Shawnee (PA) 2/15/2010

[goldsbar]

What an odd place. I needed somewhere close to ski with my 4 y/o since most ski schools were booked solid. The parking lot was packed, hordes of people moving back and forth. The lodge was packed - hard to find a table at 11:00am.

Lift lines? None. Crowded slopes? Not so bad. Turned out to be perfect for a 4 y/o with a few days in him (beginner & intermediate were fine with some parts of the intermediate trails maybe a bit too hard) and wouldn't be a bad place to work on carving technique.

Can't imagine their season lasts long. The sun felt strong and the temp was actually a few degrees higher than my house in NJ.

 

[RootDKJ]

Great to see a Shawnee TR on here! :beer:

That's where I learned to ski and I love that place. Like anywhere else in PA, 11AM is arriving late. Did you take any pics?

 

[trackbiker]

The lodge was likely crowded and the slopes uncrowded because the people in the lodge were planted at the tables while their kids and/or grandkids were tubing.
Some nice uncrowded places in the Poconos for a beginning skier or kids are Alpine Mountain, Tanglwood, Eagle Rock, or Ski Big Bear. Nothing too hard but the conditions are good and the slopes uncrowded even on holidays.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

I haven't been there since two seasons ago but it's the closest Pocono mountain to me so I may make it there this year. They usually stay open until late March and on a good year may open in late late November but usually open in the first week in December. I've only been there on non-holiday weekdays so I can't say if it gets crowded or not.

Not really any challenging trails but a fun place to ski nonetheless.

 

[jaywbigred]

Grew up skiing there and enjoyed it. If they had (a) a seeded bump run and (b) a high speed lift of any type, I would skip the extra drive time to Camelback and go there instead. Anyone coming from Route 80 remember the short cut through the parking lot of the visitor's center just over the border? Is it still there?

 

[4aprice]

.Can't imagine their season lasts long. The sun felt strong and the temp was actually a few degrees higher than my house in NJ.

Shawnee is at a very low elevation. I think it tops out at 1300 with a vertical at 700 puts the base at about 400 feet. Big difference with Camelback which starts at 1200 and goes to 2000. They do a good job of making snow but it warms much quicker there.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[goldsbar]

Yeah, a seeded bump run would be great. They had one bump run which I didn't get to try but it looked really short. Looks like they put a lot of effort into the terrain park as it was a long run with a lot of features plus an additional shorter run on the other side of the mountain. The elevation makes sense. My house is at almost 1000 ft and there's a surprisingly big difference between it and the town "down the hill" as far as snow goes.