New York ski areas will always have a special place in my winter-loving heart. As a kid growing up in northeastern New Jersey, the Empire State was the land of my family’s day-tripping ski adventures.
I remember the Hunter and Gore patches that my mom carefully sewed onto my old brown winter parka, badges that showed I belonged to this very special ski fraternity. While my daydreams were filled with exotic destinations like Sun Valley and Grenoble, my reality was the more modest hills of New York. But when you’re a kid, who cares?
Oftentimes, our family station wagon veered on a more northeast trajectory, taking us to Glen Ellen in Vermont, Quebec’s Eastern Townships (and the now-defunct Mont Echo), or my grandparents’ home in New Hampshire, which would serve as our base camp for trips to Gunstock, Sunapee and Waterville Valley. But those were multi-day adventures.
When we could get away only for the day, we headed due north, to one of a number of closer ski areas. This is where I really cut my teeth, graduating from tie-up leather boots to more-rigid plastic models with buckles, and spring-loaded bear traps to more modern bindings mounted on skis with metal edges. Little did I know at the time that New York had the most ski areas in the Union.
Today, New York, like all of New England, has fewer ski areas across the board. But there are still more ski areas here — 51 altogether — than any other state, coast to coast. And it’s not even close. Michigan is second with 40, while Wisconsin and Colorado each have 31. California and New Hampshire round out the top six with 30 ski areas apiece.
So, if you’re in a New York state of mind, which slopes are you heading to? We’re not going to list all 51, but we’ll highlight eight favorites, including big hills and small. Here they are, in no particular order.
Whiteface Mountain, Wilmington
When the Winter Olympics first came to the village of Lake Placid in New York’s northern Adirondacks in 1932, downhill (or alpine) skiing wasn’t even a thing. Nordic skiing and ski jumping ruled the day. By the time the Games returned in 1980, winter enthusiasts had become enamored with the alpine disciplines of slalom, giant slalom and downhill. And that’s when the world was introduced to Whiteface.
I personally was introduced to Whiteface when my youngest, Brynne, decided to follow in her mom’s footsteps and enroll at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. I’ve come to love the way it’s plunging runs seem to appear out of nowhere as you round the corner on Route 86 (driving east to west).
Generally considered New York’s premier ski resort, as well as one of the top resorts in the East, Whiteface boasts the state’s fifth-highest peak, at 4,867 feet, with the summit offering a 360-degree panorama of many of the other Adirondack peaks. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Canada and Vermont. Whiteface also happens to claim the highest vertical drop in the East at 3,430 feet to its 1,220-foot base. The mountain is big, featuring 90 trails (20 percent beginner, 42 percent intermediate, 38 percent advanced), 288 acres of terrain, and some amazing off-piste double-black diamond wilderness terrain (The Slides).
The annual snowfall averages 190 inches, supplemented by close to 100 percent snowmaking. The lift system — featuring everything from a gondola and high-speed quads to surface lifts — is capable of moving more than 14,000 skiers and boarders uphill each hour. That means more time on the slopes.
Speaking of lifts, for added convenience a daily shuttle runs between the mountain and Lake Placid (13 miles away), one of the best winter resort towns in the East. In addition to hosting the alpine skiing competition of the 1980 Winter Games, Whiteface is still a well-regarded training ground for winter athletes. That tells you all you need to know about the incline you’ll find here.
Gore Mountain, North Creek
This family-oriented ski resort, nestled in the Adirondack Mountains, is enormous, offering trails over nine sides of its four peaks — Gore, Bear, Burnt Ridge and Little Gore Mountains (friends joke that it’s the Sunday River of the Empire State). The resort features 2,537 feet of vertical from its peak elevation of 3,600 feet, and the most terrain in the state (439 skiable acres), with 107 trails plus 27 glades, seven freestyle areas, and 11 cross-country/snowshoe loops. Five terrain parks offer a variety of shredding opportunities.
“I have my season pass there,” said Jeremy Davis, a Massachusetts native and founder of the New England Lost Ski Area Project. “It’s a huge mountain with multiple faces to it, with skiing for all abilities. It’s state owned and non-commercial, so it feels like a ski area and not a resort. And it has some of the best glades around.”
That said, Gore is not ideal for true beginners, with a trail breakdown of 10 percent novice, 50 percent intermediate, and 40 advanced. The snowmaking system supplied by the Hudson River delivers a long season of quality snow, complementing an average snowfall of 150 inches. Lift capacity is good but not great, with 14 lifts (including a gondola and two high-speed quads) moving 8,400 visitors each hour.
Off-hill, there are a variety of attractions including cross-country skiing, spas and outdoor centers. There are five dining options scattered across the mountain plus a year-round catering service. The mountain also has unveiled plans for a new $30 million lodge at the North Creek Ski Bowl.
Thunder Ridge, Patterson
Once called Big Birch, Thunder Ridge Ski Area is situated on Route 22 right in Putnam County (for all you Tom Waits fans). Accessibility is the order of the day here, given that Thunder Ridge (a foreboding name that employs a healthy dollop of hyperbole) is only 90 minutes from New York City and 20 minutes from Danbury, Conn. If you don’t want to drive, you can take the Metro-North Ski Train and catch the free shuttle from the Patterson train station.
“Thunder Ridge was a great deal for our big family — four kids — because each town in the county had one day a week with subsidized lift tickets and lessons,” said Michael McDermott, a Bronx native and longtime New York skier. “It’s a tiny place, just three or four lifts.
“It claims to have 22 trails, but I think they include the path from the locker room to the cafeteria,” McDermott said, laughing. “Still, they had and still have night skiing, so it was really convenient to go there.”
Today, Thunder Ridge lists 30 trails over its 600 feet of vertical from the 820-foot summit (90 skiable acres altogether), and seven lifts. There’s 100 percent snowmaking to add to 33 inches of annual snowfall.
Hunter Mountain, Hunter
My dad’s preferred day-tripping ski area, Hunter Mountain doesn’t disappoint today. Located in the northern Catskill Mountains, about two hours north of New York City, the resort is comprised of three separate mountains. I remember Hunter being big, and it is, relatively speaking, with 1,600 feet of vertical from the 3,200-foot summit, and 258 beautifully balanced skiable acres (30 percent beginner, 30 percent intermediate, 30 advanced, and 10 percent expert).
“This was more of an actual ski mountain, with about 60 trails, extensive snowmaking, and some challenging runs,” McDermott said. “We favored this on weekdays because it seemed to attract a lot of obnoxious people from the city on weekends. It’s still a popular spot with the NYC crowd, I think. There are lots of second homes up there.”
The resort’s 58 trails benefit from a snowmaking system that provides 100 percent coverage, as well as an average of 125 inches of natural snow each year, and 12 lifts (including a high-speed 6-pack).
Hunter offers two terrain parks, and the resort holds freestyle events throughout the ski season. Other activities at the mountain include snowshoeing and snow tubing. The snow tubing park is the largest in the state, with lanes that measure nearly 1,000 feet. Hunter is clearly a four-season resort, with slopeside condominiums and a luxury hotel.
Windham Mountain, Windham
The dueling peaks of Windham, put together, form one of the most versatile resorts in New York. It literally offers something for everyone — with a separate learning terrain for beginners, groomed cruising runs for all ability levels, and moguls and steeps for experts. Alternative terrain includes snow parks, glade skiing, and snow tubing. Roughly 50 acres, covering nine trails, are lighted for night skiing.
“Windham was similar to Hunter, but a bit smaller and probably not as much challenging terrain,” McDermott said. “But it definitely had a nicer atmosphere from our perspective. It just seemed family-friendlier, and when you’re schlepping four kids and all their equipment, plus your own, for a day trip, that counted for a lot.”
The rundown at Windham looks like this: More than 50 trails (30 percent beginner, 44 percent intermediate, 16 percent advanced, and 10 percent expert) over 285 skiable acres and 1,600 feet of vertical. The lift system, with two high-speed quads and four triple chairs, hauls a whopping 18,850 skiers uphill every hour.
Situated about two hours from New York City, Windham gets about 105 inches of snow each year, and the snowmaking system covers 97 percent of the trail network.
Belleayre Mountain, Highmount
Located in the Catskill Forest Preserve southwest of Albany, Belleayre boasts a summit elevation of almost 3,500 feet, which translates to 1,404 feet of vertical and 171 acres of terrain. The 50 trails (22 percent novice, 58 percent intermediate and 20 percent advanced) include mogul trails ranging from intermediate to expert, bumps and extensive glade skiing. The resort’s longest run is 12,024 feet.
“This was probably our favorite,” McDermott said. “It was a state-owned area all the time we were going there. Now it’s managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority, the same public-benefit corporation that runs the Lake Placid facilities.
“It’s similar in a lot of ways to Windham. It’s family friendly, with a good terrain mix for all ability levels, and it has what it claims is the only gondola lift in the Catskills.”
That Catskill Thunder Gondola features 60 cabins, holding up to eight guests per cabin, which accounts for a large portion of Belleayre’s lift capacity of almost 11,000 visitors an hour. When you need a break, choose from any one of thee resort’s four separate lodges.
Catamount Ski Area, Hillsdale
Located 45 miles southeast of Albany, Catamount is one of my favorite ski areas if only because of a geographic oddity — it sits right on the New York and Massachusetts border, with skiing terrain on both the Berkshire Mountains and the Taconic Range.
“It’s a great day trip for us because it’s a straight shot up Route 22 or the Taconic Parkway, only about an hour’s drive,” McDermott said. “It’s kind of a smaller version of Windham or Belleayre. It always had an old-timey vibe to it, with nice outdoor deck seating. The ‘lodge’ was more like a high school cafeteria.”
On the hill, Catamount’s 130 acres of terrain can be challenging and includes the Berkshires’ steepest trail as well as its longest run. The vertical (1,000 feet) from the 2,000-foot summit isn’t massive, but many of the trails have some serious incline.
“It’s a broad amphitheater-type ski area and skis larger than its 1,000-foot vertical would suggest, with some crazy steeps too like Catamount and Ripper,” Davis said. “There are also some good cruisers runs like Shawenon and Marty’s.”
In all, Catamount offers two states, 36 trails and 130 skiable acres, with a trail breakdown of 35 percent beginner, 45 percent intermediate and 20 percent expect. The terrain parks offer a mix of jibs, rails, bumps and jumps. More than 98 percent of the terrain is covered with snowmaking (in addition to 75 inches of natural fluff annually), and the grooming is top-notch. Perhaps best of all, the lift lines usually are short and trails are generally uncrowded.
Titus Mountain, Malone
Here’s another terrific ski area I discovered while my daughter was attending St. Lawrence. Titus is only seven miles south of the old commerce center of Malone, an hour south of Montreal (which you can see from the 2,205-foot summit on a good day) in the northern Adirondack foothills. The area has a total of three mountain peaks, with a total of 36 trails, 11 glades and three terrain parks dotting its 1,200 feet of vertical and 200 skiable acres.
“Besides being a really nice family mountain that’s easily accessible with solid terrain, Titus also has a fun atmosphere and a welcoming lodge,” said my daughter Brynne. “For the rowdier crowds, it’s just a short drive from a number of upstate New York universities.”
Ninety percent snowmaking supplements the 130 inches of snowfall. The grooming also is first-rate, except for the area’s Forever Wild, ungroomed terrain sections.
And while its rare to find anything resembling a lift line at Titus, spring definitely attracts the college kids. That makes the new outdoor patio a great spot to take in the views, especially considering that Titus also offers night skiing, Fridays and Saturdays, on 15 trails and two terrain parks (night skiing is included in a day pass, giving Titus the honors of the longest ski day in the state).
Honorable mention
With 51 ski areas to choose from, it seems unfair to shine a spotlight on only eight. Here’s another half-dozen to consider, with lightning-round assessments from Davis.
West Mountain, Queensbury
“Another good thousand-foot mountain. Has had major improvements over the last 10 years, including replacing all lifts, adding 100 percent snowmaking, much better grooming, and lodge improvements. Fun cruising mountain. The Cure is a fun steep expert run.”
Willard Mountain, Greenwich
“A good mountain for beginners and families, with some fun woods runs. It has a classic vibe to it.”
Plattekill Mountain, Roxbury
“More old-school skiing. I’ve only been there once but they have some excellent expert terrain, glades and old-fashioned narrow trails.”
Snow Ridge Ski Resort, Turin
“Another old-school ski area that gets a crazy amount of lake-effect snow in most years. Hundreds of inches.”
Oak Mountain Ski Center, Speculator
“Family-friendly skiing in the Adirondacks.”
Royal Mountain Ski Area, Johnstown
“Another family-type mountain with some fun-but-short runs.”
Brion O’Connor can be reached at brionoc@verizon.net.
