Live Like There's Snow Tomorrow: Skiing in Wyoming, Colorado, Canada and New England!
Boston ➡️ Laramie
The first trip of 2026! This was a trip to visit my older sister Courtney and her family and go skiing with my friend Zack. Ryan and I headed out of Boston very early, our Uber picked us up at 4:15 AM. We arrived at the airport, checked our ski bags and got onto the plane. The flight was not full so we had a whole row to ourselves! Once we landed in Denver, we picked up our bags and got onto the shuttle to one of the parking lots to pick up our rental car. We used an app called Turo, where you rent a car from a person instead of a company. The biggest benefit of this app was picking out the exact vehicle we would be using, so we selected one that had 4 wheel drive, room enough for us and our ski stuff, and we wanted one with heated seats. Things to make note of when using this app are the limitations on mileage and checking the insurance coverage. The car was easy to find and had a lockbox on it with the key. When you pick up/drop off the car you are instructed to take a bunch of photos of the car, so make sure you set aside time to do this when returning the car as well. It was overall a great experience and cheaper than using a traditional car rental company! We hit the road and stopped to grab lunch in Thornton, Colorado at Cheddar's! We met up with Zack's brother Tom and caught up over soup and sandwiches. We continued on our way to Laramie and arrived around 4 PM at my sister Courtney's house! We settled in, ate dinner, and caught up before heading to bed!
Dinosaurs and Disc Golf
The next day we wanted to have a slow day so we slept in, went to the Human Bean, Ryan played some disc golf in the frigid cold of Laramie, and we visited the Geology Museum on the University of Wyoming Campus. The geology museum is free! Inside there are lots of rocks, minerals, and dinosaur bones! For a little museum, there is quite a lot to look at. Courtney, Steffen and Lorna met us there too - it was Lorna's first visit! There is a life sized copper T-Rex statue outside and legend has it you will get an "A" on your exams if you throw a pinecone into it's mouth. It is a lot harder than it looks and I try every time I visit, but I've never succeeded. Ryan threw a few pinecones and amazingly wedged one between two T-Rex teeth! Then I threw one more and knocked his into the mouth! Too bad we aren't taking any exams anytime soon. We went home and had dinner, then I got to read The Hungry Caterpillar with Lorna!
Snowy Range, Skiing, & Shopping
The next day we went to work with Courtney! She is a ski and snowboard instructor at Snowy Range in Centennial, WY. Luckily she was able to get a half-day today so Ryan and I skied in the morning and met up with Courtney for lunch. We all had chicken tenders which were delicious! The three of us skied in the afternoon together. Even though the conditions were not the greatest, the mountain was a lot of fun and we still found some good trails!
For our last full day in Laramie we decided to explore Laramie. We started with breakfast and coffee at Night Heron Books & Coffeehouse. Then we did a little drive towards Cheyenne to see some landscapes. We stopped at a rest stop with a giant sculpture of the head of Abraham Lincoln.
We headed back to Laramie, visited the Train Depot, and checked out some stores. I wanted to show Ryan the inside of the Prison, but it was closed. 🫠 We also stopped by Bond's Brewing to try some beers. My favorite was the rhubarb! For dinner we split a salad at The Library. I think Ryan got a good taste of Laramie and can see why we all enjoy it so much! We headed back to my sister's house, watched Mulan, packed up and headed to bed. It was so nice to spend so much time with Courtney, Steffen and little Lorna!
Laramie ➡️ Steamboat
The drive from Laramie to Steamboat was beautiful! We left early in the morning and grabbed breakfast and coffees at Turtle Rock. This is my favorite coffee shop in Laramie. They also have great food. I always get the same exact pistachio latte as a little treat. Once fueled up, we continued our journey and drove through Rabbit Ears pass with a lovely view of the mountains. I've driven this way in the snow before and it can be quite treacherous, but we had great weather so it was an easy drive.
We parked in the Meadows Parking lot which has free all day parking. From there, you can take a free shuttle to the mountain and they drop you off right at the base. Every time I come to Steamboat we park here and it is so easy and efficient! We suited up and hit the slopes to meet up with our friend Tom. We found a great secret stash of powder somewhere off the Storm Peak Express. We ended the day with a chicken pot pie and beers at Four Points Lodge. It was so good after a long day of driving and skiing!
Our Air B and B was about 10 minutes from Steamboat. This condo was perfect for our needs. It had three bedrooms, a kitchen, living room space and plenty of parking which can sometimes be hard to find in a ski resort town. I would definitely stay at this condo again! It was also dog friendly so one of our friends was able to bring his pup! Zack arrived and made us yummy homemade quesadillas while we all caught up! Zack's co-worker Peter arrived later with his dog Merle and we spent the rest of the night laughing and singing. We made sandwiches to bring with us for the next day of skiing!
Strawberry Hot Springs
The second day at Steamboat we explored a bit of the mountain but decided the best snow was at an area called Morning-side, so we spent most of the day there. I love this area of the mountain because of the glades and there were not many other people! This evening we decided to book the Strawberry Hot Springs, which I have always wanted to visit. They usually book up, so pre-book your tickets beforehand if you can! If you are planning to do this, you also must have 4-wheel drive and snow tires. The website is VERY clear about this. The road is not paved and has a lot of steep hills and curves. Luckily Zack's truck was equipped with everything required. You can also arrange for a shuttle from a few different locations downtown.
The drive up to the hot springs was about 25 minutes from our condo. On our way up, we saw a delivery truck that had slid off the side of the road and had turned sideways! No wonder why you need snow tires! 😬 We went with the 6 PM option which meant it was very dark. We parked and walked over to pay our $20 in cash (they do not take credit cards), and headed down to the pools. After dark, clothing is optional, so there were several people that were enjoying the hot springs in the nude. We brought flashlights which I highly recommend when changing and walking down to the pools, but make sure to have situational awareness and not shine them right in people's eyes. Everyone will yell at you. There are some chairs and rocks that you can put your items on so we all shared a lounge chair for our clothes and put our towels near the entrance of the pool. There are changing rooms, but they are at the beginning of the path so we did not use them.
Overall the hot springs were so nice and I was glad I finally went! There were three different larger pools with different levels of heat. I spent the most time in the medium one, and the hot one was very hot. I started with a hat but ended up taking it off. It was fun being there in the dark because the stars were really bright. It was very cold and slippery walking around barefoot on the rocks, so I recommend bringing flip flops or sandals. I also would bring two towels, one to stand one while changing, and the other for drying off. If I were to go back, I think I would book an earlier time, maybe 4 PM, so I could see the hot springs in the daylight and night! Also, there are not storage lockers, so make sure to leave your valuables in your car or out of sight if you are worried about losing them. We went back to our condo feeling rested and relaxed. We packed lunches for the next day and got organized for our last day in Steamboat!
Steamboat ➡️ Dillon
In the morning we packed up and headed to Steamboat for our last day skiing. We decided to do a later start so we could sleep in. We did a half day of skiing and mostly stayed on the powder we could find on Morning-side. It was a great day! We then headed to Zack's ski condo in Dillion, CO. He and a group of his friends all rented a house this season and everyone takes different days to use it as a home base for a few of the mountains in Colorado. It has lots of beds for everyone and even has an indoor hot tub! We made dinner and met some of his friends then headed to bed. The next day we decided to try Copper Mountain for a half day of skiing with Zack and some of his friends. The conditions were not wonderful, and it was a bit icy, but we tried to make the most of it and stopped for lots of snacks and drinks. While we were there, the six of us went to get on a six person lift and somehow another girl we did not know got on the chair with us. She ended up sitting down and one of our friends sat on top of her. The lift started moving and all seven of us were on it! It caused a whole scene, the lift was stopped, and the girl had to jump off the lift into a tarp. I do not know how the lift attendants did not catch it earlier! We had a good laugh and ended our day at Copper. We headed back to the condo, sat in the hot tub and said our goodbyes to Zack. Ryan and I headed to Dillon Dam Brewery to grab dinner. I got a chicken pot pie which was huge! For our last night in Colorado, we stayed with Tom who lives close to Denver. This was very helpful so we could catch our flight in the morning! We arrived at Tom's, hung out for a bit and then headed to bed.
We woke up early, returned our car and got on our flight back to Boston. There was a long line at security so we were thankful we had TSA pre-check! At the airport I actually ran into my cousin Evan! We have not seen each other in a while so got a chance to catch up and he ended up being on our flight home! Our flight was smooth and we ended up getting a whole row to ourselves again! Ryan's brother picked us up and dropped me off at my apartment. We both had a great time and started to prepare for our next adventure!
Sunday River
Only one day after arriving home, we packed our bags and headed out for our second ski trip of January! We wanted to hit three different ski resorts on this trip and we started with Sunday River. My family has a condo there so I know this mountain really well. My parents were staying up there this weekend with my younger sister Abbey and her husband Johnny! We arrived around dinner time, just in time to watch the Patriots game with everyone. I ended up winning $200 on squares which was exciting! We also played a few rounds of a fun board game Azul before going to bed.
In the morning, my mom made us a lovely breakfast and we headed out on the slopes. Ryan decided to ski (he usually snowboards) and he crushed it! We stayed on blues for the most part on North Peak, South Ridge, and Barker. We enjoyed chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese for lunch. My parents decided to head out after lunch, but Ryan and I continued skiing. It started snowing in the afternoon and the conditions were really good! We stayed on the blues and had so much fun. We ended the day by going on one of my favorite trails that passes by the million dollar houses on the mountain... which are always fun to drool over. We went to the hot tub and ended up having a swim race in the pool. I was confident that I would win, but I lost by quite a lot. 🤣 We watched some T.V. and headed to bed, excited for the next part of our road trip!
Maine ➡️ Mont Tremblant
I have always wanted to go to Canada, and a ski trip was the perfect reason to drive up! Ryan and I left Sunday River in the morning and headed on our way. We stopped at a cute cafe in Gorham New Hampshire called the White Mountain Cafe & Bookstore to get some coffee and muffins before we crossed the border. We got a lemon poppyseed muffin, a cranberry orange, and a maple donut from The Holy Donut. They make potato donuts, and I used to love going there when I lived in Maine and I always try to stop when I am in Portland. They sell them frozen in other stores now and I have been meaning to try them, so I thought this would be the perfect occasion. This one happened to be gluten free and it was delicious! Maybe gluten is not all it's cracked up to be. We got back in the car and continued into Vermont. We saw a bobcat or a lynx (unsure which it was) cross the road which was very exciting.
I've never crossed an international border by car before, so I did not know what to expect when we pulled up to the check point. Overall, it was a very easy process, we just had to hand over our passports and answer questions about why we were going to Canada, the places we were staying and what we were bringing.
The rest of the drive took longer than we expected, especially with the traffic in Montreal. We both thought Montreal was a lot smaller! Originally we wanted to stop here and explore a bit, but we decided to keep driving. We ended up stopping in Saint-Sauveur instead. We checked out an awesome ski shop called PRFO Sports and Ryan ended up getting a great deal on the bindings he was looking at. They had a TON of gear and we were overall impressed by the store. We both were craving sushi, and we split three rolls at Sushi St-Sauveur. The whole menu was in French, which was fun to try and decipher. I've watched Emily in Paris four times, so I thought I would be very helpful with the language barrier, but I realized I am very rusty and need to practice my French more. I was able to figure out "eggs" and "pineapple." 🤣 The sushi was reasonably priced, delicious, and the restaurant was busy with locals which is always a good sign! I would absolutely go back to this little town. We also picked up some groceries which included a chicken pot pie, potatoes, cheese, milk, eggs, and a few other snack items. We packed some of our own food as well from home. We were hoping to cut costs by making our own meals.
We arrived in Mont Tremblant and checked into our Air B & B on Versant Soleil (Sun Side), which was near the casino. We splurged a little on this condo, but I am so glad we did because this condo was AMAZING. First, it was ski in/ski out which is already a huge plus! Then, we had an indoor parking garage which was right next to our first floor room which made unloading the truck so easy! It was also very cold this week (we're talking negative degrees) so it was nice not having to get inside a freezing vehicle. We had a complete kitchen, a fireplace, and a dining room table. It also came with access to a ski locker, but we found it was easier to keep our skis in our room because the entry way had a ton of hooks and shelves for our gear. We had a washer and dryer (this was so nice to heat up/dry my socks before skiing), and our room was also about twenty feet from the outdoor hot tub! We unpacked, made some tea and crawled into bed, excited to ski over the next two days and enjoy our room!
Grilled Cheese and Frozen Goggles
We had two days of skiing at Tremblant and although it was very cold, we had a lot of fun! While we were there it snowed a bit each day, so we found a lot of powder. We also felt like we got a good taste of the different parts of the mountain. There were four main areas, Versant Sud (South Side), Versant Nord (North Side), Versant Soleil (Sun Side) and Le Edge (the Edge). At the top of the mountain it was so windy and hard to see with all the snow! On our first day we had grilled cheese for lunch and added thin apple slices. We both agreed that this may have been the best grilled cheese we have ever made! It had a bourbon gouda and cheddar on sourdough and it just hit the spot!
I really enjoyed the glade trails "Reaction,""Extension," and "Sensation" on Le Edge! We stayed in here for several hours on both days. The powder here was excellent and our thighs were on fire! It really felt like we were in a winter wonderland.
Ryan was able to test it out on his skis too. We also enjoyed the longer trails on Versant Soleil which led back to our condo. These were very long runs so it did get chilly! I have never been skiing in such cold weather before, and my goggles ended up freezing on the outside due to the condensation from my breath! After our first day of skiing we cooked the chicken pot pie and potatoes for dinner. We soaked in the hot tub for a while and it was so cold outside that our hair froze! Luckily we were only a few steps away from our condo!
The Village
Our last night in Tremblant we decided to go to the Pedestrian Village area for dinner. The Village is very cute and is such a fun area to go after a long day of skiing! If you enjoy the Après-ski vibe, this is the place to be! They had a lot of different restaurants and shops. Many restaurants have fire pits and outdoor seating with heaters. You can also get frozen maple syrup on a stick, which looked so yummy! The Village was still decorated for Christmas and had pretty lights everywhere. We grabbed fancy hot chocolate drinks at Le Shack. Their restaurant was decorated to look like a forest inside. We decided on La Diable and both got burgers! We also split a french onion soup and poutine. I've never had poutine so I was really excited to try it! I am sad to say that I did not love it! French fries, gravy, and cheese curds, what could go wrong? It was just so soggy in my opinion. My favorite part was the cheese curds. We headed back to our condo, packed up and went to bed super early! I would 100% come back to Mont Tremblant for skiing and the vibes! I hear it is also beautiful to visit in the Fall when the leaves are changing. 🍁
Mont Tremblant ➡️ Jay Peak
We left Canada around 5 AM to head to Jay Peak, Vermont! This was a smooth drive because we beat all the traffic. We did see a few deer right when we crossed the border back into the U.S. which was exciting! We originally were not going to ski on the same day we drove here, but the weather forecast was showing EXTREME cold on the day we planned, so we pivoted. I have never been here before so I was excited to visit! We also got discounted tickets from the woman who owns the Air B & B we were staying at the next two nights. We parked at Jay, put our stuff on and headed out to ski. The skiing at Jay was pretty icy at the top of the mountain, and it was really cold. We took the Tram to the top for one run, and it was really cool but I was a little nervous because of the conditions. It was so icy and windy that I was really nervous about falling and hurting myself, so we decided to stay on the easier trails. I think my body was also very tired from the past two days at Tremblant, so I was in need of a rest day. My favorite trail of the day was a glade called Bushwacker, which seemed to have the only powder on the mountain. 🥶 We did find out that it was "Farmer's Day" and Jay Peak offers discounted tickets to Farmers and their families, which we thought was very nice.
I left Jay feeling a little sad about the conditions, but excited to check into our stay for the next two nights. We stopped by a little Country Store that had sandwiches and soup! We picked up a few items for the next two days to share. We stayed at the Big Dipper Suite, which was basically an in-law apartment attached to someone's home. It was about 10 minutes from the mountain and it was the cutest place! It had an amazing hot tub on the porch which we were so thankful for. We got in the hot tub and turned the jets on and watched the stars for almost an hour. It was so cold that our hair froze again! I went to bed feeling exhausted.
Movies & Water Slides
It was so cold (negatives again!) and windy that they actually closed Jay Peak the next day! We took this as a sign that we needed to rest. For some reason the T.V. did not work very well, and it kept playing episodes of American Ninja Warrior on repeat. We ended up watching a movie on Netflix, The Rip, which was really good! We did venture outside to go to the Indoor Water Park at Jay Peak. We decided to go from 5-7, hopefully when everyone else was eating dinner. It was not too crowded so I think this plan worked. We went on the water slides, the lazy river, and watched people on the wave machine. We got onion rings and a hot dog to split for a late snack. The water park was so much fun and worth a visit! I can see why people bring their kids here, but as adults I think one visit was good for us. We headed home, got organized, and planned to head home the next day before a big snow storm! We made good timing and got home safely before almost two feet of snow fell in New England! Overall our ski trips were wonderful and for the most part, everything went to plan!
Very nice. Thanks for sharing!