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Plan to gather up the kids and head to the hills during the school breaks next winter. No need to head to warmer climes - winter can be snowy, yet mild, and perfect for a family vacation with plenty of activities such as cross country (XC) skiing and snowshoeing. According to the experts, who regularly update XCSkiResorts.com, the nation's top XC ski resorts are exceedingly family-friendly with lots to enjoy together both on the snow and off. What families want and need is exactly what an xc ski vacation delivers: multi-generational participation, quality time and shared memories.

With 220 inches of snow in just in February alone, California’s Bear Valley Resort - nestled between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite - is primed for the spring skiing and riding season.

Colorado’s Telluride Ski Resort has been blessed with massive amounts of snow this season, and the spring skiing and riding season is setting up to be the best in recent memory. Over the past week alone Telluride has received more than five feet of snow and boasts a base depth of more than nine feet!

With a massive snowmaking system, Pennsylvania’s Whitetail Resort often sports a deeper base depth than many resorts that receive far greater amounts of natural snowfall. This week’s SnoCountry/Pepsi Resort of the week can make snow with a flip of the switch to offer fresh turns pretty much every morning that Mother Nature allows.

Big! Powder! Paradise!

There is no other way to describe Utah’s Powder Mountain, which has already received 215 inches of snowfall this season and currently sports a 90-inch base covering more than 8,400 acres of terrain - the most skiable terrain in North America!

Shadowed by the highest peak in Vermont - Mount Mansfield at 4,393 feet - Stowe Mountain Resort offers world-class skiing and riding, and a quintessential Vermont setting for this week’s SnoCountry/Pepsi Resort of the Week.

Since 1946, Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin - or as the locals call it A-Basin - has offered skiers and snowboarders some of the most challenging terrain found at any ski area in North America. But over the years, numerous expansions off the backside of the 13,050-foot summit have opened up additional terrain opportunities for intermediate skiers and riders.

With almost 300 inches of snow so far this season, Utah’s Snowbird Resort is well on its way to exceeding its annual average of 500 inches and primed for skiing and riding well into May.

With 200 inches of snow already this season, Wyoming’s Grand Targhee Resort is a powder paradise and a hidden gem among all the major Western resorts.

Hunter Mountain is the closest major ski resort to New York City, and thanks to a $9 million expansion for the 2018-2019 season, skiers and riders have another great reason to take exit 20 on the New York State Thruway.

Just one corner of the boundless playground. (RealSkiers)

Every day I get the chance to ski is better than a day I don't.

About 100 years ago up Monarch Pass, hard-rock miners relaxed by strapping on seven-foot skis and tried to make it to the bottom of Gunbarrel Hill without falling. No one knew how to turn, but they recognized the thrill of downhill skiing – a thrill that would forever live on at Monarch Mountain.

Sporting an Epic Pass, a Copper/Winter Park Patriots Pass and a Loveland lift ticket, Disabled American Veteran Jerry Eller of Canon City, Colorado recently conquered an eight-resort solo adventure.

Long before Disney World, MGM, Universal, and all the rest, Wisconsin Dells, in the south-central portion of Wisconsin, was entertaining visitors with natural wonders. Dell’s guided boat trips on the Wisconsin River through glacial carved canyons of sandstone have been going on for over a century.

Just having returned from my first summer visit to the Galena, Illinois, area and Chestnut Mountain I was blown away by the scenic beauty of the region and all it has to offer visitors.

Golfers are a lot like skiers. Skiers are in search of that secret stash of fresh powder, that perfect run, and golfers are looking for that unique, out-of-the-way course that has captured the attention of the golf writers across the nation.