5 Best Ski Resorts in the Northeast

Skiing Is a Lifetime Sport & It’s Never Too Late to Start

Skiing is one of those lifetime sports. From my experiences on the mountain, you come across three-year-olds that are probably better than you and even seventy-year-olds that are better than you! The point is that you have basically skiers of every and any age which is the perfect reason to start now! Even when I was eleven skiing. I was in lessons with seven and eight-year-olds. Trust me, I felt a bit embarrassed, but now that I have my skills on those double-black diamond mountains, I don’t even think about those memories too much! In fact, I’m really grateful that I had those lessons and encourage you guys to do something out of your comfort zone even if it means being embarrassed next to eight-year-old pros!

“my first time skiing I skied into a pole and cried the rest of the day”

I know I mentioned this already, but I was eleven years old when I started skiing. My uncle had grown up skiing with our cousins out west and my grandma thought it would be nice if we had learned to ski as well. When I think about how much I have grown & improved, I cannot help but reminisce on my first time skiing. I’ll admit, it’s not easy at first and it’s hard to control yourself especially going downhill at pretty intense speeds. Nonetheless, I was going down the mountain, naturally lost control & skied right into a pole. In my head, I was thinking, “if I go towards the pole, at least I am certain that I will come to a complete stop”, rather than bumping into everyone along the way. I told you guys I am a complete cry baby and this situation was like no other! I spent the rest of the day getting made fun of and well crying more haha.

---

Why Season Passes Practically Pay For Themselves

Since skiing is not the most affordable sport, it’s 1000% worthwhile going a few times to really get your money’s worth. Lift tickets range from around $70-$150 and season passes are around $300, so even if you go three times, you already save your money! I would recommend the Epic Pass and the Ikon Pass. When you get the season passes, you have access to 15-20 resorts if not more which is way more than I have been to in my years of skiing. I have yet to experience the Ikon Pass, but this is my second year with the Epic Pass and I have nothing but good things to say about it! In short, the difference is that each pass has access to different resorts so it ultimately depends where you are trying to go and then the decision is easy from there!

I got the Northeastern Local Pass through the Epic Pass which gives me access to the resorts I have mentioned in his post, but this season I have the Epic Local Pass which gives me holiday access to these mountains. Now that I am working 9-5 and mostly have holidays off, it was worth it for me to spend the extra $200 to upgrade the pass so that I have access to the holiday dates! The passes go on sale around the summer and they push sales in September- November and stop going on sale around December where unfortunately you cannot get a season pass mid-season so it’s important that you book ahead of time!

---

5 Best Ski Resorts in the Northeast

It wasn’t until last year that I started to explore other mountains besides Windham Mountain in upstate NY and let me tell you, exploring all of the mountains was so much fun and offered a really nice change of pace. Since this is my second year with the pass, I am happy to share my review on the top 5 ski resorts in the Northeast? Ready?? Let’s do this!

---

1. Windham Mountain

I had to start with my old stomping grounds, the mountain where I have learned to ski and grown so much in the sport. I have mentioned my first skiing accident going right into a pole and then crying the rest of the day. In short, it’s not easy skiing in the Northeast. The weather is usually freezing and not just your typical winter snow day but more like negative temperatures, wind chill, snow blowers everywhere, and excessive hand and foot warmers. So you just have to take it as it is and deal with it because it isn’t changing any time soon. Despite the conditions not being as great as out west, it is still so much fun! I mean I wouldn’t have willingly spent seven years at this mountain if it were not fun!

What I love about this mountain is that there are so many slopes with a variety of skill levels. You have a bunch of green mountains, blue, black, and double black right at your disposal. If you are new to skiing, I would highly recommend spending the day on the bunny slope, getting lessons, and not rushing into mastering the harder slopes. Now with COVID, there are reservation systems to get into the lodge so you have to make sure that you book those in advance!

If you have the IKON pass, Windham Mountain is a mountain you can go to and get your money’s worth! Since we are already in the winter season, they are not on sale, but you can check out the passes for next year! https://www.ikonpass.com/

---

2.Hunter Mountain

Just thirty minutes from Windham is Hunter Mountain. It’s crazy how close I have been to Hunter from all my family vacations and never went! For some reason growing up a lot of people, we knew skied at Windham so we just never thought of another mountain, and let me tell you, it’s a game-changer!

I would say that overall Hunter Mountain is a mountain for more skilled skiers/snowboarders. I mean typically the harder trails (black and double black) typically are emptier because fewer people are at that level, but I have noticed that Windham has easier trails for skiers. Windham has more blue trails for skiers in between just starting out and getting on a black diamond. Hunter has more difficult slopes and not as much lower level. Since I am a more experienced skier, I really love this mountain and have been going since just for a change of pace! The slopes open at 8 am but the lifts to the more difficult slopes open at 11 am so you might have to wait a bit on the lines until 11 am, but if you go at 8 am you will definitely beat the crowds!

If you have the Epic Pass Hunter Mountain is a mountain you can go to and get your money’s worth! Since we are already in the winter season, they are not on sale, but you can check out the passes for next year! https://www.epicpass.com/

---

3. Big Boulder/Jack Frost

If you are new to skiing & I mean brand new, then Big Boulder/Jack Frost is the mountain for you. The slopes are all very easy and considering it’s a much smaller resort, there are fewer people, shorter lines, and enough space to practice. Since I had gone last year, as a very experienced skier, it was nice to go for my little sister so that she can get some practice and work on her technique. I had mentioned this before but the slopes are fairly easy. The black diamonds feel like a blue mountain and the blue feels like a green and so on and so forth! I would recommend going here if you’re new to skiing and trying to learn technique more without having to wait 500 years to get on the slopes.

This mountain is included in the Epic Pass. Since we are already in the winter season, they are not on sale, but you can check out the passes for next year! https://www.epicpass.com/

---

4.Mount Snow

Okay remember how I told you skiing in the Northeast is not ideal, but we kind of just make do because we can’t really control/change it? Well, I guess this whole time, the solution was to go further north!!!! I was literally blown away at this mountain and am proud to call it my favorite! The powder on this mountain is incredible and it really took my skiing to the next level.

First off this mountain is huge. Compared to Hunter & Windham where I have pretty much skies every trail, I mean granted I have been going to these way more, Mount Snow is H U G E. There are pretty much an even amount of green, blue, black, and even a whole section for tricks if you are interested in that!  Spent one entire day just skiing the black diamonds on the North Face apart of the mountain and it was amazing. I broke a record and skied 8 black diamonds in one day and let me tell you- it was quite the workout! Since the lift was practically empty right as I got down, I was on the next lift back up!

The scenery is also to die for. You have the snow on the trees cascading along the mountain and it was p e r f e c t. I can’t wait to go back this season and uncover new trails I’ve never been to. 1000/10 recommend this if you want to bring your ski/boarding game to the next level.

This mountain is included in the Epic Pass. Since we are already in the winter season, they are not on sale, but you can check out the passes for next year! https://www.epicpass.com/

---

5.Okemo Mountain

So when I went here it had rained the night before so I can’t exactly blame the mountain itself for the conditions (remember the Northeast, in general, is just not ideal) so if I omit that experience, I would say that Okemo was a great time! If you had to choose between Mount Snow or Okemo, Okemo is another hour north so your might as well just go to Mount Snow if you are coming from NYC. Since it’s another Vermont mountain, it’s a serious keeper. I have heard great things about this mountain and from my experience, the lines were a little long but you typically get that these days since so many more people are getting a taste of the ski lift.

---

There You Have It

Something I would love to highlight again is that not every slope is going to be in the most perfect condition. That is unfortunately the reality of skiing in the Northeast and especially going to mountains where it does not snow too often. These resorts do their best and make their own snow to maintain the slopes, but since the sport is pretty weather-dependent, it is very difficult at times. With that said, I would be cautious when you go skiing. If it rains the night before and the temperatures are below freezing, not only is it dangerous to drive on potential roads with black ice, but you are most likely going to ski on ice which is not ideal and could cause injuries.

On that note, keep in mind that the sport is pretty dangerous. When you are first starting out, you are not going to look like someone that has been skiing for 10 years. In my eleven years of experience, if I tried to attempt things I do now as a newbie, I would get seriously hurt so please do not compare yourself to anyone and don’t try anything unless you really have the basics down. Especially with so many stories in the news about people getting injured and even killed by reckless skiers unable to stop, it just means that it’s that much more important to be cautious and take precautions.

On another note, this season, there is a new way to stay connected and get all of the updates you need to conquer the slopes! Since most of these mountains with the exception of Windham Mountain which is a part of the Ikon Pass are a part of the Epic Pass, I would recommend getting the Epic Mix app. This app has all-exclusive access to forecasts on lift lines, interactive trail maps, trail grooming status, GPS location and tracking, safety info & more! Download the Epic Mix App: https://www.epicpass.com/benefits/epicmix.aspx

With that said, it’s safe to say that you have your ultimate guide to skiing in the Northeast and I hope it inspired you to get out of your comfort zone start booking those ski trips! Remember to have fun with the sport and be safe and I promise you, you will get out of this sport everything you put into it so keep working hard and don’t give up!! – xoxo Vee