Boasting more ski areas than Colorado and Utah combined, New York’s Adirondack and Catskill mountains could keep even the most avid skier satisfied for a lifetime. Generally smaller state- and family-owned resorts, these ski hills like to showcase a little of that New York attitude to thumb their noses at the Disney conglomerates out west. The flip, of course, is that the slopes can get as crowded as Manhattan at rush hour.
In the northern Catskills, Hunter Mountain styles itself as the “Snowmaking Capital of the World,” a boast put to good measure on 53 runs spread over three mountains. Ski Windham is another family-friendly alternative with a well-regarded ski school and segregated ski area to keep beginners and experts safely out of each other’s way. Meanwhile, New York’s three state owned and operated resorts—Whiteface/Lake Placid, Belleayre Mountain, and Gore—are phenomenal family mountains with varied terrain, good facilities, and big views. Twice a venue for the Winter Olympics, Whiteface is New York’s signature hill, with 73 runs and the East Coast’s biggest vertical. If that doesn’t keep you busy, then pick from a long menu of other winter activities on tap in and around Lake Placid.
