Blue Mountain Ski Resort is many of my friends’ favorite places to hit the slopes in the Poconos due to its convenient location and because of how much diversity it has to offer. Blue Mountain is located in the Poconos and is a short distance from Philadelphia, New York City, and Atlantic City, which makes it a hotspot for people from the cities who want to make a quick day trip and hit the slopes.
Quick Facts and History:
- Originally opened in 1977 as Little Gap Ski Area
- Renamed Blue Mountain Resort in 1989
- Blue Mountain has an elevation of 1,540 ft.
- Boast the Highest vertical drop in Pennsylvania at 1,082 feet
- 171 Skiable acres
- 40 Trails total
- 14 Beginner trails
- 6 Intermediate trails
- 11 Expert trails
- 4 Expert only trails
- 5 Terrain Parks
- 46 Lane Snowtubing Park (Largest in the U.S.)
- 14 Lifts
- Two lodges: Summit Lodge and Valley Lodge
- 9 Different dining options, from upscale to food trucks
Since my last visit, one of the newest additions to the mountain is the new high-speed lift, named the Main Street Express. The new high-speed lift will transport riders from the bottom of the mountain to the summit in less than five minutes and can move 3,000 people per hour. It will improve access to the western part of the mountain and make it easier for guests to go from the Valley Lodge to the Summit Lodge. The new high-speed lift was initially planned to be unveiled on January 3rd, but due to rain in the forecast, the mountain decided to postpone it until weather conditions were more favorable.
Blue Mountain has a lot to offer, with 40 trails, five terrain parks, and snow tubing for winter enthusiasts and also features 29 mountain biking trails, a ropes course, and a rock climbing wall. My favorite run was Razor’s Edge which is a double diamond slope. It starts fast and drops into a series of vertical headwalls where you can pick up speed and also features some moguls in the middle section of the run. For beginner to intermediate skiers/riders, I enjoyed a trail called The Lazy Mile. It is an intermediate trail with a series of slight vertical drops with some nice turns to go along with it.
When I visited Blue Mountain, the weather was not the most accommodating, to say the least, with temperatures in the low 50s. However, the team at Blue Mountain did a great job of keeping the slopes and trails pretty well-groomed and safe for skiers and riders. I would estimate that 75% of the slopers were open when I was there, and I would like to return to check out some of the other slopes and terrain parks that were not open due to the weather conditions.
I am looking forward to going back to “Blue,” as the locals call it, once the new high-speed lift is finished and also to have the chance to hit some of those monster features they usually have up and running when the weather is cooperating.
For more information on Blue Mountain, visit their website at https://www.skibluemt.com. For more Hidden Gems of PA, check out my other posts.
Hidden gem? Blue is so overrun I’ve gone home after buying a day pass because lines were too. People who dont even ski know about blue mountain. There are so many tourists and beginners that the easiest loading lifts in the country still have people falling over and stopping the lift. Finally, I’m surprised it’s even a ski resort. I thought they just wanted to serve food and weddings – they still don’t have a conditions report up that I could find last week.