A ski resort may not be the first place you’d think of for your family’s summer travels, but think again. Those mountains can be just as much fun when its slopes are green instead of white. Ski resorts have realized the potential of their trails, mountainside forests and ski lifts for year-round experiences, transforming into four-season playgrounds.
In New Hampshire, families can thrill on America’s longest zip line at Gunstock Mountain, while in Utah, they can experience the adrenaline rush of bobsled rides on the Olympic Sliding Track. Each mountain resort has its own set of summer activities, at the least offering scenic mountain rides on gondolas and chairlifts.
Gunstock Mountain has a Mountain Coaster with rolling drops and 360-degree turns, and its Aerial Treetop Adventure is New England’s largest aerial obstacle course. Elsewhere in New Hampshire, Cranmore Mountain was an early player in summer activities, with a Mountain Coaster and a year-round Mountain Adventure Park with a Giant Swing and Soaring Eagle Zip Line.
In the west, Park City’s Olympic Park also features two Zipline Tours, one among the steepest zip lines in the world and reaching speeds of 50 mph. Bald Mountain, at Sun Valley, Idaho, offers lift-accessed mountain bike terrain that includes America’s longest, purpose-built downhill trail with more than 3,100 vertical feet of flow trails. Here also is the unique opportunity for outdoor ice skating in the summer.
At Breckenridge, in Colorado, along with mountain biking, you’ll find GoldRunner Coaster with 2,500 feet of elevated roller coaster track, as well as a 2,600-foot-long Alpine Slide. Whistler, in Canada’s province of British Columbia, offers the thrill of summer bobsledding at Whistler Sliding Centre. Those not inclined to try bobsledding can opt for glacier tours, rock climbing, mountain biking, peak-to-peak gondola rides or zip lining.
Smaller ski mountains may not have as many options, but most will have enough to keep a family entertained for an active day outdoors.
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