Hidden Gems of NY: Oak Mountain, Speculator, NY

There are many great national parks in the U.S. and one of the best is the Adirondack Park located in the State of New York. The Adirondack Park was created in 1882 by the New York State government and is constitutionally protected to remain a “forever wild” forest preserve. The Adirondack Park contains 85% of all wilderness in the eastern United States. Approximately 130,000 people live within the park’s boundaries and there are just over 100 small towns and villages within the Adirondack Park.

One of those small villages is Speculator, which has a population of 406 people according to the 2020 U.S. Census. It is also home to Oak Mountain which was first opened in 1947. It is one of the oldest ski resorts in the Adirondacks and has over 77 years of history and counting. Oak Mountain is not the biggest ski resort in the Adirondacks, but it has character and a great vibe to it. It is an independently owned ski resort that was taken over by Matt and Laura O’Brien in 2012. Matt is no stranger to the ski industry and has worked his whole life at resorts like Deer Valley, Sugarbush, Stowe, and Sunday River.

Video: Skiing with Oak Mountain Co-Owner, Matt O’Brien

Quick Facts and History:

• Founded: 1948
• Summit Elevation: 2,400′
• Base Elevation: 1,750
• Vertical Drop: 650′
• Lifts: 4
• Trails: 22
• Longest Run: 7,920′

Since the O’Briens took over the mountain they have doubled the snowmaking capabilities, added new snow guns, added trails, added two new carpet lifts, and upgraded its lodge. Future plans include expanding snow-making capabilities on the mountain and replacing the last T-bar with a new chairlift. Climate change has every ski resort trying to increasing its snowmaking capabilities and Oak Mountain is no exception. It has been one of the warmest winters on record for much of the East coast. The Northeast is part of the country that is renown for its bitter cold winters and this season has been very warm. 

Most ski resorts across the country are investing in lift upgrades to get guests up the mountain faster and spend more time on the slopes. Adding a new chairlift at Oak Mountain addresses that need but it also has another purpose as well. It would allow access to areas of the mountain for beginner skiers that would allow a natural progression of learning for them. Skiers would be able to transition from the beginner areas and then take the new chairlift to areas on the mountain that are more challenging to them but not overwhelming. Skiers and riders being able to access terrain that is planned out and systematic is something all resorts are challenged with due to limited terrain or perhaps already existing infrastructure. The new chairlift would also spread skiers across the mountain in a more efficient manner and allow areas on the mountain to be less congested.

However, the O’Briens make sure that the mountain does not get overcrowded too often and limit the amount of passes that are available during peak times. The overall objective is to ensure that guests have the best possible experience and limiting crowds and lines at the lifts is one way of achieving this. This past President’s Day Weekend, which is typically one of the busiest weekends for skiing, Oak Mountain limited the number of lift tickets guests could purchase. The goal was to mitigate crowds, and long lift lines, and to simply provide guests with an environment in which they could enjoy themselves. “We did that because we wanted to make it a better experience for them [Guests],” O’Brien said.

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The feeling of being a family-oriented ski resort is something that goes hand in hand with being located in the Adirondacks Mountains. Generations of families have grown up there and have learned to ski at Oak Mountain. It is not abnormal to see four generations of families skiing at the resort on a given day. Oak Mountain is a small resort and eventually kids will grow up and want to try bigger mountains and O’Brien understands that. However, O’Brien knows that their experience of growing up and learning to ski at Oak Mountain will bring them back. “We know that a 15-year-old will come back here when they grow up and have children of their own because they learned to ski here, their parents learned to ski here, and they want their children to learn to ski here.”

Keeping Oak Mountain family-friendly is something the O’Briens are focused on continuing moving into the future. It is a ski resort where generations of families have learned to ski and parents come back to bring their children to learn to ski once they are old enough. Focusing on being a family ski resort is what separates Oak Mountain from other ski resorts that may try to get as many guest’s visits as possible instead. “The family, the family vibe, they feel comfortable dropping their kids off to ski and watching their kids from the lodge, and knowing they will be safe is what it is all about,” O’Brien said.

A perfect example of this is when I had the pleasant surprise of meeting a young snowboarder when I was on the mountain. He was hitting the slopes by himself with his mother eagerly waiting to cheer him on at the bottom of the mountain after each run. He got permission from his mother to take a few runs with me and it made my day seeing how happy he was just being on the mountain and having fun. I’m sure if he has children of his own someday he will bring them back to Oak Mountain to learn to ride where he learned as well.

Oak Mountain is located in a very low populated village but draws guests that are relatively far away in distance that have the opportunity to hit other mountains that are closer to them than Oak Mountain. “We get a lot of locals, maybe not local to here, and they are coming from maybe an hour and a half away,” O’Brien said. The difference is the feeling of a small-town resort that is rooted deep in family values and cores. The staff at Oak Mountain are all friendly and treat you like family whether you have been visiting the mountain for years or it is your first day there.

The O’Briens are also very hands-on owners and do everything on the mountain to ensure that everything is running smoothly and their employees feel appreciated and happy. Oak Mountain staff members told me over and over again how much they appreciated the O’Briens as owners. The staff told me stories about the O’Briens taking members of the staff up to Whiteface Mountain, which is about an hour and a half north of Oak Mountain, just to have the opportunity to check out another resort besides their own. Actions like is what truly separates the O’Briens from other ski resort owners out there. 

My next ski resort destination after Oak Mountain just happened to be Whiteface Mountain and when I was at the top of the gondola I ran into some familiar faces. It was the O’Briens and members of the staff from Oak Mountain! I was shocked to see them, let alone run into them on a mountain as big as Whiteface. They all came up to me and said ‘hello’ with big smiles on their faces and that is when I started feeling like I was part of the Oak Mountain family too. It is not every day that people tell you stories that end up being true, but it is refreshing when it does happen. It is that commitment to treating people like family that separates Oak Mountain from other resorts. Oak Mountain is a place to check out if you ever have a chance to visit and it probably will not take that long until you start feeling like family as well.

For more information visit Oak Mountain’s website.