Extended family wants to take a Christmas trip and experience the hallmark type of snowy Christmas. Probably 14 or so adults and a few kids. All based in central Texas. Not opposed to driving or flying. Would prefer something easy to get to with a good town where we can stroll and shop/drink/etc. A few of us would ski if available but that's it so it isn't a priority or a necessity.

I have no idea on what to think budget wise but something decently affordable. Nobody in this group is a millionaire. Just curious what some options are and opinions of those who've done this type of thing before.

I suggest this location all the time, but Banff.

If you want to condo/Airbnb in Banff, you'll need to make reservations early. I made ours in March, and it was slim pickings. We got lucky. You could stay in Canmore (lots of different options there at wider range of prices).

I like Banff because 1) it's walkable and 2) there are tons of different activities if you don't ski. Most of them are small group, guided tours where they pick you up at your accommodation (or somewhere near by). So, if people in the group want to do different things, you don't have to worry about transportation.

As far as cost, I'll give the breakdown for our trip that starts on Friday.

Plane tickets (direct IAH to YYC on Delta/West Jet) - $566 pp.

Airbnb (we had to get 2 adjacent units to accommodate 6, Fri to Fri stay) - $3600 and $3066. That's $160 per person per night.

Activities - up to about $200 pp (for snowmobiling).

I've looked at lift tickets - they are $75-$100 for an adult for a full day (if you look this up yourself, you will see Canadian $; multiply by 0.75 to get US $). This is at Mt. Norquay. You can also do 1/2 day, last hour, and night skiing (on certain dates).

Ski equipment rental - 1/2 day is about $35 for the complete package.

It's a two hour drive from YYC to Banff. We always rent a car. Our price for the week this trip is about $330 for a minivan.

A week long park pass is about $100 for 6 people.

I feel like traveling here is a lot more affordable than a lot of places in the US. We prob could have done better on the plane tickets (they were $300-ish the last time we went).

In addition to skiing - Johnston Canyon ice hike, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snow tubing, e-biking, ice skating on Lake Louise, natural hot springs, gondola to the top of Sulphur Mtn, and much more.

The Fairmont Banff Springs and Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise are decorated to the nines. The city of Banff is also magical and has a lot of special decorations/events all throughout the season.

The last time we went was Dec 2021, and there were still covid restrictions, so it was not crowded. I'm curious to see what it's like this year. I'm expecting a lot more people (the Fairmont Banff Springs is sold out at $800+ per night).

I have always wanted to go spend a week in the Smoky Mountains at Christmas in a mountain cabin. You may not be guaranteed snow, but it will cold. Not crazy cold, but bearable cold. I think that would be awesome!

Vail, Beaver Creek, Telluride, and Aspen Snowmass are all out the window. You won't find anything that sleeps that Number of guests for a less than 6500-7500 a night. Probably closer to 10 at Christmas. It's the most expensive week at most major US ski resorts

Ouch. May be time for OP to go redneck. Red River, Angel Fire, Durango. Lots of West Texans go to Ruidoso, but snow there is very hit or miss.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Ouch. May be time for OP to go redneck. Red River, Angel Fire, Durango. Lots of West Texans go to Ruidoso, but snow there is very hit or miss.

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honestly, I already know my father in law is going to want to go to Red River. He loves that place. I, however dont, and I know snowfall will be very hit or miss around Christmas time. Personally I'd rather go somewhere around New England.

TXTransplant said:

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I suggest this location all the time, but Banff.

If you want to condo/Airbnb in Banff, you'll need to make reservations early. I made ours in March, and it was slim pickings. We got lucky. You could stay in Canmore (lots of different options there at wider range of prices).

I like Banff because 1) it's walkable and 2) there are tons of different activities if you don't ski. Most of them are small group, guided tours where they pick you up at your accommodation (or somewhere near by). So, if people in the group want to do different things, you don't have to worry about transportation.

As far as cost, I'll give the breakdown for our trip that starts on Friday.

Plane tickets (direct IAH to YYC on Delta/West Jet) - $566 pp.

Airbnb (we had to get 2 adjacent units to accommodate 6, Fri to Fri stay) - $3600 and $3066. That's $160 per person per night.

Activities - up to about $200 pp (for snowmobiling).

I've looked at lift tickets - they are $75-$100 for an adult for a full day (if you look this up yourself, you will see Canadian $; multiply by 0.75 to get US $). This is at Mt. Norquay. You can also do 1/2 day, last hour, and night skiing (on certain dates).

Ski equipment rental - 1/2 day is about $35 for the complete package.

It's a two hour drive from YYC to Banff. We always rent a car. Our price for the week this trip is about $330 for a minivan.

A week long park pass is about $100 for 6 people.

I feel like traveling here is a lot more affordable than a lot of places in the US. We prob could have done better on the plane tickets (they were $300-ish the last time we went).

In addition to skiing - Johnston Canyon ice hike, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snow tubing, e-biking, ice skating on Lake Louise, natural hot springs, gondola to the top of Sulphur Mtn, and much more.

The Fairmont Banff Springs and Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise are decorated to the nines. The city of Banff is also magical and has a lot of special decorations/events all throughout the season.

The last time we went was Dec 2021, and there were still covid restrictions, so it was not crowded. I'm curious to see what it's like this year. I'm expecting a lot more people (the Fairmont Banff Springs is sold out at $800+ per night).

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wife and I did Banff in the summer a handful of years back and enjoyed it. Just not sure if the rest of the family would want to go international? How is driving up there in the winter? I know they get a ton of snow and I am curious how much it effects travel once you get closer to the mountains driving up?

Yeah, I'm an old fart, so I understand your FIL. If folks are driving, it makes the most sense.

I'm sure a lot of New England is great in the winter. But traveling from Texas will be a pain. If you're in the Houston area (as your username implies) then it's a long flight then a puddle jumper to the mountains.

I think I'd aim for Banff before New England.

Or if you don't want to go to Canada, then fly into Denver and pick one of the ski areas to the west of there.

If you were going later in the season, I'd suggest flying to ABQ, then driving to Santa Fe, Taos, Wolf Creek or Durango.

The roads from YYC to Banff are extremely well maintained during the winter. We had no issues on our last trip at all. We did not go any further north than Lake Louise. The road is closed for the winter somewhere around where the Columbia Icefield and Athabasca glacier is.

It also did not snow very much (other than a few flurries) on our last trip. Daytime temps were high enough that ice was not an issue. It doesn't look like it's going to snow on our trip starting Friday.

Other than driving us up to Lake Louise and Mt Norquay, on our last trip, we pretty much used the transportation provided by our tour guides. They drove us to Marble Canyon and Johnston Canyon. And we walked all over Banff.

Our snowmobiling excursion this trip is in British Columbia, about an hour and a half away. I'll let my BF (who has experience driving in the snow) handle that trip.

In short, driving shouldn't be an issue or deterrent to the trip. I might advise otherwise if you are traveling in Jan or Feb, but Dec tends to be relatively mild weather and temps.

Happy to share more details about this upcoming trip, once we get in it. Weather can always be a surprise (but that would be the case anywhere).

Leavenworth Washington would also meet the criteria of what you're looking for. It's also about 45 mins from epic owned Stevens pass ski area.

***disclaimer that I have not visited myself. Just heavily researched as a contingency plan for my ski crew when we were preparing to go to Whistler during Covid***

I always recommend Park City, UT. We go every year at Christmas or New Year's, and I think it's the perfect winter destination for families. Plenty of non-skiing activities, and incredibly easy to access by flying into SLC.

Since you mentioned New England, I'll throw out a vote for the White Mountains in New Hampshire. If you fly into Manchester, it's an easy hour/hour and a half drive on a wide open and well maintained freeway. Since you're not going exclusively for skiing, you don't need to stay on one of the resorts, which will make lodging a lot more affordable. We spend our Summers in Thornton and love everything about it. Definitely planning to make a winter trip there in the near future.

Edit to add: I wouldn't recommend staying in Thornton in the winter if dining and shopping are a priority. We do it because of summer hiking. In winter I would stay in Littleton or Conway.

10andBOUNCE said:

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OP must have never watched Home Alone

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are you implying going to Paris?

Park City can't have a worse year than they're having this year it's the worst year in the last 40. So next year will probs be great.

I don't know, last year was pretty rough from a snow perspective. We still had a great time, but it's the least amount of snow I've ever seen there at New Year's. Of course they had record snowfall like a week later.

I love Park City - we are going again in 2025 but it is hard to find larger places for a big group that aren't super expensive. I'm hoping by February they will have had snow.

Jackson, WY could be an option. A lot of people say it's very expensive and boujee (and it is somewhat) but I think it can be very affordable if you find the right spot. I like that you can fly directly into JAC and be in town in less than 20 minutes. I have clients booked there for Spring Break next year and we were able to find a great deal for their family of 8.

We stayed one summer in Driggs ID. Very cheap in summer, but maybe cheaper in winter than Jackson. Not too far from Jackson

Maybe someone who was there in winter can chime in. Pretty views, on the west side of the Tetons

Txhuntr said:

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Leavenworth Washington would also meet the criteria of what you're looking for. It's also about 45 mins from epic owned Stevens pass ski area.

***disclaimer that I have not visited myself. Just heavily researched as a contingency plan for my ski crew when we were preparing to go to Whistler during Covid***

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We did this a couple of years ago. Stayed in a VRBO cabin out in the woods. It was fantastic. Only negative was the 2 hour drive back to Seattle turned into a 4.5 hour stressor due to a snowstorm.

Tahoe. Lots of huge houses. Easy flight to Reno or Sacramento.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Ouch. May be time for OP to go redneck. Red River, Angel Fire, Durango. Lots of West Texans go to Ruidoso, but snow there is very hit or miss.

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Red River is pretty nice. I've stayed at Angel Fire in the summer but not for ski season. Also nice. It's easy access from anywhere Texas too.

If going international I would look at Whistler. We spent Christmas up there a few years back and it was absolutely awesome. Outside of that, we have also spent Christmas at Whitefish and it was probably our favorite domestic Christmas.

Have you considered Yellowstone? Winter in Yellowstone is awesome. You could look into lodging in the park, or places in the surrounding area like Chico Hot Springs.

We've been in Banff since Friday night. Everything about the trip so far is amazing.

Airbnb is perfect. The place is called Wolf Den B&B. We are staying in 2 guest suites, edit: the rest of the house appears to be the residence of our hosts.

Hiked Johnston Canyon yesterday and it was gorgeous.

So far, Banff has not seemed crowded.

Headed to BC today for snowmobiling. It snowed just enough last night to make the drive a little sketch, but we are making do.

Probably should have gotten a 4WD suburban, but we are in a minivan since there are 6 of us.

Drive up from Banff was no issue, but since we didn't land until after sunset, it was DARK. Same now on the drive to BC. We are guided only by headlights.

Sunrise isn't until about 845 and sunset is about 430 pm. It does make for a short day.

Headed to Mt Norquay ski resort tomorrow.

Exchange rate is great right now, too. CAD X 0.7. It's like everything is 30% off.

Pics please. I'm going to try and sell Banff to my in laws as much as I can.

Do you have Instagram? I haven't posted any pics, yet, but I have stuff in my stories from snowmobiling yesterday (which was epically awesome).

Singlemomphd

I'll also create a highlight so you can see my pics from the Johnston Canyon Ice Hike.

I also still have a highlights from our 2021 trip.

Headed to Mt Norquay now to tube.

Also editing a previous post - the rest of our Airbnb appears to be the residence of our host. So we are renting the only two guest suites. Two queen beds plus a sofa bed in each. Sleeps 3 comfortably; 4 would be a stretch unless it's kids.

Banff is great if you don't care about the ski hill and just want pretty scenery. If you care about the ski hill, then it's a hard pass. It's a gorgeous area but Alberta Ski 3 arent really that great. BC has far better hills.

Went tubing at Mt Norquay yesterday and it was SO much fun. You only have to be 42" to do it, so the whole family can participate. The nice thing about Norquay is it's only about a 10 min drive from town, and there is a free bus that runs back and forth.

2/3 of our older boys did one or two tubing runs and they decided they wanted to go skiing. We left when our tubing session was over, but they skied all day. They took the bus back into town. The lift ticket for all day was only about $100.

BF and I spent the afternoon at the spa at the Fairmont Banff Springs. If you've never had a spa experience, this is one of the best.

There is a Nordic spa in Kananaskis that I would love to go to but it's about an hour away. After the 2+ hour drive to the snowmobiling location, we just don't want to make another long drive.

Today is cross country skiing at Lake Louise and afternoon tea at the Chateau on the lake. Might hit up an ice bar at the Lake Louise Ski Resort while we are up there.

Town still isn't crazy crowded, although there did seem to be more people out last night than the previous.

Finally organized some pics to share. Not sure why they aren't embedded in the post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DD9zusPp41q/?igsh=MWh1MTQ3azN5N3lxdA==

Great pics in your link. How does the cold compare to the cold in Colorado?

I've never been to Colorado in the winter. Our highs have been in the high 20s, low 30s, and I have been fine, with the exception of a short walk yesterday when we got caught in the wind.

And this is from someone who HATES the cold.

I have a down coat, gloves, hat, and snow pants. I had to walk to the grocery real quick this am, and I was nearly sweating by the time I got back. I wasn't cold at all while we were tubing.

It's not humid here at all, so I think that helps. Several of the boys have had bloody noses, so you need moisturizing nasal spray.

On a normal year the Canadian Rockies are about 10% cooler than CO. La Niña usually be a bit cooler and el niño it's noticably warmer.

The thing that they get much more than CO (excluding Breck and maybe SS) is the wind. Usually the Canadian Rockies are significsntly more windy than the equivalent elevation here. They also are much more prone to significant levels of ice for some reason. Alberta 3 ice up like the east coast.

Cross country skiing in Lake Louise was so beautiful and so much fun! I enjoyed it way more than I expected to, and our instructor/guide was awesome.