Issues → January/February 2007 → Travel →

Massachusetts: Family Skiing in the Berkshires

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Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, 37 Corey Rd., Hancock, MA. Jiminy Peak was the first major winter resort in the Berkshires. Today, a new visitors' center, four newly cut trails, and the only six-passenger high-speed lift in the area bring some 240,000 skiers and snowboarders each season to its 157 acres of trails and slopes. Jiminy Peak also operates Snowy Owl Resort a few miles away, which is devoted solely to tubing (413-443-4752). Vertical drop: 1,150 feet; trails: 43. Night skiing. 888-454-6469, 413-738-5500. jiminypeak.com

Bousquet Ski Area, 101 Dan Fox Dr., Pittsfield, MA. Here is a hill that could fit inside any big mountain's pocket, yet it was home to three racers who went on to make the U.S. Ski Team -- Heidi Voelker and Krista and Kim Schmidinger. This has everything you'd look for when taking kids on their first ski adventures. Vertical drop: 750 feet; trails: 21. Night skiing, tubing. 413-442-8316. bousquets.com

Blandford Ski Area, 41 Nye Brook Rd., Blandford, MA. Since 1936, this is where kids from Springfield (a half hour to the east) have put their first miles beneath their skis. Blandford is the oldest club-owned ski area in North America, and though the drop is small, the rewards for families are not. Vertical drop: 465 feet; trails: 22. Night skiing. 413-848-2860. skiblandford.org

Catamount Ski Area, 3200 Rte. 23, Hillsdale, NY. Smack on the New York-Massachusetts border (at South Egremont), Catamount is one of the finest places for beginners, whether snowboarding, telemarking, or Alpine skiing. Vertical drop: 1,000 feet; trails: 32. Night skiing. 518-325-3200, 413-528-1262. catamountski.com

Otis Ridge, Rte. 23, Otis, MA. As the oldest operating ski camp in the country, this bump of a mountain has turned out thousands of kids eager to ski or snowboard for the rest of their lives. With an old double chair and three surface lifts, you'll feel you've stepped back about 40 years to when skiing was truly a neighborhood affair. Vertical drop: 400 feet; trails: 11. Night skiing. 413-269-4444. otisridge.com