I am trying to plan a multi-family ski trip and want to stay slope side. We would like to drive no more than 5 hours and have fast access to EASY beginner slopes. Has anyone done this before? Any advice or recommendations?

So far, Timberline looks nice as far as lodging but I don't know about the slope conditions for first time skiers (4 and 5 year olds.) Thanks in advance for any insights.

Timberline has some slopeside lodging along the Salamander Trail. While it's a long green run and the homes look nice, you need to check with Timberline ahead of time to learn which trails are open before you go.

Last year we went to Timberline during Christmas-New Year's week. They advertised something like 7 trails open, but they only had 2 "real" trails open -- Salamander and White Lightning (the other "trails" were really just short connectors/paths that led from the chairlifts to these two trails.

That forced all skiers to choose a green or a black diamond trail. Therefore, 90% of the skiers spent the day on Salamander, which was not conducive to safe skiing for newbies.

Fortunately, this winter Timberline should have more snow then what we experienced.

Best of luck.

Luis

You may want to check with Wisp. They have great snow-making capacity and have some slopeside homes, but I'm not sure if they have any on or near beginner trails.

After our experience at Timberline, which I wrote about above, we went the next day to Wisp. My 8 and 6 year-old boys and their cousins, age 8 and 5, had a blast there.

Great! Thanks so much. I'll wait a bit on making reservations to see what the ski conditions are looking like. I didn't see anything at Wisp slopeside but the hotel. Maybe I wasn't looking at the right site. I'll have to keep looking.--Laura

Don't forget about Tline's new Bunktel.

What is Bunktel?

What approximate date are you going? Timberline is very good for what you want during "all slopes open" conditions. So is Wisp. Seven Springs has an entertaining base complex, so does Snowshoe and Wintergreen. See resort profiles on this website for more details and then price things out. Timberline and Wintergreen are less optimal than others mentioned for early season visit. Distant option: Windham, NY is six hours from DC, it has slopeside housing and a good variety of trails on bigger mtns.
Bunktel is a new low budget slopeside bunk house type thing, I believe.

Thanks! Yes, I should have posted that I we are looking at MLK, Inauguration weekend Jan. 17-20th. Snowshoe seemed very expensive, I did not check Wintergreen...I thought maybe the snow would be better at Timberline. am I wrong?

For Timberline, visit www.T4SR.com, and click on Rentals.
You can then search by location, date, price, number of bedrooms, etc.
MLK weekend will fill up quickly in the Valley if snow is good.
(PS. Timberline's Bunktel (?) is forecasted to open mid-January '09, so it MIGHT be available for your dates).

Wintergreen has a great snowmaking system and should be in full swing by Jan 17. Actually, that is late enough that Timberline should be good then too, provided just a little help from Mother Nature. Timberline has a two mile long beginner trail that should be great for your little ones, and it goes right by where much of the "slopeside" homes are. I stayed in a property there called "Black Diamond" once that was nicely located for the family type visit you are considering.

for cost, you can't beat tline. slopeside at wg and ss is crazy expensive (imho) the only close to good deal at wg is on the studios in the lodge some of which have two double beds so you can get 5 people in there without sleeping on the floor - and a lot more if you do - which is just as good as their much more expensive two bedroom units. still, tline is a better deal and better skiing when mostly open (again, imho). wisp is a good idea also, but i have not stayed there.

laura2989,
I did not see an indication of where you live. Regardless, one thing to watch out for at Timberline is the children's ski school. In the past they have not permitted reservations making it "first come, first served". This could really present a problem if you have the two little ones and find them not in a class. Seven Springs, Wintergreen and Wisp have great children's ski schools that include everything in the price...rentals, lift tickets, lessons. At Snowshoe you have to do the rental thing yourself. At Snowshoe kids under 6 ski for free, and there is a similar deal at most of the resorts.
BUT YOU NEED TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND SOONEST if you expect to get a slopeside hotel or condo at any of the resorts on MLK weekend. And remember, for some counties, such as Fairfax, Tuesday Jan. 20 is also a school holiday for the Inaguration.
The Colonel

Thanks for everyone's guidance. I am pushing the other families to make up their mind! They seem to think the poor economy will make it easy to get something.

BTW, I live in Arlington, VA.

Laura, t-line will be in great shape by MLK weekend. This year will be one of the first in recent memory when Salamander AND Winterset will be open for opening weekend. I was up this past weekend, and couldn't believe the amount of snow being made. Better check quick for slope side rentals because they go fast. There are four or five realtys who manage properties and several private owners who do their own thing with rentals.