboarding. But did you know that they also have a giant iceberg?
Okay, it’s not actually made out of ice, but it’s a giant structure in the middle of Lac Tremblant that you can jump off of like an Olympic diver. The iceberg is open weekends between May 19-June 22 and September 8 to October 1, and daily between June 23-September 4, and costs $8 per 15 minutes.
Besides skiing, Tremblant is renowned for its golf courses, particularly Le Diable and Le Géant, and the season has just started. The early season rates run through May 25 (starting at $59 at Le Géant and $69 at Le Diable) and then jump up $10-$30 during the regular season through July 27, and then another $20 or so in the high season through September 24. Tremblant also hosts a series of festivals and events throughout the summer, like Les Rythmes Tremblant 2007, showcasing outdoor concerts every weekend between June 30-August 26, and the inaugural Tremblant Film Festival, June 20-24.
Chateau Beauvallon — During its peak winter weeks, between Christmas and New Year, a one-bedroom suite is about $179, while the same room during peak summer weeks (the last two weeks of July through August) starts at $311. Right now, you can snag a room for about $179 through the end of May. www.tremblant.ca
On the shores of Lake Ouimet just five minutes away from the Mont Tremblant ski area, Le Grand Lodge has studios and suites overlooking the lake that start as low as $89.
Chateau Beauvallon
888-245-4030; www.chateaubeauvallon.com
Le Grand Lodge
(800) 567-6763; www.legrandlodge.com
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