Mountain Creek Ski Resort
The closest outdoor ski area to Brooklyn
Before I dive into my tips and feedback on Mountain Creek, I’m sharing my thoughts on taking your family skiing.
For some context, skiing is something my family prioritizes. It is one of the few things my husband and I do for ourselves. We have a rental property in Park City, Utah, where we travel with the kids yearly. Because of this, it is a question of when not if we teach our kids to ski. It is a family activity for years to come. This might not be the case for your family.
Learning to ski is like learning to swim.
Do not expect results in one day. If you want your children to learn how to ski, every day or lesson is an investment in that outcome. I think of both water exposure and lessons for my child who can’t swim- skiing is similar. What is different, of course, is that skiing is not a safety skill. It’s not essential for your family to learn, we already take on so much for our kids.
Plan for a season, not a day.
Skiing is not the most affordable hobby. It is far more economical If you plan to ski for a winter rather than just one day. It’s also crucial that you plan ahead. Day of lift tickets can be 3x the cost of ones purchased in November. Seasonal rentals for equipment save you a lot of time and money (as long as you can store them!). Multiple exposures in one season will also help build up a skillset compared to 1-2 days a winter.
Have Fun!
According to my husband, this is the most important rule in skiing. It is gut-wrenching when you’ve spent a lot of money and the weather doesn’t comply, but don’t force your children. Sking has a lot of equipment and deals with the elements; forcing them can backfire. I’ve seen epic meltdowns when you push the limits instead of heading to the lodge for hot cocoa.
Mountain Creek
My 7-year-old has loved our trips to Moutain Creek. We leave around 7:30 am on Saturday. The drive is about 90 minutes there and a bit longer on the way home. The mountain is quite busy, but I’d recommend it overall for the context of learning to ski.
Parking
There are three different lot options at Moutain Creek- one free and two paid. Paying for parking is worth it. Parking costs $20 or $50 and must be made online beforehand. Before we learned this and used the free lot, I was sore from the walk to the lodge the next day. My husband carried four skis; I carried a bag with ski boots and helmets, and my 3-year-old on my shoulders. It was rough. The $50 parking lot is expensive, but it is so close you could avoid the $15 cost for the locker.
Base
Below Vernon Peak is the primary base area. On the main floor, you will find rentals and lockers ($15 for the entire day). Up the stairs is the main area with tables and food. It’s a ski lodge, of course the food is expensive but it’s more affordable than places like Windham. We like the chicken fingers and hot chocolate (of course). The lodge area has free Wi-Fi, and we’ve definitely used this for my 3-year-old, who doesn’t have the stamina. Because the mountain caters to many local families, it gets pretty crowded with parents for hours who stay inside during ski team.
Terrain
The Vernon Base is the only area we’ve skied so far. The learning area is a bit chaotic but has two magic carpets. It’s almost shaped like an amphitheater, and while busy, we can still carve out space when teaching our 3-year-old.
The Sugar Quad lift is the busiest spot on the mountain. If your group could ski a longer green run, I would head up Cabriolet for more space to learn.
We spend most of our time on the Cabriolet lift. This is an interesting chairlift bc it’s a standing Gondola. It removes one of the most stressful elements for someone learning to ski- getting off the lift! The green and blue runs are great for someone looking to build confidence. My daughter has been super happy doing these on repeat and hasn’t asked for anything else- yet!
Go Package
If it’s your child's first time skiing, the Go Package is the way to go. It’s an affordable way to start on their very first day. It only has access to the small magic carpet area, though, and if it’s the 2nd time, I’d recommend another approach.
Lift Tickets
The cost of a daily pass for the weekend is $99. Children 6 and under are included at no cost with a full-price adult ticket purchase.
If you plan a few days for the season, you can get a three-day triple-play ticket for $169. As a note for next year, they sold this for $149 and $129 earlier in the winter. A triple-play includes a free lift ticket for 6 & under with an adult purchase.
You can also get a value season pass if you want to commit for next year. We purchased one for each adult for $250 when they went on sale (currently $649). So far, we’ve skied two days and hope to get at least another three more in before the winter ends. Follow the Mountain Creek Instagram account to watch when they release these passes for next year; they sell out fast!
I will post a breakdown of costs per day for our family at the end of the winter, but if my family skis five days at Mountain Creek this winter, those value passes work out to $25/person/day.
Rentals
As I mentioned in the opener, we like seasonal rentals for the children. We got a kids' rental in October from Panda Sports in Bay Ridge for $159. My husband and I have our equipment.
The cost for rentals at the base is $65/day. If you need daily rentals, I’d stop at this spot off the mountain: McAfee Ski. The base price there is only $29/day. I’d make reservations and drop off an adult to get lift tickets while working on the rental if you can!
As a note, getting your rentals the day of will significantly slow down your time on the mountain. Make sure you take this into account if you’re signing your children up for a lesson.
Lessons
We have not taken lessons here. My 6-year-old is capable. We are attempting to teach our 3-year-old ourselves. (I mostly regret this, but he’s too young for group lessons, and I refuse to pay privately.) Group lessons are in 2-hour chunks and cost $199. Make sure to plan because every time I’ve perused the peak lesson times on Saturdays and Sundays, they are always filled up.
A quick video of my daughter dodging crowds on the “Great Northern” run.
Have Fun!
Katie