New York City is hardly a place to try out downhill skiing: For one thing, its highest point is Staten Island's Todd Hill, with the grand elevation of 410 feet above sea level. Nonetheless, drive just a short while from the metropolitan region and you'll find many so called "feeder" ski areas for beginners and young families, most of which have small elevation gains of between 300 and 500 feet. But what happens when you're ready to leave the bunny hill? Finding a ski area with more than 1,000 feet of vertical gain within a day trip of New York City is possible. Here are your choices, all within a three-hour drive of mid-town Manhattan.
New Jersey/Pennsylvania Ski Areas
New Jersey has only one "bigger mountain" ski area, but the Pennsylvania ski areas near the Delaware Water Gap are reasonably close and work as a day trip for New Yorkers and Jerseyites.
- Mountain Creek (Vernon, N.J.) has 1,040 feet of vertical. This is closest "bigger" mountain to New York. Mountain Creek appeals to families (because of its short drive) and advanced skiers (because of the decent elevation gain). The downside is crowds.
- Blue Mountain (Palmerton, PA). With 1,082 feet and just over two hours from Manhattan, Blue Mountain is a good choice for northwest Jersey skiers.
New York Ski Areas
New York's biggest Catskill Ski areas are clustered close together just south of Albany, about 3 hours from New York. There are also ski areas in the western Catskills and closer in, in the Hudson Valley.
- Hunter Mountain (Hunter, N.Y.) With 1,520 feet of gain, Hunter Mountain, just 2 1/2 hours from N.Y., actually boasts more elevation gain than many resorts in Alaska, British Columbia, Colorado, and Washington. On weekends, it can be as crowded as the #6 Subway at Rush Hour, with the same pushing and shoving. (Weekdays are better, except during February break.) Steep and narrow double black diamond slopes give every bit as much challenge as slopes out West, both for the large moguls and for the added obstacles of crowds to ski around. Head to West Hunter for the steep-and-bumpies. For non-skiers, there is tubing.
- Belleayre Mountain (Highmount, N.Y.) With 1,404 feet of elevation, Bellayre is a popular (but not jam packed) alternative to Hunter. A close neighbor to Hunter Mountain, Belleayre has 55 trails, 8 lifts, and 78 percent of the terrain is intermediate or expert. It also offers cross-country skiing.
- Wyndham (Windham, N.Y.) With 1,400 feet of vertical, Windham boasts 46 trails, 10 lifts, 5 terrain parks, and limited night skiing. Night skiing is on 8 trails, 5 parks, weekends and holidays only.
- Bobcat (Andes, N. Y.) With 1,050 feet of vertical, Bobcat Ski Area in the Catskills is an interesting find: It's a small area with just 19 trails, but 17 of them are evenly split between intermediate and advanced, with one double black in the mix. So you won't be tripping over the snow-plow crowd here. Open on weekends only. Snowshoeing is also available.
- West Mountain (Glen Falls, N.Y.) With 1,010 feet, West Mountain features 40 trails, daily night skiing, and tubing. This is an intermediate mountain, with 28 of 40 trails in the blue category.
- Platekill Mountain (Roxbury New York). This Catskill mountain has 1,100 feet of vertical and 35 trails. Located on the western side of the Catskills, Platekill gets inundated with snow, boasting 190 inches as an annual average. Two hours from New York, the mountain has a variety of trails from a 2-mile long windy beginner slope to a top-to-bottom double black diamond. There's no night skiing, but there is evening tubing (Saturdays and holidays only).
Berkshire Ski Areas Near New York
Three Berkshire County ski areas within a three hour drive of New York have vertical gains of runs of more than 1,000 feet. The two South County areas, Catamount and SkiButternut, are just over two hours from New York and are located in the tourist-friendly Great Barrington area.
- Catamount (border of Egremont, MA and Hillsdale, NY). With 1,000 feet of elevation gain, Catamount is the favorite Berkshire ski area for New York day-trippers, in part because it's about 20 minutes closer than rival Butternut on the other side of Great Barrington. Catamount has night skiing and two terrain parks. Expert skiers find Catamount a shade more challenging than Butternut, mostly because of the the Catapult-Off Stage run; the first, on the upper mountain, is the the steepest (and usually iciest) slope in the region; the second, on the lower mountain, is a mogul run.
- SkiButternut (Great Barringotn, MA). With 1,119 feet of elevation gain, Butternut is hands down the local favorite ski area for families. It's comparable to Catamount, but without the double black diamond slope. It doesn't have night skiing, but it does have cross-country and tubing, making it a great choice for families where not everyone wants to downhill ski all day.
- Jiminy Peak (Hancock, MA). With 1,150 feet of elevation gain, this resort squeaks in just above the cut-off for a one-day trip (3 1/4 hours one way, depending on where in New York you are leaving from) but it's worth including because it's got the biggest runs in the Berkshires. Advanced skiers may find it well worth the extra travel time; although it only has 150 feet more elevation gain than Catamount, it has the feel of a much bigger mountain.
No one is going to tell you that close-to-New-York ski areas offer a Colorado ski experience! But they offer more vertical, and more advanced terrain, than you might think, without the price of a plane ticket, or even a hotel.
Note: Vertical elevation information was taken from ski area websites and confirmed and edited based on data from Mountain Vertical, a website that compares ski area stats.
Karen Berger - Karen Berger is the author of 15 books. Please click on her name to read her full bio.
