Ski Resorts

UPSTATE NEW YORK 

Catskills

About 2.5 hours from NYC (depending on traffic), the Catskill Park has large areas of wilderness and a couple of peaks surpassing 4000 feet elevation. There are times when the Cats get hammered with snow from nor'easters and then get smatterings of lake effect coming down from Lake Ontario. A powder day in the Catskills can be very good, and it's not too far from The City. That does mean you have to get to the pow quickly, as any weekend dumps will get skied out within a few hours on the popular trails. 

• Belleayre Mountain Ski Center (Highmount, NY) - Until recently The Belle was a 'throwback' ski hill, with old lifts, vintage lodges, and a laid-back, 'locals' atmosphere. NY's ORDA (Olympic Regional Development Authority) has taken it over, and has added a (gasp!) gondola and more snowmaking machinery. Many skiers will like the new feel, others will miss the old days. Conditions are often not great (ice coast), but storm days are great here, with lots of off-trail tree skiing that's not too hairy. Most of the steepness is right off the top of the ridge, for maybe 800 feet of vertical. After that, the terrain levels out and becomes extremely gentle to slowly descend the last 500 feet of elevation loss. Advanced skiers generally park at the mid-mountain lodge and grab the lifts from there, rather than enduring the very long coast to the bottom on the beginner trails. Belleayre is home to an excellent ski school, great for families with kids learning to ski. 

• Windham Mountain Resort (Windham, NY) - This area has recast itself as a private club that allows the public to ski on their trail network. It's the closest Catskill ski resort to the Thruway, with modern amenities that appeal to the leisure skiing crowd. Windham is on the Ikon Pass. The adult day pass is now out of reach for all but the wealthy, at $180+. 

• Hunter Mountain (Hunter, NY) - If you can go during the week, Hunter can be great. Weekends, however, are a different story. You don't want to be there on a winter holiday weekend.  Hunter has very good terrain, but weekends are simply too insane there.  Hunter is now on the Epic Pass (Vail Resorts). 

• Plattekill Mountain (Roxbury, NY) - Platty is far west of the Thruway, so it feels like a long drive from the NYC metro area. That, and its modest-sounding 1100 foot vertical  keeps many skiers from going there. That's good for the locals. It's a great independent ski hill, not on any multi-resort pass. Platty is kind of a throwback, but has longer, more consistently steep descents than Belleayre. During the off-season, locals clear out underbrush (beech thickets) from the woods around the trails, resulting in lots of fun tree skiing when there's good snow cover. Platty is normally open Friday through Sunday, closed Monday through Thursday, so any snow that falls during the week won't have been completely skied off by Friday morning. I'd say Plattekill's a nice, challenging ski hill for the Catskills and is fantastic after a midweek dump, but it's also a really good all-around resort for intermediates who want to stay away from the weekend crowds. 

Taconics

• Catamount Mountain Resort (Hillsdale, NY) - Another quaint, throwback kind of ski hill, on the Indy Pass. It's a decent size, with 1000 feet vertical, and has some nicely challenging runs.  Reasonably priced, too. 

Adirondacks

The well-known ski hills are of course Whiteface and Gore. But there are a handful of other ski hills that although they're smaller, are well worth visiting. 

• Royal Mountain (Caroga Lake, NY) - Located near the southern border of the Adirondack Park, Royal is a small-town ski hill that often has great snow conditions. Only has 550 foot vertical, so it's not exactly a go-to destination, but it's not far from Lake George, and can be fun skiing for a day. It's cheap, too. 

• Hickory Ski Center (Warrensburg, NY) - Closed since 2015 but it looks like they're opening for the 2023-24 season! Day lift pass is only $30. "Hickory is a natural snow mountain with no snow-making. Our operating schedule is WEATHER DEPENDENT. All season pass and day ticket purchases are final. No exchanges or refunds." A daily uphill pass is available for $10. If you like Mad River Glen you'll just love Hickory. 

• Oak Mountain (Speculator, NY) - Located in the southern Adirondacks,  west of Lake George. Oak is a smallish hill with 650 feet vertical, but can be fun for a relaxed, mellow day. It's an inexpensive locals' hill with mostly easy terrain, but some good challenges are hidden in there. 

• Gore Mountain (North Creek, NY) - Gore is a wanderer's mountain, with 2500 feet of vertical drop. It has several sub-peaks, each accessed by their own lift, and each with its own trail network. Because of that, skiers spread out when enough trails are open. There's a lot of blue (intermediate) terrain, but there are some very challenging steep shots, mogul runs and glades. On a storm day, Gore can be really, really good. ORDA runs it, and has been expanding the network of connected glade runs (off-trail). 

• McCauley Mountain (Old Forge, NY) - It's out of the way, and not a big mountain (633 ft vert), but McCauley is a nice hill that gets lots of good snow. It's in the west-central Adirondack region, which benefits from lake effect coming off Lake Ontario to the west. McCauley's lifts are old and slow, and the facilities are definitely vintage, but McCauley on a good snow day can offer some very fine skiing. There are good gladed runs and they don't groom the snow into hard-packed oblivion. It's just a nice place to ski, and it's cheap too.  On the Indy Pass.  

• Whiteface Mountain (Wilmington, NY) - Perhaps the real Beast of the East. "Iceface" can be exhausting. It's big (well over 3000 feet vertical), it faces south, and it's often both sun-beaten and wind-blasted, it has some gnarly terrain and double fall lines, and basically doesn't let you rest much. It's great for spring skiing, especially if there's still top to bottom cover on Skyward (the big drop from the Summit Quad). The Slides are the real deal, actual Adirondack landslide paths you can ski when there's enough snow and it's stable enough not to avalanche. But you'll have to get there early, because The Slides get skied out within minutes of opening. 

• Big Tupper (Tupper Lake, NY) - Closed. 

• Titus Mountain Family Ski Center (Malone, NY) - Way up north near the Canadian border, just outside the northern end of the Adirondack Park.  Titus is a small town, independent ski hill; actually two small hills connected by lifts. It has good glades, nice trails, and gets a good amount of snow. Nothing really steep, and the runs are pretty short, but it's got a great North Country vibe. On the Indy Pass. 

North-Central NY (Tug Hill, Finger Lakes, Leatherstocking Region)

• Snow Ridge (Turin, NY) - Located on the eastern edge of the Tug Hill, just south of Lowville, NY and west of the Adirondack Park, Snow Ridge is a small locals' hill that benefits from lake effect snows coming off Lake Ontario. It has only about 500 feet of vertical drop, but on a day after the lake effect bands have come through you may find yourself up to your knees in excellent powder. Really—bring your fat skis, and get there early because it's not a locals' secret any more.  On the Indy Pass. 

• Song Mt - Located south of Syracuse, just west of I-81. 

• Labrador Mt

• Bristol Mt

• Greek Peak (Virgil, NY) - Near Cortland, NY, not far from I-81 north of Binghamton. This is a surprisingly big ski area, with 950 feet vertical. It has some pretty challenging runs, and even some glades and tree shots. It's a little too far away from Lake Ontario to fetch a lot of powder, but there are times when the lake effect snows swing down that way and give it a good dump. Greek Peak is popular with the local teenagers, so it can get crowded. There's a vibrant telemark crowd there. It's a good place to visit if you're in the neighborhood and snow conditions are good. 

MID-ATLANTIC

Close to NYC

• Mt Peter (Harriman area, Rockland Co.) - A little one-run ski hill that's popular with families with young children. Tends to be icy, of course. 

• Thunder Ridge (Patterson, NY) - In Putnam County, off I-84 near Pawling. A locals' hill that's pretty much deserted on weekdays, gets crowded for night skiing. Can be reasonably good once they've made enough snow and there's been some snowfall. It's often really chunky. 

New Jersey

• Mountain Creek (

Pennsylvania

• Blue Mt (Poconos, near Wind Gap, PA) - 

• Camelback (Pocono Mts, west of Stroudsburg, PA) - Sort of like a Hunter scene for Philadelphians. I once went there on a Saturday with nice weather. Big mistake. I won't do that again. 

• Jack Frost  (Pocono Mts, west of Blakeslee, PA) - An upside-down hill with the lodge at the top. It's basically a bunch of straight runs down along a ridge, with lines of trees in between. The place is less raucous than its sister hill Big Boulder. 

• Big Boulder (Pocono Mts, north of Jim Thorpe, PA) - Lots of slopeside condos, canned music blaring from the  base lodge, BB caters to snowboarders. Night skiing is a big draw, so if you can get there mid-afternoon when they open it can be pretty good skiing. It's small, with only about 600 feet of vertical. 

• Elk Mountain (Endless Mts, north of Scranton) - Elk is a much better mountain than any in the Poconos to the south. It feels like one of upstate NY's ski hills. It has a pretty good vertical, 925 feet. They call it Vermont skiing in Pennsylvania, but I wouldn't go that far. It can be very good when there's fresh snow. 

SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND

Connecticut

• Mohawk Mountain (Litchfield Hills)

Western Massachusetts

• Jiminy Peak (Berkshires)

• Ski Butternut (Berkshires)

• Bousquet Mt (Pittsfield, MA) - 

• Berkshire East (Berkshires) - Nice, small town ski hill tucked deep in a remote corner of the Berkshire Hills that gets a pretty good amount of snow. It's a long drive on remote, twisty roads to get there, but if you like an authentically 'old school' ski area experience, BE can be really good. On the Indy Pass. 

Southern Vermont

• Mount Snow - Within reach of both the  NYC and Boston metro areas, Mt Snow is the busiest ski hill in southern Vermont. It's a pretty good one, with quick lifts and usually good snow.  On the Epic Pass (Vail Resorts). 

• Stratton Mt - A pretty nice hill with a sprawling shopping mall-like comp;ex at its base. Full-tilt industrial resort skiing. On the Ikon Pass. 

• Bromley Mt

• Okemo Mt (Ludlow, VT) - 

• Killington (Killington, VT) - They call it The Beast. It's a big, sprawling place, with lots of infrastructure. The Big K (called Kmart by some) is famous for its hyperactive snowmaking. It's the first ski area to open in the Northeast, and always the last to close. It helps that their neighborhood catches more snow than surrounding areas, and holds onto it well too. They often have enough man-made snow piled up to keep their main trail Superstar open through Memorial Day. The downside is that it is expensive during the height of the season.  On the Ikon Pass. 

• Pico Mountain (Killington, VT) - Next door to Killington, along the Appalachian Trail, Pico is a very nice Vermont hill with plenty of good terrain, good snow, and good facilities. It's quite a bit less expensive than its big neighbor. The one downside is that there is a lot of slopeside development, so weekends can have a kind of 'urban' feel to them. It is a very good hill, though, and if you're adventurous (and there's enough natural snow), you can ski the Appalachian Trail for a break from the ski area machinery.  On the Ikon Pass. 

• Magic Mountain - A ski hill for real enthusiasts. Old, slow lifts, but lots of off-piste terrain, popular with those who like skiing the trees. Telemark skiers love the place. Quite reasonable lift ticket price. On the Indy Pass. Magic allows skiers to skin up their designated uphill trails at no charge. They do ask that you drop by the lodge to get an Uphill Pass before you go. 

NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND

Northern Vermont (Green Mts) 

• Stowe (Stowe, VT) - Big, expensive, and one of the few ski areas in the East where you can get up into actual alpine tundra. The Front Four ski trails are modern versions of historic trails created back when skiing was brand new. Stowe's very big, but it's getting crowded with slope-side development across the valley from the main mountain. I did mention it's expensive too, right?  On the Epic Pass (Vail Resorts). 

• Sugarbush Resort (Warren, VT) - A sprawling resort with three separate areas along a long ridge over the Mad River Valley. Lots of groomed runs for all skill levels, and when there's good snow, lots of tree runs and off-piste chutes. Serious stuff, this. On the Ikon Pass. 

• Mad River Glen (Fayston, VT) - MRG is the polar opposite of Stowe. It's not as big. It's obstinately retro. They don't groom very much. There are moguls everywhere. The chair lifts are slow, yet everybody is happy to wait in line. Snowboarders are not allowed. Mad River Glen is a different kind of ski hill. Either you love it or you just don't. It does have some of the gnarliest, nastiest in-bounds skiing in the East, if you're into that.  Co-operatively owned.,100% independent. 

• Jay Peak Resort (Jay, VT) - Far away from metropolitan areas, so doesn't get overrun with day trippers. Jay Peak is in a curious spot near the Canadian border, where nor'easters meet lake effect meets the polar vortex. The result is that Jay Peak gets great gobs of snowfall, as much as the Tug Hill—but it has a nice, big mountain! Among the very best ski hills in the Northeast. On the Indy Pass. 

• Bolton Valley - The family resort in the neighborhood of Stowe, MRG and Sugarbush. Bolton Valley has a nice, large trail system, but also has some fine tree skiing, some of which is plenty steep and challenging. It also has trails going off from the ski area into the Bolton Valley Nordic Backcountry trail system. If you like wandering off into the woods to search for powder turns, then you'll really like Bolton. It's not expensive, either. The access road can be a challenging drive if it's icy or during a snowstorm. 

• Smugglers Notch - 

• Burke Mountain (Northeast Kingdom) - 

New Hampshire

Maine

QUÉBEC

• Le Massif de Charlevoix - 

• Le Massif du Sud - 

• Mont Sutton - 

• Mont-Sainte-Anne - 

• Mont Tremblant -