Bluewood is one of Washington's best family-friendly resorts. Lift tickets are cheap, the staff is friendly, and nearly half the runs are intermediate.

Mt. Spokane is a rare community-owned ski area. It is a no-frills resort and visitors sometimes complain about the lack of amenities and the slow lifts. The area is high value and focused on locals.

49 Degrees North is another family-friendly resort that is also a locals' favorite, with diverse terrain and a decent terrain park. The resort also has good options for snowshoeing and cross country skiing.

Mission Ridge is located just 13 miles from Wenatchee, which is a good place to stay if visiting Mission Ridge. Mission Ridge is a small resort in a small town that has a good vibe.. For the skiing, about half the runs are a diverse-mix of intermediates from groomers to backcountry.

Technically one of four base areas that makes us Summit at Snoqualmie (which is also on our list), Alpental feels like its own area as it is the only that is on the opposite side of I-90. Alpental is not for beginners as only 14% of the runs are greens. Conversely 41% are double diamonds. Great spot for advanced skiing.

The Summit at Snoqualmie is made up for four bases, including Summit West, Summit Central, Summit East, and Alpental. The area is only 50 miles from Seattle. In addition to a good variety of skiing, they also offer some of the best tubing in the state.

White Pass is located in the Cascades about 50 miles west of Yakima. White Pass scores very high for being family-friendly. It is a fantastic ski destination with condos on the mountain. It is a medium-sized resort (for Washington) with mostly intermediate terrain. White Pass also has some fun tree skiing and backcountry bowls.

Stevens Pass gets a ton of snow (450 inches annually). The most important thing to know about Stevens is that only 6% of the runs are for beginners (greens). The area has the best terrain park in the state. Another thing to love is the resort offers night skiing.

Crystal Mountain is the largest ski area in the state. It also has the most vertical feet. It is located in the northeast corner of Mt. Ranier National Park, and less than two hours from Seattle.

Mt. Baker averages more annual snowfall (680 inches) than any other resort in the world. The resort has a fairly good blend of runs with nearly half of them being blue (intermediate).