Industry News
Camelback Resort, one of the Poconos’ most iconic winter destinations, announced its opening day for the winter 2025-2026 season is set for Wednesday, December 3. That would make it the first ski resort to open in Pennsylvania for the 2025-26 season. Camelback’s snowmaking crews have been working around the clock as temperatures allow, with hundreds of snow guns firing across the mountain to prepare a strong mix of early-season terrain.
At opening, guests can look forward to Nile Mile and Sunbowl trails debuting first, with Cliffhanger to follow shortly after. A terrain park on Sunbowl North will also be available. The newly upgraded Stevenson Lift and the Sunbowl Lift will be spinning from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Camelback’s popular snow tubing park, recently ranked #1 in USA Today’s 10Best “Best Place for Snow Tubing,” is slated to open next week, adding even more early-season excitement.
Because of Camelback’s ongoing investment in high-efficiency snowmaking technology that maximizes output during shorter cold windows to deliver more consistent coverage across the resort, the mountain operations team is tracking toward a solid early-season lineup. “Our new upgrades are allowing us to cover more terrain faster, so we’re set up for a fantastic season ahead,” Jason Bays, vice president and general manager at Camelback Resort, said in a press release.
Shawnee Mountain announced today that it will open on Friday, December 12. Shawnee Mountain will host its official 50th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, January 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event will feature activities, giveaways, and opportunities to celebrate five decades of skiing and riding in the Poconos. To celebrate this milestone, Opening Day lift tickets will be just $19.75 for all guests, a nod to the year Shawnee first opened its slopes in 1975. Shawnee is located on the PA/NJ border and is an independent resort that still competes with some of the corporate-owned resorts with regard to its snowmaking abilities. It opened last year on December 7 with five trails and is known for being a family-oriented ski resort that offers terrain suitable for all levels of skiers and snowboarders.
Jack Frost announced it will open on Friday, December 5, at 9:00 a.m. The resort opened first last season on December 5, which surprised some skiers and snowboarders who were expecting Blue to open first. Jack Frost started making snow this season, the day after Thanksgiving. Opening Day celebration will include a ski through banner break on One Park, a live DJ, donuts, giveaways, and coffee while supplies last. Jack Frost is planning to offer One Park with terrain features, Snowflake and Powder Puff slopes, serviced by Pocono and Tobyhanna lifts.
Seven Springs Mountain Resort will open for the season on Saturday, December 6, at 8:00 a.m. The resort is located in Western PA and is one of the largest ski resorts in the state. The Western part of the state receives more snow than the Eastern section, including the Poconos. It is generally colder throughout the winter and has the benefit of getting a boost from lake effect snow off of Lake Erie when an arctic front pushes down from Canada. Last season, it joined JFBB, Blue Mountain, Blue Knob, and Shawnee in opening on the weekend of December 6 to 8. Seven Springs opened on Friday, December 6, last season. Seven Springs is also owned by Vail Resorts, so don’t look for too much of an advance notice before it opens for the season.
Blue Mountain Resort will open on Friday, December 5, at 9:00 a.m. It will open with 13 trails: Paradise, Burma Road, Vista, Easy Out, Summit School Hill, Barb’s Way, Lower Frontier Alley, Connector, Homestretch, Tut’s Lane, Sky Top, Shuttle, and Central Park with terrain park features. Five lifts will be running: Comet, Challenge, Vista Chair, Summit Conveyor, and Lower Frontier Conveyor. The resort plans to continue to stay open 7 days a week; Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Blue Mountain plans to open more terrain this weekend, and the snow tubing is expected to open on Thursday, December 11. Last season, Blue opened on December 13.
Colder temperatures and a snowstorm moved in today and are projected to bring 3 to 6 inches of snow across the Keystone State, which should enable several other ski resorts across the state to open soon. Ski resorts located in the Northeast, like Jay Peak, and the West Coast resorts like Mt. Rose have already started their 2025-26 ski season. Pennsylvania, located in the mid-Atlantic region, traditionally starts its ski season in the first two weeks of December. The priority is to be open by the Christmas Holiday, and most ski resorts in the state accomplish this. Many of the state’s 26 ski resorts have already begun snowmaking operations thanks to the cold weather that moved in during Thanksgiving weekend. That’s the signal skiers and snowboarders are looking for, and it indicates that a ski resort is planning to open.
Snowmaking operations cost a lot of money, and ski resorts aren’t going to make snow just to let it melt. After all, making snow is money, and ski resorts, just like any business, aren’t going to waste money. So, the announcement that several Pennsylvania ski resorts started making snow this past weekend is a good indicator to PA skiers and snowboarders that the ski season in the state of independence is about to start. The temperatures are cold enough, the weather forecast is favorable, and it is go time in Pennsylvania. From the Poconos Mountains to Western PA, snowguns are firing, and a snowstorm is going to hit several resorts throughout the state this weekend.
The independent ski resort, Blue Knob, started making snow the day after Thanksgiving and is known for being the underdog when it comes to opening first. The resort is located in Western Pennsylvania, about two hours east of Pittsburgh. Blue Knob is the highest skiable mountain (3,146 feet) in Pennsylvania, with a vertical drop topping out at 1,072 feet. It is also home to Extrovert, which is a legit double black diamond even by Vermont standards. The trail is one of the steepest in Pennsylvania. Blue Knob opened first in the state 2023 on November 23.
Several ski resorts throughout Pennsylvania could open within the next two weeks, thanks to the cold temperatures and snowstorm forecasted for today. Pennsylvania resorts are known for being gritty and having the ability to work with lower snowpacks. Don’t ever count out the snowmaking crews or snow grooming teams in Pennsylvania. They are used to working with less and make skiing happen every season, even when Mother Nature does not provide the natural stuff. Generally speaking, there are a handful of resorts like Blue Mountain, Blue Knob, JFBB, Shawnee, and Seven Springs that do open for the season within days of each other. However, skiers and snowboarders in Pennsylvania should be getting the gear and equipment ready. The season starts this week.
