Travel-Mommy: Review: Family Ski Trips to Berkshire East

Family Ski fun at Berkshire East

For the New Year, we promised some helpful travel insights from a marketing mom. Our plan is to write a weekly column. Since we are in the middle of winter, we will write about our ski trips across the country. We would love to hear about your experiences and how you mapped out your family vacations.

One of our favorite places to ski in the New York City/Tri-state area is Berkshire East in Charlemont, MA. A family owned mountain, Berkshire East is the perfect mountain for teaching children how to ski. All trails are easily accessible from the main chair lift so parents can closely monitor teens and little guys in ski school. The hill offers something for everyone from fun moguls through the trees, to black diamond runs, to a snow board terrain park. If your children want to try skiing competitively, they have one of the best racing programs on the East Coast with many alums selected for the US Ski team. Most important of all, snow making provides decent coverage for most of the season.

Lift tickets, rentals and ski school:

You can make a day trip since only 2-3 hours from NYC/Westchester
Lift Tickets are around $58 for the day and lift lines are very short
Junior and student ticket are very reasonable and almost half the price of Vermont
The day care center is super accessible and cost-effective. We have used the daycare for over five years and love the staff
Highly recommend the ski school programs and private lessons. Kathy Kilhart is an outstanding instructor
The rental shop provides basic equipment for beginner and intermediate skiers

Lodging & Dining:

Zoar: inexpensive rooms but stark and some shared bathrooms
The Warfield house Inn: basic with a fun pub restaurant
Vacation Rentals By Owner: sometimes has options
Unfortunately, no 3-4 star accommodations or a ski-in & out options
Some of the standard family hotel chains are in Greenfield MA
Avery’s Grocery Store in Charlemont: has absolutely everything you could need and an amazing meat and deli department
Gypsy Apple: 4 star New York City cuisine
Mohawk Park: a diner in the middle of a camp ground that provides excellent fare
The Shelburne Falls Wine Merchant: has the perfect selection for connoisseurs

Unique Features & Attractions:

GreenPower: A large windmill turbine helps to power the resort–revolutionary!
Tubing: fun when you need a break from skiing
Night Skiing: on Friday and Saturday nights but you better bundle up
Zip Line: amazing views during the off-season
Shelburne Falls, MA: A wonderful artist enclave full of interesting shops is only 15 minutes away. Our favorite night out is Candlestick bowling at Shelburne Falls Bowling (has a bar and the owners are super nice) followed by a pie at Buckland Pizza
The Clark Art Museum: in Williamstown, MA: one of the most extraordinary collections of impressionist paintings including Renoir, Monet & Degas
Mass Moca: a super hip modern art museum with wonderful programs for all ages

You should be able to click on the links above to plan your trip on-line. When you do your travel planning, what tech tools and Apps are your favorites? We keep lists of what to pack on Pinterest and our smartphones and often use Apps to check the snow conditions. Let us know what you think of Berkshire East and if we left out any of its wonderful features! Let it Snow!

Other resources and blogs:

Ski Resorts in MA

Family Ski Trips.com

Mommy Musings

Travel Insights: Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts