CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Skier visits soared during the pandemic, as Americans gravitated outside for entertainment.
Now, as the pandemic wanes and life gets back to normal, it’s unclear whether the sport can retain its new followers.
Ski resorts sure are going to try.
Close to Cleveland, ski parks this year are debuting new chairlifts, places to eat, additional snowmaking power and other attractions to keep people coming back for more.
The season got off to a solid start in late November, with several regional resorts opening after extended periods of below-freezing temperatures and lake-effect snow. Holiday Valley in western New York and Seven Springs in southwest Pennsylvania, plus several resorts in Michigan and West Virginia, opened Thanksgiving weekend. Peek’n Peak in New York plans to open Dec. 9.
Northeast Ohio’s three resorts, meanwhile, have set a tentative opening date of Dec. 17.
Read on for a comprehensive list of amenities, prices and new attractions at 14 resorts within a half-day drive of Northeast Ohio.
Ohio: Alpine Valley, Chesterland
Alpine Valley, in the heart of Ohio’s snowbelt, is a favorite park for beginners, with seven slopes and five lifts, and lots of natural snow. Vail Resorts, which bought the park in 2019, is adding a handle tow to the top of Upper Exhibition, which will provide easier access to several slopes. Daily lift tickets will be limited this year to prevent overcrowding. The park will be open daily this year, after operating with limited hours last season. Tentative opening day is Saturday, Dec. 17.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $64-$69 adult, $54-$59 ages 5-12
Rental: $37
Distance from Cleveland: 20 miles
Ohio: Boston Mills/Brandywine, Peninsula
Two new quad chairlifts – one at each park – will be ready on opening day, tentatively set for Saturday, Dec. 17. Vail Resorts also has restored daily operations at Boston Mills and Brandywine, where one lift ticket provides access to 18 slopes and 16 lifts across both parks in northern Summit County. In addition, Polar Blast snow tubing park at Brandywine – which didn’t open last season – will be operating this year. Daily lift ticket sales will be limited to prevent overcrowding.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $64-$69 adult, $54-$59 ages 5-12
Rental: $37
Distance from Cleveland: 20 miles
Ohio: Snow Trails, Mansfield
Snow Trails, the only Ohio ski park not owned by Vail Resorts, offers 17 slopes, eight lifts and three terrain parks just south of Mansfield. Improvements this year include additions to snowmaking, grooming, lighting and parking. The resort last year added the new Valley Lodge to accommodate more visitors. To prevent overcrowding, advanced online bookings are required for daily lift tickets, and they often sell out. Reservations are required for tubing, as well.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $59 adult, $49 ages 6-12
Rental: $44 adults, $34 children
Also here: Vertical Descent snow tubing park, featuring Glow Tubing after dark
Distance from Cleveland: 75 miles
Ohio: Mad River Mountain, Zanesfield
Celebrating its 60th year, Mad River, northwest of Columbus, is also owned by Vail Resorts and is nearly twice as big as its Northeast Ohio cousins, with 20 slopes and trails, plus recently rebranded Bubly Tubing Park. Live music returns this season with the “Dew After Dark” series in the Loft Bar on select Saturdays. As at Vail’s other properties, daily lift ticket sales will be limited. Tentative opening day is Saturday, Dec. 17.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $64-$69 adult, $54-$59 ages 5-12
Rental: $37
Distance from Cleveland: 180 miles
New York: Peek’n Peak, Clymer
Peek’n Peak, the closest overnight ski resort to Cleveland, offers 25 slopes, nine lifts and three terrain parks along with slope-side lodging, dining, indoor-outdoor pool and full-service spa. The resort has a newly remodeled rental area ready for this season for easier equipment pick-up. Also: The resort is going cashless this year. Opening date is Friday, Dec. 9, with a discounted opening weekend lift ticket price of $45.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $74 adult, $59 ages 6-11
Rental: $44 adult, $35 children
Also here: Snow tubing, cross-country skiing
Distance from Cleveland: 120 miles
New York: Cockaigne, Cherry Creek
Cockaigne reopened two years ago after being closed since 2011 following a devastating fire that destroyed the park’s historic lodge. The resort, in western New York’s Chautauqua County, gets some of the most natural snow in the region on its 10 runs and three lifts.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $50, $40 children 6-17
Rental: $30 adult, $25 children
Note: Life ticket and rental prices are for the 2021-22 season.
Also here: Snowmobile Adventure Park (bring your own sled)
Distance from Cleveland: 150 miles
New York: Holiday Valley, Ellicottville
Holiday Valley opened for the season on Nov. 25, after being buried by lake-effect snow last month. New York’s most popular ski resort offers something for everyone: snow tubing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, plus 60 downhill slopes and trails, 13 lifts and five terrain parks. All this set amid the charming town of Ellicottville, which offers some of the finest apres-ski options east of the Rocky Mountains. Crews started working this year on a new six-passenger replacement for workhorse Mardi Gras chairlift, which will open next season. Other off-season investments include new grooming and snowmaking equipment.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $87-97 adult; $68-$75 ages 7-11
Rental: $36-$40 adult, $30-$34 children
Also here: Snow tubing, cross-country skiing, Sky Flyer Mountain Coaster
Distance from Cleveland: 180 miles
New York: HoliMont, Ellicottville
HoliMont, just 2 miles north of Holiday Valley in the quaint town of Ellicottville, is the nation’s largest private ski area, offering 55 slopes and trails over 135 acres. The resort is open to the public Monday through Friday only. Known for its well-groomed trails and uncrowded slopes. HoliMont is open 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. during the week, with no night skiing.
Weekday lift ticket: $81 adult, $64 ages 6-11
Rental: $40 adult, $30 children
Distance from Cleveland: 180 miles
Pennsylvania: Seven Springs, Champion
This popular Pennsylvania resort, about an hour south of Pittsburgh, is now part of the Vail-owned chain of resorts, which also includes Boston Mills, Brandywine and Alpine Valley in Ohio. The park features 33 slopes and 10 lifts and is well-known for its terrain parks and superpipe, plus its large variety of off-snow activities, including bowling and mini-golf. As at other Vail resorts, daily lift ticket sales here will be limited. Also note: Snowmobile and snowshoe tours, previously offered through Seven Springs, are now offered via Highlands Sporting Clays at the top of the mountain. Vail also purchased nearby Hidden Valley Resort and Laurel Mountain.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $99-$104 adult, $78-$83 ages 6-11
Rental: $58
Distance from Cleveland: 200 miles
West Virginia: Canaan Valley, Davis
Canaan Valley, about five hours from Cleveland in eastern West Virginia, is part of the West Virginia state park system. In addition to 47 slopes and four lifts, the resort features snow tubing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, a large outdoor skating rink, cabins and a 160-room overnight lodge.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $80, $60 ages 6-12
Rental: $60 adult, $50 children
Also here: Snow tubing, ice skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing
Distance from Cleveland: 280 miles
West Virginia: Snowshoe Mountain, Snowshoe
Snowshoe, in the Allegheny Mountains of southern West Virginia, is a complete resort – with 56 slopes and trails, 14 lifts, five terrain parks, plus a ton of apres-ski activities in the village. Look for new dining options this season, as well as additional snowmaking capacity to get more terrain open faster. Unlike most ski villages, Snowshoe is located at the top of the mountain. The resort opened Nov. 23.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $127-$159 adult, $114-$143 ages 13-22, $108-$135 ages 5-12
Rental: $50 adult, $35 children
Also here: Snowmobile tours, tubing, cross-country skiing, more
Distance from Cleveland: 330 miles
Michigan: Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville
Located about 30 miles south of Traverse City, Crystal Mountain has a little something for everyone – skiing and boarding, fat-tire bike rentals, horse-drawn carriage rides, a full-service spa. The resort this year has added a new downhill run, its 59th, Ridge Glades, which travels through the trees. Also new: additional snowmaking equipment; a new on-snow eatery, the Yurt; and new rental equipment. The park opened in late November.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $89 adult, $79 children 7-17
Rental: $60 adult, $50 ages 7-12, $25 ages 6 and under
Distance from Cleveland: 400 miles
Michigan: Boyne Mountain, Boyne Falls
Boyne Mountain, in northern Michigan, is a haul to get to but may be worth the trip this winter. The resort is set to debut the Midwest’s first high-speed, eight-person chairlift, dubbed D8, which will replace two slower triple chairs and get skiers up to the top of the mountain in a speedy three minutes. Also new this year: SkyBridge Michigan, the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge, which stretches 1,200 feet above Boyne Valley, with a 36-foot span of glass flooring in the middle. Accessible via chairlift, the bridge is open year-round. Finally, earlier this year the resort reopened Chalet Edelweiss, formerly Edelweiss Lodge, after an extensive renovation to its slope-side 35 rooms and suites. The resort features 60 slopes and trails, 12 lifts and five terrain parks.
All-day Saturday lift ticket: $96-$101 adult, $75-$80 children 6-17
Rental: $60 adult, $45 children
Also here: Fat-tire biking, cross-country skiing, winter ziplining
Distance from Cleveland: 410 miles
Read more:
Vail takes over Pennsylvania’s Seven Springs ski resort, with a big perk for Ohio passholders
Ad Choices