Killington Mt. Resort Killington, VT

Killington Mt. is massive, to put it in perspective for you, the mountain I spoke about in my last post, Pico, is apart of Killington Mountain. It is located on the opposite side. Killington has 155 trails you can choose from. With multiple lifts and gondolas to get you up to the top. Needless to say you will never get bored when you are here. The trails range from a little more difficult to intermediate, but there are plenty of places to bring your kids to learn here. This was one of the first places I learned to snowboard when I was a kid, and from what I remember it wasn't too intimidating as some mountains can be. Now when I say you can get lost on this mountain, I mean it. There is so much land to cover and you take a wrong trail and that could possibly lead you all the way across the mountain. The lodge is exactly what you think it would be for a place this nice. The hotel I stayed at was about a 5 minute drive to the mountain, they offered shuttles that ran back and forth. Killington had a nice system set up. Riding down the mountain I recall you can see the whole landscape in front of you. With streams and bridges going past you, it is truly beautiful, it's the first thing that comes to mind every time I think of the mountain. This is a must for a family vacation, you are guaranteed a great time.

Pico MT. Killington, VT

Pico Mountain is fantastic. First time I went to Pico was in high school, one of my friends has a ski on/ski off cabin, and it is an awesome time. The mountain offers 57 trails to choose from, ranging more toward intermediate to hard. However, Pico does have a good spot to learn with its own person rope tow because the ski lift can be quite challenging somethings. My personal favorite thing todo is ride the glades, and at this mountain you can choose from plenty of them. The lodge itself is nice they have a good pro shop and good choice for food, but most big mountains in Vermont will be the same. The lodge has good placement to watch riders come down though if you are interested in that. The couple times I've been here it has snowed, giving us some nice powder to play with. However it's always snowing at the peak of this mountain. The Resort has plenty of places to stay offering cottages right at the base of the mountain. Out of all the great things this mountain has to offer I would say my favorite must be the waffle shacks they have running up and down the mountain. You ride right up and they give you a hot waffle with or without chocolate, but of course you always get chocolate on it. It's  great experience and if you haven't been yet I suggest get there this winter.

Gore MT. North Creek, New York

Gore Mountain Ski Resort is one of my personal favorites to snowboard at. It has 107 trails to choose from and I love it because it take more than 4 minutes to get down. You can actually get lost on this mountain, taking different trails on the way down it'll will take you a good amount of time to reach the bottom. The mountain has multiple places you can stop half way down to get a bite to eat or something to drink.  Gore is equipped with 15 lifts to get you to the top as well as the gondola, which are always great. Gore is more of an advanced mountains with lots of glades and tough trails, I don't recommend learning here. The four lodges can be found scattered across the base of the mountain, the Base, Saddle, and Ski Bowl Lodges are where you can take a nice rest get a bite to eat and sit by the fire. If you are taking lessons, renting equipment, or dropping those kids at daycare then you'll be going to the Northwoods lodge. Gore is a great mountain and the couple times I've been there has been loads of fun, there is so much to cover I don't think I've discovered the whole mountain yet. So needless to say I can't wait to hit the slopes this winter at Gore MT.

Mountain Creek Vernon Township, New Jersey

Mountain Creek is located in northern Jersey, I like it because it has four mountain peaks that you can go up to which is different. MT. Creek has a solid 44 trails and 8 lifts. The majority of the trails are intermediate, but is a great place to learn. The South and Bear peak are the toughest on the mountain I would avoid if you are still learning. The South peak is over 40 acres of terrain park, needless to say they have a very fun terrain park that runs the length of the entire mountain. There are plenty of places to stay when coming here, they have multiple hotels and lodges to stay at. Due to the different lodges the mountain has there aren't as good of spots to watch from the warmth. In all my experiences at this mountain it is always very crowded so I tend to stay away. They mountain itself is great with many different types of terrain you can go on from wide open trail to the park or the glades. This mountain is better for a planned stay and not a random day trip.

Camelback Mountain Tannersville,PA

For this post I will be talking about Camelback Mt., this is located right around the same location as Shawnee, the last mountain I discussed. The big difference between the two is Camelback is much bigger, and more advanced for experienced ski and snowboarders. When I say advanced I mean that their harder trails like the diamonds are more advanced, they still have the basic green circle and the bunny hills. It's a great mountain to bring your family, they offer so many things for people of all ages. They have tubing for everyone and ski lessons for those who are trying to learn. The mountain itself is a 800 ft vertical, 34 trails total, and 16 lifts to get you up the mountain. The trails are a majority of intermediate to beginner trails. The terrain park is nothing special, it has basic jumps and rails nothing you haven't seen before if you're familiar with parks. This is where I don't like Camelback, the lodge. The lodge is big, but not big enough, it is always crowded and usually very hard to find a seat. They don't have a lot of seating that looks out over the mountain, this comes in handy when you want to watch your children ride down the mountain from the comfort of the lodge. The food is basic but take a long time to get because of lines. Tickets aren't overly expensive the most you will pay for a full day pass is $65 and thats on a holiday or weekend. This mountain isn't my first choice because of the lodge, but other than that is a very fin mountain that is a great trip to take the family on.

Shawnee MT. East Stroudsburg, PA

For my first post ever in Mountains in North America I’m going to talk about the first mountain I have ever been too and the mountain I learned to ski and snowboard. Shawnee Mt. in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania the gps address is 401 Hollow Rd. This mountain is nothing special it is on the average/smaller end of things. It’s got 23 trails none too challenging with two terrain parks on the outer most trails, I would say the hardest trail would be Chief Thunder Cloud at the tail end right in the middle of the mountain. The majority of the trails all merge into each other right in front of the lodge, so its perfect for parents who want to watch there kids come down the mountain from the warmness of the lodge, AKA my mom. The lodge itself is big with a food court downstairs (go for the chicken fries and chicken sandwich soooo good) and another food court upstairs that isn’t as good. There is also a bar on the first floor of the food court, but no kids allowed they were always so strict about that. As for day care there is “Ski-Wee” which I have done, its great from a kid POV because the instructors are the coolest and they are great teachers, they serve you lunch too. I know its great from a parent’s perspective because your kid is gone all day. This mountain does have tubing, which is very fun. As for parking it is what it is there are four levels of parking, I have never been there where I have to park on the 4^th level I think end of 2^nd was the farthest my family had to park. From any level the walks not bad but they provide shuttle to pick people up. The problem with Shawnee is the crowds if you are going to go do not go on a weekend. I repeat do NOT go on a weekend. It a mob scene and there are so many tourist. The veteran move for this mountain is to try and take a random day off in the week and make the trip because it’s beyond worth it. The snow they make is fake depending on how the winter is will decide how much real powder you will see. Overall this mountain is a good mountain to learn on other than that the only reason I still go there a lot is because I am used to it. If you are in that area I would go to Camelback Mt. about 30 minutes away which I will talk about in my next post.