10 Best Ski Resorts in New York State

Belleayre Mountain leads the way in the Catskill Mountains of southern New York. After all, it's the only resort in that region that brings a proper gondola lift to the table. It's also conveniently sat roughly midway between New York City and the state capital of Albany, so sees plenty of footfall – or, should we say, ski fall – in the winter.

In all, there are around 175 acres of terrain to get stuck into here. It's mainly made up of green and blue runs that are well-suited to middle-skill riders. But there's a handful of double black diamonds for the daredevils to boot. 

What Vacation Valley lacks in massive verticals and heart-thumping double black diamond runs, it more than makes up for with snow surety. Sat between the wooded hills of western New York State, just 32 miles off the banks of Lake Erie, the resort feels the full hit of the arctic blizzards that move over the Great Lakes from December onwards.

The upshot? Powder, and lots of it, is all but guaranteed here. You can get knee-deep pillows of the white stuff as early as November. To make the most of that, there's a pretty generous 58 runs on the menu, with 39 of them primed for night skiing.  

Titus Mountain is the place to go if you're not a fan of long waits for the chairlifts. Its location, deep in the Adirondacks near Malone, means that it's closer to Montreal than to New York City. That cuts down the crowds and keeps things relatively quiet, even at the height of the ski season.

With 50 trails up its sleeve, Titus isn't the largest in New York State by a long stretch. But resort managers here have done well to give each corner of the ski field its own character. There's an entire hill designated as "forever wild," meaning no groomer in sight. Then there's the duo of uber-fast runs known as Maple and The Face. 

Whiteface Mountain is a must-visit if you're after big drops, steep slopes, and long runs in New York State. It can achieve all of those by boasting the highest vertical in the eastern USA – a mega 1,045 meters in all. The location? Just north of Lake Placid, deep in the Adirondack Mountains, on the slopes of the fifth-highest summit in the state.

Whiteface Mountain was the stomping ground of downhill skiing during the 1980 Winter Olympics. If that still doesn't sound like enough of a challenge, there's always The Slides, a series of double black diamond runs that only open for a short period thanks to avalanche risk. 

Catamount Mountain is a fantastic choice if you're not quite ready for the soaring verticals and mogul runs of the bigger Adirondack resorts. Spread over a 577-metre-high hill right on the MA-NYC state line, it has 119 acres of skiable terrain that's calibrated for beginners and improvers.

That said, you won't want to accidentally stray onto the feared Slingshot if you consider yourself a beginner. It's arguably the steepest run in the whole of the Berkshires, and a proper racing slope to boot. Skiers usually base themselves in either Egremont, on the NY side, or in Hillsdale, over in Massachusetts. 

Hunter Mountain is much more than just a ski resort in New York State. Billed as a 4-season getaway, it offers hiking by spring and summer, a beer-sloshing Oktoberfest come the fall, and 65 runs of snow-topped downhill fun when the winter swings around. The location just off the Hudson River means it's a favorite among city slickers – it takes a little over 2 hours to get here from the Big Apple.

Hunter Mountain has a well-balanced array of pistes to suit all levels, with Hunter East coming up trumps for learners, and Hunter West brandishing the hardy double black diamond slopes. There's also a tree-lined Nordic ski run and a fantastic freestyle zone to mix things up.

The Greek Peak Mountain Resort pokes above the woods at the tail end of the Finger Lakes Region. It's among the best family ski centres in the western portion of the Empire State. Skiers will find 51 runs that are just about evenly divvied up between expert-level and super-casual beginner trails, which means adrenaline-hungry adolescents are catered to just as much as cruisy parents.

After a long day on the mountain, you can retire to the onsite waterpark for corkscrewing slides and wave pools. Alternately, make your way to Main Street Cortland, where Mediterranean broils meet New Yorker microbreweries. 

Peek'n Peak is an all-rounder ski resort that hosts a period mansion done in the Tudor style, a championship-level golf course, a series of wedding venues, and a ski field for the winter months. It's located near Erie, just south of the Great Lakes.

The folks here have opted to channel all that lake-effect snowfall into some of the best and biggest terrain parks in the region. There's a whole handful of fun-run neighborhoods here, suited to tubing, jumps, airs, and hotdog riding. Snowboarders are welcome, as are mogul skiers on the clutch of ungroomed slopes.

The Buffalo Ski Center is a bijou resort that offers up 43 slopes in the heart of the New York State Ski Country. Sat just north of Colden on Route 240, it's a mere 30-minute drive from Buffalo proper, and – crucially – close enough to the Great Lakes to pick up plenty of powdery snow when the winter swings around.

The resort is split into 3 rough neighborhoods. The northern side has the longest runs, hitting a zenith with the black-diamond Matterhorn. The southern side is better for tree-lined descents, plus wide blues that are great for improving skiers.