Family Ski Trip | Red River, New Mexico

I'm sharing details of our family ski trip to Red River, New Mexico including what we spent for a family of 5!

COST BREAKDOWN:

- Car Rental: $1,000

- Hotels to and from Red River: $250

- Condo for 5 nights: $2,078

- 3 day lift tickets for 5 people: $1,493 (includes tax)

- 1 day of ski lessons for Whitney: $239

- Ski/Snowboard rentals for 3 days: $426

- Food/Groceries/Souvenirs: ~$1,000

- Horseback Riding for 4 people: $260

- Snow Tubing: $125

TOTAL = $6,871

One of the main reasons we chose New Mexico as our ski destination was because it is drivable. I wanted to save money on plane tickets for 5 people and drive my van. Last minute Alex was worried my van wouldn't make the trek so he rented a suburban via Turo ($1,000). We also added hotel expenses to and from Red River because I loathe road trips with kids and wanted to break up the 12+ hour drive.

I took a look at Breckenridge lift tickets and ski rentals and they are DRASTICALLY higher but that's what you get with a more touristy ski town and a bigger mountain. Breckenridge has 35 lifts and 163 trails compared to 5 lifts and 64 trails in Red River. For comparison a 1 day adult lift ticket in Breckenridge is $299 per day and in Red River is $106 per day. That cost ADDS up when you have a family of 5!

SKIING/SNOWBOARDING:
We did three FULL days of skiing/snowboarding. We arrived at 8:30am to secure a parking spot in the front lot and usually didn't leave until 3:30/4pm. I didn't want to fuss with bringing food so we grabbed lunch every day at the mountain. *Tip* Get the steak finger basket at the top of the platinum chair. Best bang for your buck and it was very satisfying after hours of skiing! The Apres ski vibe isn't really there in my opinion (no cocktails sold), but it is a very family friendly mountain and vibe. We let our kids to green runs/chairs on their own and watched them from the main lodge.

You can easily rent skis from the main ski lodge at Red River and store them there overnight. We found better pricing at Sitzmark Rentals and picked up the day before we skied.

The mountain itself is very family-friendly. Unfortunately there wasn't much snow when we visited so there were only about 16 runs open compared to 63. Almost no blacks open and about half blue half greens. Red River does produce a ton of man made snow so I wouldn't let that deture you from going in December.

SKI SCHOOL:
Red River has a wonderful ski school for all ages! Whitney has snowboarded in the past, but this year we wanted to try skiing. She took one group lesson from 8:30am - 3pm and that's all she needed. The instructors do so much better than I ever could. The next 2 days Whitney skied blues and blacks confidently with our family!

WHERE WE STAYED:

The first time we visited Red River we stayed at Copper King Lodge which has a lift right outside so a great option for ski-in ski-out. This trip we stayed at Valley Condos which are great for groups traveling together. Most condos are 2-3 bedrooms with a kitchen, washer/dryer, and multiple bathrooms. We LOVED the hot tub to wind down after a day of skiing. The condo is only 1 mile from the main ski lodge/lift and they do offer a free shuttle to and from.

ACTIVITIES:

The town of Red River is very small but super cute. The Main Street is lined with gift shops, local restaurants, candy/ice cream shops and a few bars. A few fun activities include:

- Snowmobiling

- Winter Tubing (my tip is to bring your own sled and find a hill....my kids loved this even more than tubing)

- Horseback Riding

- ATV Tour

A few of our favorite restaurants were Red River Brewing Company & Distillery, Texas Red's Steakhouse & Old Tymer's Cafe for breakfast. We ordered Chinese takeout from Yu-Garden and grabbed coffee a few times from Steam Coffee & Tea Co. which is in a cool old steam train car.