jaywbigred
Active member
I've known of Campgaw for some time, and always wanted to check it out. Well, this Saturday, I got the chance.
Campgaw is a tiny hill in northern New Jersey, a few minutes off 287 south of Mahwah. It is owned by Bergen County. I believe it has about 250 vertical feet. The hill has a decent little pitch to it at the beginning, and then a runout that is very skiable if you carry your speed from the top. It has a small terrain park with a number of rails and 1 jump. There are two main lifts that go to the "top", both doubles, including one with a midstation unloading center (!!!??!?!?!?!?!). I think there is also a learning area with ropetow and or magic carpet ride. There was some infrastructure (snackbar, warming hut, rentals, bathrooms) but I didn't venture in because they were a considerable way up hill from both main lifts, and located more near the learning area and the tubing center, which was packed.
The crowd was very interesting; this is the county where Real Housewive of NJ is filmed/based, and a lot of the Moms, both on and off skis, looked the part. I saw fir, animal prints, fake boobs...even a limo waiting in the parking spot! Never saw a limo waiting in a ski area parking lot, not in Aspen, Vail, Telluride, Park City, Zermatt...but I saw it at Campgaw!
They have night skiing, and a lot of different lift ticket options when it comes to the hours skied. I think the all day ticket was maybe $30? They have a number of fan guns as well (!!!!) so their snowmaking can probably cover the entire complex in a few hours. They also had TWO newer looking snow cats...it must take them about an hour to groom the whole thing!
I skied for about 2 hours with a curious buddy of mine. I got some blood flowing in my legs, even worked up a sweat and fell once in the terrain park. It was a little icy after a night-freeze, but it warmed up and got better towards lunch. The people watching was fabulous, there were some funny looking skiers, the aforementioned Bergen Moms/MILFs, and even a junior snowboarding slalom race (they were GOOD!).
I will def. file this in the back of my mind as a great place for little kids that was 35 minutes from my house. I'd probably prefer to ski NJ backcountry/NESLAP on the off chance I am home for a weekend in the winter, but if there is no natural snow, or if you have little kids, this is a funky little place. In my book, skiing here is better than not skiing at all.
Campgaw is a tiny hill in northern New Jersey, a few minutes off 287 south of Mahwah. It is owned by Bergen County. I believe it has about 250 vertical feet. The hill has a decent little pitch to it at the beginning, and then a runout that is very skiable if you carry your speed from the top. It has a small terrain park with a number of rails and 1 jump. There are two main lifts that go to the "top", both doubles, including one with a midstation unloading center (!!!??!?!?!?!?!). I think there is also a learning area with ropetow and or magic carpet ride. There was some infrastructure (snackbar, warming hut, rentals, bathrooms) but I didn't venture in because they were a considerable way up hill from both main lifts, and located more near the learning area and the tubing center, which was packed.
The crowd was very interesting; this is the county where Real Housewive of NJ is filmed/based, and a lot of the Moms, both on and off skis, looked the part. I saw fir, animal prints, fake boobs...even a limo waiting in the parking spot! Never saw a limo waiting in a ski area parking lot, not in Aspen, Vail, Telluride, Park City, Zermatt...but I saw it at Campgaw!
They have night skiing, and a lot of different lift ticket options when it comes to the hours skied. I think the all day ticket was maybe $30? They have a number of fan guns as well (!!!!) so their snowmaking can probably cover the entire complex in a few hours. They also had TWO newer looking snow cats...it must take them about an hour to groom the whole thing!
I skied for about 2 hours with a curious buddy of mine. I got some blood flowing in my legs, even worked up a sweat and fell once in the terrain park. It was a little icy after a night-freeze, but it warmed up and got better towards lunch. The people watching was fabulous, there were some funny looking skiers, the aforementioned Bergen Moms/MILFs, and even a junior snowboarding slalom race (they were GOOD!).
I will def. file this in the back of my mind as a great place for little kids that was 35 minutes from my house. I'd probably prefer to ski NJ backcountry/NESLAP on the off chance I am home for a weekend in the winter, but if there is no natural snow, or if you have little kids, this is a funky little place. In my book, skiing here is better than not skiing at all.
