Biggest Expansion To Hit The East Coast In Over A Decade – Hint: It Isn’t Killington

Which state has the most ski areas in the country? Those that guessed Colorado or Utah would be wrong. It’s New York! And for the 2018-19 season, New York City’s beloved go-to spot for skiing & snowboarding, Hunter Mountain Resort, will be getting bigger. In fact, it will be the largest expansion the East Coast has seen in over 15 years. For those that know its history, this comes as not a shocker.

Home To Innovation – From Summer Skiing to First In Snowmaking

Even in the resort’s humble beginnings, the two brothers who started the area were relentless innovators. Always on the cutting edge and thinking outside the box, they were willing to try anything to make sure the ski area prospered. Here’s just a sample of the things they’ve tried over the years:

• 1959 – In its 1^st year open, they made sure they had snowmaking
• 1963 – Opened for summer skiing on plastic chips for a few short seasons
• 1963-64 – Opened for night skiing for the first time which continued until 1972
• 1980 – First ski area to have snowmaking coverage on 100 percent of its trails

Even to this day, as we talked about in our article “Who puts the king in snowmaking?”, Hunter is a heavyweight in the snowmaking game. During the warm 2010 season, Hunter was able to open 90% of their terrain in eight days. That’s impressive!

Location, Location, Location

While not as large or snowy as the resorts in Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, it does have one major advantage. It’s only 2.5 hours from mid-town Manhattan meaning it takes about half as much time to get there compared to Vermont. They’ve never rested on this laurel though, and for 2018-19, they’ve got some big plans.

Hunter Mountain Expansion for 2018-19

The Hunter North Expansion, as its appropriately named since it sits on the north-facing slope of the peak, will bring a whole new area to this resort. It will include new trails, a high-speed six person detachable lift and a new entrance. The exciting part that numbers don’t really tell you is the addition of gladed trails which will increase their current gladed skiing & snowboarding by a whopping 800%.

For those that enjoy “just the facts”:

Nine New Trails

• 4 Intermediate (Blue Square) Trails
• 1 Beginner (Green Circle) Trail
• 3 Intermediate (Blue Square) Glades
• 1 Advanced (Black Diamond) Glade

Vertical Drop

• Just over 1000′

Approximate Trail Acreage

• 80 skiable acres

New Six Person Detachable Lift

• 3245′ in length
• 1000′ per minute
• 3.5 minute lift ride from bottom to top terminal

100% Snowmaking

New Entrance

• Accessible via 23A
• West of Hunter Village

New Parking Lot

• Parking for approximately 250 cars