Sleeping Giant Ski Area Offering $20 Lift Tickets With Ski and Stay Package

Spring break skiers with big dreams and small budgets will find a bargain at Cody, Wyoming’s Sleeping Giant Ski Area. This non-profit, family-friendly ski area located west of Cody is offering a “Ski and Stay” package in partnership with several lodging properties in the Cody area.
   The package includes up to four full-day $20 lift tickets for skiers staying in a participating hotel. Hotels cover a broad spectrum of budgets and styles, including charming guest ranches, luxurious boutique inns and budget-focused, family-friendly hotels.
   Lift tickets normally cost $30 for adults ages 19-69, $24 for juniors ages 13–18, $14 for children ages 6–12. Lift tickets are free for skiers 70 or older and five years and under.
   Located 50 miles west of the town of Cody, Sleeping Giant Ski Area is operated by the non-profit Yellowstone Recreations Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to provide affordable family skiing and to offer ski education to Cody-area children. All fifth-graders in the region ski for free.
   “Spring break skiers might have sticker shock when they price lift tickets for some other Western ski resorts, and that’s exactly what Sleeping Giant Ski Area avoids,” said Claudia Wade, director of the Park County Travel Council, the marketing arm for Buffalo Bill’s Cody/Yellowstone Country. “Sleeping Giant is a community hill with skiers who care more about old-fashioned skiing fun than the newest fashions in ski attire. The ski area is as laid back as the community of Cody, and we hope to welcome many like-minded visitors to the region this winter.”
   First opened in 1936, Sleeping Giant is one of the country’s oldest ski areas. When it reopened five years ago after a multi-year closure, the ski area unveiled a much-lauded terrain park that is one of the few in the country that was constructed almost entirely of materials found on the hill.
   And when it is time to take a break from the powder, visitors to Cody will find plenty of other things to do. The region is home to world-class museums and attractions including the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Heart Mountain WWII Interpretive Center and Tecumseh’s Old West Miniature Village and Museum as well as numerous museums and galleries. And there are a wealth of other outdoor adventures including ice-climbing, Nordic skiing, snow shoeing, snowmobiling, snowcoaching and winter wildlife-watching.
   The Park County Travel Council website (www.yellowstonecountry.org) lists information about vacation packages, special events, guide services, weather and more. Travelers wishing to arrange a vacation can also call the Park County Travel Council at (800) 393-2639.

—Submitted by Mona Mesereau