Skiing near Philadelphia

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yhprum1720

Member
Im going to Villanova next year which is just outside of Philadelphia. Im from massachusetts so I know nothing about the area in terms of skiing. What are some good mountains that are close by?
 
I just graduated from Villanova. Bear Creek is a 45-60 minute drive up 476 depending on the traffic (40 miles away). Big Boulder is 90 miles but only 90 minutes away. Straight shot up 476 as well. Big Boulder does College Nights on Wednesday nights, passes are only $15. Blue Mountain is about 65 miles away but takes about 90 minutes to get there as well.

Big Boulder gets the best snow coverage and has the best parks overall. If you want something quick and pretty fun, Bear Creek has really nice parks as well.
 
not really relevant to philly though.

JFBB probably have the best parks within 2 hours. I actually liked Jack Frost better than boulder this year whenever I went. The season pass is pretty cheap for there to I believe. I am almost tempted to get one just for early/late season.
 
Would Bear Creek be worth getting a season pass? I would prefer to go to this one because it is closer and maybe make the occasional trip to big boulder. Also is there public transportation or a ski club that handles transportation at nova? Plus K to all who have replied.
 
It depends on how many times you plan on going out during the year. Bear Creek's season pass is pretty expensive especially considering their mountain isn't that good and the season is short. Bear Creek closed on 3/16 this year while Big Boulder was open until 4/20. I've never ridden a single trail at Bear, only their terrain park because the "mountain" aka hill is so tiny.

Instead of getting a season pass I just tried to ski on the cheap. I had Wednesdays and Fridays off so I went on weekdays instead of weekends. Bear Creek is like $20 for 4-10 weekday or weekend but their all-day weekend rate is $60 which is a rip off for that mountain. Monday is college night at BC only $15 I think.

Big Boulder is only $25 I think for night skiing 3-9pm and only $15 on Wednesdays for college night. I got about 15 days in this year and probably spent around $300-350 on lift tickets but I also got to go to 3 different mountains (Bear Creek, Blue and Big Boulder).

It's all personal preference but I think you would get bored with a season pass to Bear. I'd recommend just skiing on the cheap like I did and experiencing all the mountains.
 
Bear Creek is where its at. It is closer to philly than the other two mountains, and it has a more fun park when its got the snow. If you want to ski on weekdays, their off peak pass shouldnt be too expensive either.
 
Bear Creek didn't even open until past New Year's this year. Boulder opened early December and stayed open through late March. I ski Big Boulder and Jack Frost even though I live South of Philly... It's about an hour and a half to Bear Creek and 2 and a half to Boulder, but it's definitely worth it. Boulder and Frost are where it's at. Also, PM me when you're gonna be there, I go almost every weekend
 
I haven't been on in a while. Plus k to everyone who responded. I think I'm gonna hold off on the season pass and use johnnybuz's strategy
 
Have you ever skied Big Boulder's parks? I'd have to argue your 7 Springs comment however it has been a while since I've been out there.
 
First off, welcome to PA. Hope freshman year at Nova is treating you well. You're probably not gonna get a TON of snow like you do up in Mass so you'll have to wait for temps to drop to get the guns on. Like it's been mentioned, Big Boulder is sweet. Best parks around. Elk Mountain has 1 main park, but it has a tow rope so you can lap a ton and they do college nights as well. If you're looking for a quick trip and are super SUPER desperate to get on the snow then Spring Mountain is about 40 minutes away, but it's small, super small. Best bet and the most bang for your buck is Big Boulder or another mountain in the Poconos. Message me if you need any other advice from the area, I've lived up here for my entire life.
 
Also Bear Creek isn't that good even though it's close. I personally don't go there and I'm only about 30 minutes away. I'd put the extra time in to go to BB
 
interesting that people are bashing bear for being small and then hyping boulder. they're about the same size. if you're looking for actual all mountain skiing that's decent (by PA standards) then blue is probably your best bet. they get a park up and running for opening (usually early/mid december) and have essentially a top to bottom park run mid season that'll get you 10-15 features in one run. as much fun as boulder can be, their good jump line gets you three jumps and maybe two rails in one run, with a slow uncomfortable lift. 7 minute lift ride on a comfy couch-like 6pack with a park lap that's about a mile long, albeit with slightly smaller jumps than boulder, is much more fun to me. bear is fun, but their season is definitely shorter, and their snowmaking decisions have been somewhat questionable the past few years. also, you can somehow get a discount for midweek tickets pretty much any day of the week at blue. if you're interested, i might have a connection for a 5 time midweek lift ticket as well.
 
Blue's park wasn't even ready until the 3rd or 4th week of January last year and it was destroyed by rain on at least 2 occasions. I like Bear myself, but comparing it to Big Boulder is a joke. Big Boulder has much better parks and ridiculous jumps for the Poconos. You are right about the lifts, they suck at Boulder, but the conditions are so much better. If it's raining at Blue it is probably snowing at Boulder. There's a reason Big Boulder's season lasted a full month longer than Blue last year (4:20 was last day at Boulder).
 
Yep, jumps at boulder are huge, but bear creek does have a lot of rails packed in their parks. Is there a video of someone sessioning that massive jump boulder?
 
Never got around to Blue last year because Sidewinder didn't open until mid January. I hope this year Blue opens early and stays open because I thoroughly enjoy lapping sidewinder on a sunny day
 
bear creek had some legit jumps towards the end of the season last year, and actually a pretty average rail line too. people are bashing it, but it is DEFINITELY not a terrible place to go to, and the afternoon/night prices are not bad at all.
 
I spent most of the early season last year at Bear and the late season at Big Boulder. I really like Bear's park but by March it was basically unskiable. It slowed down so much that you couldn't even reach the top of the lip on their big jump and barely had enough speed to clear the other jumps much less attempt tricks.

I think all of the parks have their pros and cons but you really just have to be on top of the conditions. There's nothing worse than driving all the way to a mountain only to see that the conditions suck and you can't really do anything.
 
its pretty much all the same shit around here. . i've been riding at bear for 8 years and its awesome when its rideable and properly maintained but like it was already mentioned they have a serious problem with the snow being so slow that sometimes you can barely get speed to hit a rail line. bears usually fully built and awesome during February but lacks most of the time. the night riding isnt bad at bear. blue is lots of fun but definitely takes some adjusting as the park trail is steeper than most around here and has lots of turns but at the top they have a three jump line that is my favorite of the local mountains. the trail is the longest with the most features as well as there being a sweet mini rail line just before the lift. if you plan on riding at night i wouldnt go to blue because their snow doesn't hold up well past 4 usually. Although its farthest away boulder probably has some of the best park riding in terms of consistency and variety. i don't think theirs been a time i've gone there and not liked the park or the way most[/i] of the features were built. sometimes their medium size jumps suck. they also have good night riding. over all everywhere around here is fun.
 
I usually am pretty disappointed with boulders rails. There boxes always slide weird. That being said there jumps are always good. The most fun I had skiing last year was at frost, 4 rails into 4 jumps into 3 more rails, plus I like the way frosts jumps are more than boulders
 
They were medium sized. First was a real stepdown. Then the gradually got bigger probably up to 35ish feet all with nice long landings They are made a lot different then the jumps on Love. They don't float you nearly as long, but i felt a lot more comfortable hitting them (may be because I'm a puss)
 
I second this evaluation, I love One just because it's so long and smooth. But if you're looking for aerial miracles then stick to Boulder
 
hmm, gonna have to check out JF this winter, that sounds solid. never liked boulder that much. fun park, too many rails stuck in the snow with no lips
 
I'm from Maryland and the only place I've skied up by that part of PA is Blue Mountain. I went twice last year when the top to bottom park was open and it was awesome. Then again I've never been to Bear or Big Boulder but compared to Whitetail/Liberty/Roundtop which are closer to me Bue was really fun.
 
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