Catering to the kiddies

Spring has arrived in the High Country — and that means warmer air and longer days. But to those under 4 feet tall with a penchant for candy, spring means no school for a whole week. Visiting parents with small ones in tow need not be alarmed; the Vail Valley offers activities to keep all types of idle hands innocently busy. Here is a breakdown of family-friendly activities to fill your week while staying in the valley. Remember, tired kids are well-behaved kids.Vail/Beaver Creek Children’s Ski and Snowboard SchoolMost families travel the Vail Valley to take advantage of the world-class ski areas. Enrolling your child in ski school is a great way to let an expert introduce your child to the joys of skiing and snowboarding.After registration, your child will be assigned to a group, based on ability and age. There are groups for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiers. The age groups are usually 3 to 6 and 7 to 14.Trained instructors, specializing in teaching kids, will lead children on all types of mountain adventures. Kids will learn the basics of skiing and snowboarding on specially designed children’s terrain like Chaos Canyon on Vail Mountain. They will bump, jump, twist and ski through tunnels with their new friends. There are secret mountain “hide-a-aways” and “magical” tree runs too.Vail’s Children’s Ski and Snowboard School offers five-day ski and ride camps during holiday periods. Camp weeks remaining are March 22-26 and March 28-April 2. Camp is for children ages 7-14, and teens are welcome to join. One instructor for the whole week will take eight, at most, kids snow-sliding in the back bowls or jibbin’ at Golden Peak’s terrain park. Friday culminates with a skier/rider choice day and celebration party afterwards.Another program ski school offers is SKE-Cology, a great opportunity for the budding little scientists. Developed in cooperation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service, kids will learn about the resort’s ecology while exploring mountain trails that are named for plants and animals. Kids are rewarded with buttons for each trail they complete during the lesson.Skiing with experts: Vail’s Children Ski and Snowboard SchoolWhere: Centers are located at Lionshead and Golden PeakAge group: 3-14Costs: $177 for ages 5-14, including all-day lesson, lift access and lunch; $102 for ages 3-14, including all-day lesson and lunch. Camps are $725 for all five days, including lift, lesson, lunch, video analysis, T-shirt and pizza party.Contact: 479-3280 for Golden Peak and 479-4450 for LionsheadIce skatingWhirl yourself around on an even smaller edge after skiing and before or after dinner. Although the ice is fading fast, you can still glide those figure eights at two valley locations.Beaver Creek’s ice skating rink is located in the heart of the village plaza by the Vilar Center for the Arts. The 150 foot by 65 foot rink has a Zamboni smooth the surface every three hours to ensure the ice is perfectly “groomed.” The rink is open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. The best time to skate is Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 3-6 p.m. because there is an instructor whirling around giving free pointers.Dobson Ice Arena in Lionshead hosts public skating no matter what the weather. The indoor rink gives skaters shelter from the high-altitude elements. Public skating days and times vary. For more information call 479-2271.Toe pick: Ice skatingWhere: Beaver CreekWhen: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.Age group: all agesCosts: For age 12 and under $5; age 13 and up $10 add $2 for your own skates. Trainer bars are free on a first come, first served basisContact: 845-0438Nature in the mountainsEvery family has its own “Dora the Explorer.” Perhaps science is more alluring than speed for your young one. For kids 12 and over, the Gore Range Natural Science School, in conjunction with Vail Resorts and the U.S. Forest Service, opens visitors’ eyes to a whole new world on Vail Mountain.”People learn that Vail is more that just a ski area. There is a whole nature community out there that we point out to people,” Melissa Dozier, naturalist at the Vail Nature Center, said. “I like to discuss what people can both see and talk about, like porcupine damage on the tree. It is fun to show real things to people.”The hour and 15 minute snowshoe tour starts at the top of Eagle Nest at Lionshead. A naturalist leads you across the ridge and down into the trees. Specialists explain how different animals and plants survive during the winter. Guides point out tracks and talk about how to identify the different tracks of each animal living on the mountain. General identification of pine, fir and spruce trees is also on the agenda.The Gore Range Natural Science School also has a program that teaches about nighttime animals — “Snowflakes and Starlight.” Families gather around the fire, toasting marshmallows, at the Vail Nature Center to learn about the natural happenings after the sun goes down.”We talk about mountain lions, owls, coyotes and fox. We teach about where they live, what they do and what they eat. Then we ask kids to share their animal experiences,” said Ashley Bell, naturalist at the Vail Nature Center.Lions, coyotes and porcupine, oh my:Gore Range Natural Science School programsSnowshoe hikesWhere: Departing daily from the Nature Discovery CenterWhen: 3 p.m. until April 2Cost: $10 suggested donationAge group: 12 and overContact: 479-4675″Snowflakes and Starlight”Where: Vail Nature Center, meet at Golden Peak bus stopWhen: Thursdays, 7-9 p.m. until April 8Cost: $10 adults, $5 kids or $25 per familyAge group: All ages, no strollers or wheelchairs.Contact: 479-2264Adventure RidgeYou can be Lance Armstrong and Bode Miller when you take a fast-paced nighttime ride down Vail Mountain on a ski bike at Adventure Ridge atop Lionshead. A ski bike is a special bike with skis instead od wheels, and it is just one of the thrills for kids and adults alike at the mountaintop activity center. From racing down a multi-lane tubing hill to cruising in a child-size snowmobile around Blizzard Speedway or zapping your sibling in a game of laser tag, Adventure Ridge provides winter fun for everyone.Lasers and snowmobiles: Adventure RidgeWhere: Atop Lionshead via the gondolaWhen: 2:30-9 p.m.Age group: All agesCosts: $10 to $62 depending on activityContact: 476-9090The littlest indianPerched in an adult’s lap or sitting Indian-style on the floor, youngsters can absorb and imagine new worlds every Tuesday and Wednesday as they listen to stories based on weekly themes at the Town of Vail Library. Story hour is a good alternative for those children that may be too young to ski or to take part in the more physical activities that the valley is known for. There are two story hours each Tuesday and Wednesday, one for ages 18-30 months and one for 2- to 5-year-olds. The toddler sessions include songs, finger plays, introductory art and stories that contain rhythm, repetition and rhyme. The preschool hour is filled with rhymes, songs, dancing and books. The hour finishes with a brief craft project.Reading is fun: Town of Vail Story HourWhere: Vail libraryWhen: 10-11 a.m. for toddlers, 11 to noon for preschoolersCost: FreeContact: 479-2184Parent’s night outWe’ve all experienced or witnessed dining with kids. Sugar packets, toothpicks and straws become instant toys — or, worse, projectiles. And most of the french fries end up on the floor. No matter how much you love your little monster, sometimes kids can be just that — monsters. Since it is your vacation too, here are a few options when you want to go out for a romantic dinner or ski with adults only.Small World Playschool is a daycare nursery school located in Golden Peak adjacent to ski school. Parents can drop off kids ages 2 months to 6 years before they go skiing at 8 a.m. and pick them back up at 4:30 p.m. when they are done. Teachers strap plastic skis on kids ages 2 and up and take them skiing.”Micro Mice is a really good first exposure to ski school for the kids who will be enrolled next year,” Gabrielle Lachapelle at Small World Playschool. “They see the kids with real ski boots on in action.”Small World specializes in kids and parents who aren’t used to day care settings. Parents receive free cell phones that call directly to the nursery school from anywhere on the mountain.Skiing’s for adults: Small World Play SchoolWhere: Golden PeakWhen: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Age group: 2 months to 6 yearsCosts: $88Contact: 479-3285When the Vilar Center for the Arts is calling for parents to enjoy a show, Mountain Sitters comes the rescue.”My sitters come to the clients location and bring age-appropriate games and toys,” Caroline Logan, owner, said. “We do what the parents ask us to do. We will take the children to an age-appropriate move, Adventure Ridge or to lunch and dinner.”Coming to you: Mountain sittersWhere: Sitters come to clients locationWhen: Make reservations seven days a week from 8 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 6 p.m.Age group: Newborn to teenagersCosts: $17 an hour (4 hour minimum) $1 for each additional childMost hotels offer some sort of babysitting service, if you are staying there. The Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek calls it Camp Hyatt, occupying kids from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Besides being open to guests of the hotel, patrons who are dining at one of Hyatt’s restaurants or using the spa can also use the camp.”Kids do crafts, play games, roast marshmallows at the fire pit. We pull out the bean bag chairs and pop popcorn and watch movies. The dedicated room looks over the ice rink,” Mark Ball, Park Hyatt concierge, said.More fun without parents: Camp HyattWhere: Park Hyatt in Beaver CreekWhen: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.Age group: all ages (for guests only)Costs: $13 per hourThese activities and services are just the tip of Vail Valley’s kid-sized iceberg when it comes to catering to your offspring. For more information contact http://www.visitvailvalley.comBy Cassie PenceSpecial to the Trail