Find out how New England's ski resorts, like many mountain resorts across the country, are attracting families with top values, off slope fun and year-round appeal.

"It's not just about skiing anymore," says Stacey Lopes, events manager at Loon, Cranmore and Waterville Valley, three of the 20 alpine resorts in New Hampshire. Yesterday's ski resorts are today's "mountain resorts," offering everything from spas to swing dance, snowmobiling to science shows. Resorts all over New England are trying strategies to bring people back again and again.

In the United States, interest in skiing remained flat for most of the 90's, according to public relations director Barbara Thomke at Smugglers' Notch, Vermont and Tom Meyers at Wachusett Mountain, Massachusetts. So resorts began looking for ways to retain the skiers they had attracted and find ways to interest non-skiers, lapsed skiers and potential skiers with an ever-growing range of services and activities. For the already converted, ski areas compete by offering faster lifts, more trails, and greater variety.

Bringing back former skiers who have left the fold is still the aim of many current programs. Easy-to-maneuver, short, shaped skis are in, as featured in the skiing programs offered at Vermont's Okemo, at Wachusett, and other independently-owned ski areas.

Because the latest in skis are easier to use, ski experts agree, they can help people get over some barriers to returning to the sport. Similarly, Cranmore promotes a "Get Good Quick" approach, breaking lessons into small, manageable bites sprinkled throughout the day. Smugglers tries to hold onto its newest skiers by opening Morse Mountain, a newer slope for just-post-beginners. Thomke is hopeful that getting these fledgling skiers to an area where they can practice, away from the speed and intensity of more established skiers, helps novices better enjoy the experience.

And have you seen those ski toys? Looking like bicycles and scooters but with skis attached, these admittedly funny-looking conveyances offer variety for those seeking a different way down the mountain. The ski toys, great tools for learning and reputed to be easier on the knees than downhill skiing, have been available at many mountain resorts for the past few years. For 2005-2006, Smugglers' Notch is premiering its newest snow toy, the Airboard, which resembles an inflatable sled.

Saving Skiers Serious Money

"Price is the biggest reason people aren't skiing anymore," observes Lopes. Many in the industry are trying to address the problem. "We're packaging skiing better now," says Pam Cruikshank, former marketing director at Okemo, who recommends skiers seek out season passes and other deals that offer price breaks.

Wachusett revises its package deals, and develops types of season passes annually based on demand. Even a small group of friends or co-workers can qualify for group discounts. For best prices remember next year to place your order by late October. And keep your eye on their website where discount coupons can appear at any time. You'd be hard-pressed to compete with Woodstock Inn's ski offer at nearby Suicide Six in Vermont or on the property's cross-country trails.

Expanding Options Outdoors
But clearly, alpine skiing is not for everyone, so mountain resorts offer an ever-expanding menu of activities. In Stowe, the adrenaline-addicted can get their fix on the alpine slide during the summer months. Those who like their entertainment closer to the ground can embrace winter's glory on ice skates, toboggan or horse-drawn sleigh at many resorts. Tubing parks grow more extensive each season, with twelve at New Hampshire winter resorts alone, including Gunstock, Loon and Cranmore.

According to a spokesperson at the regional association, Ski Vermont, snowshoe tours are available at Smuggler's Notch, Okemo, Mad River Glen, Killington, Bolton Valley, Mount Snow, Stratton Mountain, and Sugarbush, among other alpine ski resorts.

Expanding Options Indoors
Why should the outdoor enthusiasts have all the fun? Resorts are also catering more than ever to those who prefer to enjoy New England's scenic winters from in front of a well-stoked fire or behind the perfectly mixed hot toddy.

But non-skiers are no longer relegated to just hanging out at the lodge. Consider the recent renovations at Stoweflake Mountain Resort in Vermont, where the spring newsletter describes the property as "the resort non-golfers dream about." Its winter advertising could make a similar claim to be the non-skier's dream destination. While skiing members of the family can take a shuttle to Stowe's acclaimed Mount Mansfield, non-skiers can choose from over 120 treatments offered at the spa, work out in the state-of-the-art fitness center, take classes in yoga, aerobics or kickboxing, and even get in a game of squash or racquetball.

At Trapp Family Lodge, also in Stowe, many will revel in some of the best Nordic skiing in the east. But indoors, guests can watch a harpist perform or pick up tips on baking Viennese pastry. The Mountain Kids Club includes storytime in the sunroom as well as cross-country skiing. And yes, this is the same Trapp family of The Sound of Music fame, which is evident from the Austrian decor and allusions to Maria.

Vermont's award-winning Woodstock Inn beckons with its 10-foot stone hearth blazing in the lobby. And, if you can stand the heat, get into the kitchen with the Chef for a Day program. While your family ski bunnies brave the elements at nearby mountains or on the area's extensive cross-country trails, you can spend the afternoon preparing apple tarts or snails in puff pastry alongside one of the inn's chef.

The grand Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire, more than a century old, recently opened to guests year-round, and its partnership with the Bretton Woods ski area is only part of the allure. Wine tastings, flower-arranging, beaded jewelry workshops, a gala ball, Mardi Gras weekend, and a winter carnival are, well, just the "tip of the iceberg" at this historic resort.

So get out of hibernation! With skis or without, New England's mountain resorts are ready to bring you out of the winter doldrums.