There’s more to ski vacations than skiing and riding

The bulk of our longer ski excursions these days take us either to Breckenridge, Colo. (if your kids insist on living far away, it’s thoughtful of them to at least pick a spot that’s great to visit) or Bretton Woods in New Hampshire.

Both places make for great getaways. Not just for their skiing and snowboarding, but everything they offer once the ski day ends — or while it is still going on, for that matter.

More and more, ski resorts are becoming one-stop winter destinations, designed to appeal not only to those who embrace risk and the outdoors, pretty much no matter the temperatures and wind-chill, but also to those more apt to dip their toe into less strenuous endeavors, say spa treatments, sleigh rides, and fine dining.

For some, a ski vacation features swimming pools — both indoor and out — along with tubing and tubbing: lift-serviced snow tubing down slick slopes and hot tubbing.

Many of these activities and amenities have been around for years, even decades, of course. But each year, it seems, ski resorts and are adding attractions and enhancing the ones they have.

“When Sunday River first started putting in condominium complexes, outdoor swimming pools were the first things they put in,” says Greg Sweetser, executive director of Ski Maine, the group that represents that state’s ski areas. “And when Sugarloaf recently did an upgrade on its hotel and put in an outdoor pool and hot tub, initially hardcore skiers were looking at it and saying, ‘Why are they putting money into a fancy pool in the middle of the base area?’ The answer is they put money into a fancy pool because it’s cool, it’s sexy and a lot of people use it and a lot of people love it. In part because it extends their day.”

What’s not to love about an outdoor, 30-person hot tub?

The whole philosophy revolves around extending a day or weekend, broadening and expanding experiences.

“A weekend or a day visit to a resort really is about more than just skiing,” Sweetser said. “You’ve got to give credit to the food movement for that as well. People like good food. If they’re going to the beach or into the city on vacation, they like to have good food. Why wouldn’t they love to go skiing and have great food? And if people come up and don’t ski, they can still have great food. A two-hour meal in the mountains is just as fun as it would be anywhere else.”

The goal remains the same as ever in most cases: to appeal to families, whether it comes in groups three generations strong, as does ours, or in other forms.

“As we expanded our ski-in, ski-out lodging, we also developed our alternative activities as a means to appeal to families,” says Bonnie McPherson, who represents Okemo in Vermont and also Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire, both now among the Vail Resorts properties in New England. “Not everybody skis all day, first chair to last chair, and we recognize not every member of the family skis. We want to make sure we have something for everyone to do. We also see a lot more multi-generational travel. It’s not just mom and dad and the kids. The grandparents are tagging along. Or maybe they own the condo and they’re bringing the kids.”

Okemo has swimming pools and snowtubing. It has the Timber Ripper Mountain Coaster for another way down the mountain. There’s ice skating, complete with refrigeration, that is up and running by Thanksgiving weekend. The resort puts on disco nights at the rink and torchlight parades and fireworks shows often light up the night, too.

“The ice skating and snow tubing just crush it,” McPherson says.

Jay Peak in northern Vermont, besides boasting massive snowfall totals each year, has its huge Pump House indoor waterpark and the Ice Haus Indoor Arena that hosts youth hockey tournaments most of the year.

I ever get the opportunity to spend a weekend at a squirt hockey tournament, please, please, I want it to be at Jay Peak.

“Sometimes the weather can be a little fickle in New England,” says Molly Mahar, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association. “That’s another thing about the diversity of activities for families. If the weather isn’t great, they have other things they can do.”

Bolton Valley in Vermont features an indoor adventure center and bike park with ramps and bowls that came from a skate park in South Burlington, set up in a large space that wasn’t being used and it’s all been a big hit.

Smugglers’ Notch is known — and celebrated — for its family-friendly approach, including the Fun Zone 2.0 with its indoor pools, playground, mini-golf, inflatable pirate ship, arcade games, and more.

Alex Wojcik is a big Smuggs’ fan.

He and his wife, Janelle, came up from their home in Pennsylvania to Smugglers’ Notch largely to watch the Patriots-Eagles in the Super Bowl in enemy territory in the winter of 2018 with his brother’s family, who had rented a condo at the resort.

Alex gave skiing a shot for the first time.

“I’m a thrill seeker,” he says. “I went up and I think I fell 10 times coming down and I didn’t seem to get it very well.”

He’s been back a couple of times since, took a lesson, and is figuring the skiing part out. He’s hooked and plans to come back this winter.

Plus, they check out the pools, sit on the porch, and take in the scenery.

“I take a lot of pictures,” Alex says. “It’s beautiful up there. And the beer in Vermont is incredible.”

(It’s not bad in Maine, or New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or the rest of New England, we can attest.)

Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Westford, Mass., has one of the most extensive snow-tubing operations around.

“We’ve had up to 18 to 20 lanes for tubing, depending how we cut it,” says Nashoba’s Pam Fletcher. “It’s fun and long”

Tubing has long been viewed as an entry point to skiing and riding.

“Having more non-skier and snowboarder activities is beneficial to the whole family,” Fletcher says. You’re bound to have someone who doesn’t want to ski or snowboard, but they might want to tube and they get the feeling of sliding and being out in the wind and the winter. People that end up tubing for the very first time are more likely to come and try skiing or snowboarding, especially kids.”

Mt. Cranmore in New Hampshire – along with all the shopping and dining options offered in North Conway — has its Tubing and Mountain Adventure Park with a mountain coaster ride, giant swing rides, and Soaring Eagle Zip Line.

“It’s definitely something we’re talking about a lot more in the industry,” says Jessyca Keeler, executive director of Ski New Hampshire. “It’s not just beauty shots of skiing through powder. There’s shopping and tubing and the mountain coasters and a lot of different experiences for people who don’t want to go downhill skiing for various reasons. There’s a nice dinner and tubing afterwards and s’mores by a fire. It’s not only about skiing, but it’s about a lifestyle and all these things that go with it.”

Bretton Woods and the Omni Mount Washington Resort across Route 302 from it cover all the bases.

The Bretton Woods side of the road has a zip line, the kids snowmobile park, an eight-person to-the-top gondola that’s new for this winter, and a wide mix of terrain that makes the mountain just right for our wide mix of abilities.

We generally stay slopeside, making for easy access to apres-ski activities in the base lodge. The hotel and its spa and restaurants and bars — The Cave is a must-visit — is an easy shuttle ride away.

Nordic skiing, sleigh rides, fat tire bike riding, and guided mountain adventures are all available from the hotel.

“Fat tire biking has become quite popular,” says Bretton Woods and Omni Mount Washington Resort spokesman Craig Clemmer. “It’s one of the new things that’s been added and is part of the evolution of our Nordic system. We have snowshoeing terrain and of course cross country. They’re all ways for people to expand on their vacation offerings and they’re all fun. We have about a 2,000-acre campus and people can get out and bare their soul to nature, it doesn’t matter the conveyance. Or they can sit on the veranda or at one of our fireplaces and enjoy that, too.”

Yes, there’s more to a skiing vacation than skiing.

Allen Lessels can be reached at lessfam321@gmail.com.