Where to travel in the U.S. this winter

As the winter months draw closer, many travelers search for warm weather getaways to escape the chill. But there’s a special kind of magic that comes with leaning into the season and heading to colder climes. To help dig a bit deeper into some of the best wintertime destinations, we spoke to the people who love them most: locals.

While each one offers something special, they all have one thing in common: a balanced equation of itinerary items—a trend that’s reflected in Tripadvisor’s own winter-travel data, too. “American travelers get most excited about food, activities, and scenery for their winter vacations,” said Alice Jong, Tripadvisor’s senior manager of research and insight. Whether you’re after an adrenaline-pumping ski getaway, a romantic vacation, or a big-city holiday adventure, you can find a bit of everything in these expert U.S. picks.

Growing up in Lake Placid, Andrew Weibrecht relished the access to snowy slopes, but what really struck him was the area’s intangible enthusiasm for winter sports—whether he was racing a kid-sized “candy-bar cup” at age 6 or the North American Cup in his 20s. “I remember feeling like anything was possible because there was so much support and love from the community, which is why Lake Placid remains one of the premier winter sports destinations worldwide,” he said.

Now a two-time Olympic medalist in alpine skiing (2010 bronze in Vancouver and 2014 silver in Sochi), the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Famer runs operations at his family’s The Mirror Lake Inn. He said some of his favorite winter memories have been as a spectator with world-class events coming into town, like the 2000 Goodwill Games, 2023 Ski Jumping World Cup, and the World University Games torch relay, which he joined with his daughters Ada and Silje.

“Very few venues have an enduring Olympic legacy like Lake Placid with a special community relevant almost 45 years after hosting the Olympic Games,” he said of the 1980 event. Today, the upstate New York destination remains popular for alpine and Nordic skiing, ski jumping, ice hockey, figure skating, luge, and bobsled—as well as broomball, which Weibrecht said the area takes “very seriously.”

The beauty of experiencing the northern lights is that they’re never guaranteed—but the will-they-won’t-they anticipation leading up to the colorful displays makes seeing them that much more fulfilling. One of the best places in the country to take a bet is in Fairbanks “because of our position directly under the Auroral Oval, a ring-shaped band that hovers above the Arctic Circle where aurora activity is concentrated,” said Kasey Gillam of Explore Fairbanks, the area’s destination marketing organization. That, along with low precipitation and small population, means light pollution is incredibly low and the northern lights appear that much brighter, Gillam said.

With peak season running from August 21 to April 21, the northern lights are visible an average of four out of five nights in winter. According to tourism board findings, visitors who spend at least three nights hunting for the aurora have around a 90 percent of seeing the magnificent swirling colors.

While hunting for swirling colors in the sky might be the most popular activity after dark, Fairbanks also has a “robust and thriving winter scene,” with plenty to do during the day too, Gillam said. Think dog mushing, walking with reindeer, snowmobile riding, hot springs soaking, ice fishing, skiing, and snowshoeing—just to name a few.

“Big Sky’s views and the wide-open spaces are second-to-none,” ski instructor Zoe Mavis, who’s heading into her 11th season at Big Sky Resort, said of its more than 5,800 skiable acres. While other ski destinations may boast more cachet, Montana’s ski culture fosters a “greater connection with the environment and the people you’re with,” she said, since “everyone who lives and visits here recognizes a passion within each other.”

Her perfect day starts with a cup of coffee at the resort’s Madison Base watching the sunrise’s “pink glow on Headwaters Ridge,” before heading up to Elk Park Ridge and Upper Morningstar, two trails where the views make you “feel swallowed up by the mountain around you.”

Beyond the slopes, the snow-capped months in Big Sky also offer snowshoeing, ice skating, cross-country skiing, Yellowstone tours, as well as Mavis’ personal favorite, Enchanted Forest—a 0.6-mile walk through 10,000 lights atop a mountain at night.

Gazing at the Vail clock tower from Gore Creek Drive always reminds Johannes Faessler of Europe: The president and owner of the Sonnenalp Hotel is continuing his family legacy (they’ve run the legendary original Sonnenalp in Germany’s Bavaria for more than a century) in the Colorado Rockies.

Faessler’s family was drawn to Vail in the ’60s, when the World War II veteran Pete Seibert, who was part of the skiing soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division, had the idea to bring European ski culture to the U.S. “Pete not only helped build villages in Vail that resemble Bavaria in style but also attracted a number of European families to the area like mine,” Faessler said.

Now Vail is home to distinctly European resort characteristics, like the ability to ski between pedestrian villages with cobblestone streets that “feel like home,” he added. He said they’re also “spoiled with amazing European dining experiences,” naming Swiss Chalet, La Tour, Left Bank, and Alpenrose, among his favorites.

“The quality and amount of snow combined with the outstanding beauty and hospitality really make Vail a standout,” he said. With a manageable flight time from many U.S. airports and without the need for a passport, “it’s also a lot more convenient,” he said.

While demand for December also means higher prices, once the calendar flips comes one of the most underrated—and strategic—times to experience the city.

“In winter, hotel prices are lower and it’s less crowded, which is great for not only attractions but also securing restaurant reservations to the best spots,” Jong said. Tripadvisor data shows average nightly hotel rates were at least 20 percent less in January and February 2023 than at any other point in the year; the same period in 2024 is trending to be 30 percent less than the stretch between March and May.

For groups of travelers with diverse interests, Jong believes there’s nothing better than New York’s wide breadth of museums, shopping, dining, and kid-friendly activities like the American Museum of Natural History and 81st Street Studio, the newly opened playspace and learning center at The Met.

“My winter activities pretty much consist of eating and drinking all around town, looking for cozy restaurants and food that warms the soul, or attending all types of performing arts events,” Jong said. Some of her other picks: Restaurant Week, which has prix fixe deals (January 16 to February 4) and Broadway Week, when tickets to select shows are discounted two-for-one (typically mid-January through February, though it’s yet to be announced for 2024).