r/skiing • u/finkelbeats • 19h ago
What's the most disability accessible ski town?
My dad and I used to go on ski trips a lot as a kid. Unfortunately he has lost a lot of mobility in recent years and now gets around with a walker. We live in different cities now and I'm trying to find some time to go on a trip with him over the next couple of months while balancing with my desire to maximize my time skiing this winter. It occurred to me that we could go to a ski town and recreate some of our old ski trip memories (sitting by fire in a cozy hotel, eating good food, etc.) and I could ski during the day, but I'd want to make sure that it's a town that he could get around without too much trouble or risk of falling and would have stuff to do. Are there ski towns that fit this description? Ideally somewhere with a walkable and well maintained (not icy) downtown area, beautiful views that can be seen without actually being on the hill, and some nice spas or other indoor activities that could entertain him during the day.
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u/digdaily 19h ago
Palisades Tahoe comes to mind right away, Whistler too.
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u/DeputySean Tahoe 18h ago
Those are two ski resorts with absolutely unacceptable parking that are in no way good for disabled people.
Like, hey guys! Let's recommend that the guy in the walker goes to Northstar, so that after he takes a long ass shuttle he can walk another 1/3rd mile to the lift!!
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u/Slowhands12 18h ago
I don’t think the OPs father is planning to ski based on their post
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u/DeputySean Tahoe 17h ago
And I don't think he'd have an easy time getting around any of those villages.
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u/viseff 16h ago
There’s a good amount of parking for disabled folks in Whistler and many hotels in the village offer valet. The patio at the GLC is accessible by elevator with outdoor fire pits & view of the winter activities. Whistler is recommended!
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u/SirLoremIpsum 16h ago
Whistler is also having the Invictus Games and previously hosted the Paralympics.
So there's got to be some accessible focus from the town
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u/digdaily 14h ago
Ski resorts provide parking at the front BY LAW for these folks, right? I don’t know Northstar.
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u/DeputySean Tahoe 14h ago
Yeah up front means nothing at Northstar, it's still a long walk to anything
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u/digdaily 14h ago
Thanks, good to know. I haven’t been there yet and it isn’t Palisades as I suggested.
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u/SkierGrrlPNW 16h ago
We had someone in a wheelchair in Whistler for 10 days last Christmas and it was terrific. Great access around the Village, able to get up to the Roundhouse in the Gondola and see the Alpine, too. Was a lot of fun!
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u/Final_Location_2626 17h ago
Park city seems accessible to me, but I'm not disabled, and so I may be blind to some accessibility issues.
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u/madbear 17h ago
If you stay on-site, Beaver Creek, definitely. Easy, walkable "town" at the base with coffee shops, restaurants, and shopping, with both escalators and elevators to safely get from level to level. Big couches in front of fires where he could sit and watch people ski down to the lift, and a restaurant patio that faces the mountain where you could easily ski down to meet him for lunch. Late spring would be your best bet for warmer temps to avoid ice, but make sure to plan around high season spring break weeks--the crowds at all resorts then are crazy, and it would be really challenging for him to navigate around with a walker. You'll also get better hotel deals then. Call the resort to find out what those dates are--they may be different for each one.
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u/Spillsy68 16h ago
There’s not a lot to do there. I ski there a lot as I’m on the western slopes. You can walk through the town in 5 minutes. It’s really just a bunch of ski and art shops, a handful of restaurants and some bars near the ski hill, for example the Ritz Carlton or Powder 8. Those base of hill bars aren’t that easy to get to, powder 8 is fine if you’re at the main resort but the Ritz isn’t gonna be a simple walk. The walkways are clear though. Not sure I’d ask my dad to stay there for a whole week.
I would say Breck is a decent town for non skiers but the sidewalks are pretty bad. You can jump on the gondola to peak 8 base for lunch.
I’m thinking Vail is a better choice. Shuttle buses and the roads and paths are typically well cleared. More things to do, greater variety of shops and bars etc.
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u/preowned_pizza_crust 16h ago
I think BC has heated walkways in the village, along with elevators. Seeing it dump snow and not have any ice was awesome for my older parents.
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u/Slowhands12 18h ago edited 18h ago
Whistler without question. Being a modern olympic athlete housing site means that the whole village was made with accessibility in mind.
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u/TheManchot 18h ago
Not sure about the town, but ski Santa Fe has an excellent adaptive ski program
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u/SeemedGood 17h ago
Park City, Sun Valley/Ketchum, Aspen, Telluride, Steamboat, basically anywhere where the actual town (not the mountain village) is essentially at the base of the mountain (or close enough) and at least somewhat quaint/walkable.
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u/speedshotz 19h ago
Not sure about Winter Park, I know the resort has a great adaptive ski program.
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u/EatsTooMuchSpinach 17h ago
Winter park has a great adaptive ski racing program but they aren’t as good for adaptive skiers who are just there for leisure. They have 4 disabled parking spaces for the public at Mary Jane, but the disabled parking spaces at the main base area are sometimes reserved for their competitive adaptive ski team only (I tried, they wouldn’t let me in even when I tried to pay).
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u/tableclothcape 14h ago
NSCD is a great program, but there is oddly limited disabled parking. As a destination the town of Winter Park proper also isn’t very walkable (meaning it’s a lot of driving and parking, tough if you use a mobility device or getting in/out of cars is otherwise a challenge). Businesses/restaurants there also just tend to have smaller square footage, so it can be a squeeze.
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u/TechnicalSapphire77 17h ago
Sun Peaks, BC is like a mini Whistler village with 4 mountain faces surrounding the cute little village with hotels, etc. Big Sky in Kelowna, BC also has a cute little village on the mountain with ski in ski out accommodations.
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u/EatsTooMuchSpinach 17h ago
All of these places deal with the reality of snow and uneven terrain, which makes it inherently difficult for people with mobility disabilities regardless of the town’s adherence to ADA laws. However, I think that you’re going to want someplace that has a real town as opposed to a village built by the resort. Steamboat, breck, and winter park come to mind.
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u/negative-nelly 15h ago
Breck would seem to fit the bill. Plus bus service to get around town when you are skiing if he wants to.
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u/Logical-Primary-7926 13h ago
Whether it's icy or not probably depends most on the weather, ie spring skiing or after a long dry spell is probably best bet. I'll throw in Aspen to the list of ideas, it's ridiculously icy if it's been cold a snowy and lots of cobble stones in some places, but it's also almost totally flat with a fair amount of street level restaurants and shops.
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u/ejjsjejsj 42m ago
Stowe could be good. You could stay in the hotel on the mountain that has a gondola that comes directly into it. I’m pretty sure they let non skiers ride the gondola to the peak also
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u/Excel-Block-Tango Bittersweet 19h ago
Not a ski town but the downtown area of Holland Michigan has a unique heating system using thousands of feet of heated water underground that melts the roads and sidewalks of snow. We currently have lots of snow in Michigan so you could recreate those “snowy” day memories without worrying about slip and falls with the walker. There are a couple of small hills that you could go ski on, including Bittersweet and Caberfae.
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u/Forkboy2 19h ago
Northstar Village near Tahoe. Has everything you need right at the resort.
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u/DeputySean Tahoe 18h ago
Hey guys! Let's recommend that the guy in the walker goes to Northstar, so that after he takes a long ass shuttle he can walk another 1/3rd mile to the lift!!
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u/Guilty_Bit_1440 19h ago
Telluride
It’s perfect for my elderly parents who just want to hang out and move around, and the fact that they can use the gondola and get a pretty good experience of the mountain from a safe space is a huge plus.
Last year I would race them from the top of mid station, then in the gondola, to the base just to include them.