Hunter Mountain Ski Resort has long worn the mantle of the New York area's biggest downhill ski area. But off season, it has come into its own as a major adventure travel destination just two and a half hours from New York. Like many ski areas, Hunter has dived headfirst into off-season adventure activities, trying to keep the resort running year round.
Ziplining at Hunter Mountain
Ziplines are popping up all over the country, as parks, resorts, ski areas, and outdoor centers take note of their appeal. Family-friendly, relatively inexpensive to install, and ecologically low-impact, the typical zipline runs on little to no fossil fuel save for getting guests to the starting point. But the brand new course at Hunter, owned and operated by Zipline Adventure Tours, stands out, not only as Hunter Mountain's most dramatic off-season activity, but as North America's "longest and highest" zipline.
Actually, Hunter Mountain has three aerial courses, one at the base of the mountain, one mid-way up, and one near the summit. Here's a run down:
- At the base: The Adventure Tower is a sort of aerial jungle gym with four stories of climbing. This is a ropes-course, and a perfect place to get your "air legs" working and maybe deal with a fear of heights.
- At mid-mountain: The Mid-Mountain Tour is hidden in the forest just a two hundred yards above the base. The mid-mountain course has a combination ropes course obstacles and short zipline elements.
- The top of the mountain. This is the high-adrenaline course, with cross-crossing ziplines plunging from the summit, more than 600 feet off the ground. You'll ride up to 3,000 feet at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. The course boasts 4.5 miles of ziplines.
The base course is not open during ski season; the other two courses are open year round.
Fly Fishing
Hunter Mountain offers an Orvis-certified instructional program for learning to fly fish. The mountain's Sports and Expeditions Center books lessons and sells or rents equipment (and if you're nice, they may just tell you the best secret spots to cast your lines, too).
Hiking
The area immediately surrounding Hunter Mountain is crossed with hiking trails, ranging from short ambles to challenging steep climbs. Campsites are available in nearby North and South Lakes, as well as in the backcountry The Devil's Path hiking trail crosses Hunter Mountain. Or, you can hike the service road to Hunter's true summit, where, at 4040 feet, you'll find the highest fire tower in New York State. And if you don't fancy the idea of climbing more than 1,500 feet uphill, you can take the Skyride (that's what they call the ski lift in summer) to the top.
Summer Festivals
Not an adrenaline junkie? No problem: Hunter even has something for non-adventurers! A series of summer festivals are spread out throughout the off-season. TAP New York features micro beers and food; Mountain Jam is listed as one of the U.S.'s top 10 jam festivals by Rolling Stone magazine, German Alps offers bratwurst and beer. In addition, there an International Celtic Festival, a Microbrew and Wine Festival, and finally, just before ski season gets going again, Oktoberfest. By the time you've downed that last beer, it won't be long before the snow starts to fall and ski season comes to Hunter Mountain for another year.
Karen Berger - Karen Berger is the author of 15 books. Please click on her name to read her full bio.
