Industry News
As the 2025-26 ski season powers through winter storms and favorable conditions, Camelback Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania’s Poconos Mountains has emerged as a standout success story, boasting significant increases in skier visitations. Data from the popular ski tracking app Slopes, combined with insights from resort leadership, paint a picture of robust growth driven by strategic investments, an accessible location, and innovative marketing. Camelback saw a 126% increase in visitations during Christmas week 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, making it the fastest-growing ski resort in the country for that holiday stretch, according to data released by Slopes. This surge aligns with broader trends in the Northeast, where resorts experienced gains while Western U.S. destinations faced declines due to a lack of snow and poor conditions.
Slopes’ location-based feature allows it to calculate anonymous data on resort popularity, providing reliable indicators of visitation trends without compromising user privacy. “Traditionally, we have way more users in the United States in the West, primarily Utah and Colorado, but that’s historically,” Ela Novac, Partner for Product and Growth at Slopes said to SnowBrains in an interview. “This season, we did see that the East practically doubled in skier visitations.”
Camelback’s own metrics reinforce this boom. The resort welcomed over 63,000 skiers in December 2025 alone, more than double the visitation from the same month the previous year. Jason Bays, Vice President and General Manager at Camelback Mountain Resort, described this as the “best season in over almost over a decade in terms of skier visits.” He attributed the uptick to a combination of factors, including heavy investments in snowmaking that enabled Camelback to be the first ski resort to open in Pennsylvania this season. “We’ve invested a lot in snowmaking, and that certainly was a really important driver for us,” Bays said in an interview with SnowBrains. “We were the first ski resort to open in Pennsylvania. So that certainly got momentum off on the right track.”
The resort’s proximity to major population centers has also played a pivotal role. The Poconos is an easy access point for people from New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia to get up to the mountains. Additionally, Camelback’s partnership with the Ikon Pass has driven further growth, with year-over-year increases in pass usage. Bays made it clear that Camelback is proud to be on the Ikon Pass and will continue to be on the pass moving forward. “It does bring additional visitation to us,” he said. “We’ve had great year-over-year growth on the Ikon pass.”
While exact skier visitation totals for the full season remain undisclosed, Bays highlighted internal trends, including a rental breakdown showing approximately 70% skis and 30% snowboards, indicating steady interest in both disciplines.
This season, Camelback Mountain Resort’s marketing efforts have evolved to emphasize transparency and experience. Camelback’s snow report has become more detailed this year, with Bays running the mountain. The snow report is three paragraphs long, and it gives skiers and snowboarders a really good synopsis of what’s going on with the mountain. “We’re much more transparent this year, and if it’s raining, we’re going to tell you that it’s raining and then bring a rain jacket,” Bays said. The resort has also revamped its social media presence, recreating the Camelback Mountain Facebook page to focus on experience-based content, and launched a fun season pass video spoofing its 1990s pricing.
Looking ahead, Camelback is committed to sustaining this momentum. The resort plans to extend operations into May, weather permitting, with ambitious snowmaking on trails like Cliffhanger and Nile Mile, where average base depths reach 18 feet and exceed 30 feet in spots. Future enhancements include new high-visibility lights on the mountain and a brand-new top-of-the-line groomer. Bays is particularly excited about the “Ski Beach” concept for spring. “We’re gonna haul in a couple of palm trees and have like a spot where you can lie out and get a suntan,” Bays said. Camelback is also going to have servers come and serve cocktails and beach-themed drinks to the guests. This setup, complete with lounge chairs, a DJ, and inflatable pool toys, aims to create a festive atmosphere outside Trails End every weekend in April and May.
- Related: Can Colorado’s Snowpack Catch Up?
In a bold move to make skiing and snowboarding more accessible, Camelback has slashed season pass prices from $699 to $399 for unlimited access, the lowest since 1999. These passes are valid for the remainder of the 2025-26 season plus all of 2026-27. Camelback’s Value Pass starts at just $239 that features flexible weekday access plus weekend twilight skiing from 3:00 p.m. to close. “We’re on a mission that winter is for everyone, and it shouldn’t cost a fortune to go skiing,” Bays said.
As northeast resorts like Camelback capitalize on strong snowfalls and strategic innovations, the contrast with western ski area declines highlights regional shifts. With ongoing investments and a focus on fun, Camelback is poised to maintain its upward trajectory, drawing skiers from near and far for seasons to come.
