Weekend hikes near Chicago
Hiking in Maui's Haleakala National Park
Mountain biking in the White Mountains
Winter camping in Texas' Guadalupe Mountains
Moving a family to North Carolina
Finding good snowboard instructors in the Rockies

A: We recommend heading out to Breckenridge or Copper Mountain, two snowboard-friendly, powder-heavy Rockies resorts. One of the first ski areas in the country to allow snowboarding, Breckenridge is home to a 20- to 30-acre snowboard terrain garden--one of Colorado's largest--as well as a meticulously groomed half-pipe, with plenty of logs and jumps to keep you on your toes. Best of all, their snowboard school has some 20 PSIA-certified instructors on hand to introduce you to the joys of carving turns on fresh powder. Schedule your vacation around one of two Catch the Wave Snowboarding Clinics (January 27-28, March 2-3), where $140 will get you first-rate instruction, videotape analysis, and lift tickets. For more information, contact Breckenridge at 303-453-5000. Just down the road in Summit County, Copper Mountain has some of the best powder in the Rockies, not to mention plenty of challenging, through-the-trees lines. Proof of Copper's board-friendly attitude is their snowboard ambassador program, designed to boost boarder-skiier relations and cut back on reckless mountain users. Sign on for a full-day private lesson or be there February 3 for an intensive day of snowboarding classes ($68 with lift ticket). Once you've proved yourself on the fresh powder, you'll be ready for some friendly competition: Amateur races take place at Copper every other weekend. For more information, call 303-968-2882, or check out "Snowboarding: It's a Right, Not a Priviledge" in our winter Travel Guide, on newsstands now.