What is the furthest distance you will drive to go skiing for a single day?

[nashuaskibum]

I can hit a lot of mountains within 1-2hrs, but I'm willing to do that 3-5hr solo haul to places like the Loaf or Jay.... if I have a freebie or killer conditions (The loaf is looking real nice for tomorrow)

 

[o3jeff]

Does bringing someone with you or going solo impact how far you want to drive?

I get so bored going alone

I get sick of myself after the first hour or two!

Definitely will travel a further distance when going with someone else.

 

[tekweezle]

Does bringing someone with you or going solo impact how far you want to drive?

I get so bored going alone

I get speeding tickets when I go alone.... Probably the boredom...

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[x10003q]

I have a 2 hour limit. The 2 hour ride brings me to Plattekill and Windham. Hunter and Belleayre are about 1:40. I can get to Gore in a little over 3 hours and Stratton/Mt Snow in about 3:40, but it is just not worth it to make those drives for a day trip. The ride to Gore isn't too bad, but I would rather stay and get at least 2 days out of it.

 

[drjeff]

3 hours each way was my limit before I bought a place in VT. Haven't changed my thoughts on that. Plus nowadays that's about the battery life limit on my kids various iPads/iPod touch/Nintendo DS's for active gaming as i'm driving since i'm more than likely to have forgotten atleast 1 of the car chargers for their various devices :lol:

 

[BenedictGomez]

I chose 3 to 4 hours, yet I realize now I've done over 5 numerous times before, especially when storm-hunting. Wish I could change the answer.

 

[BenedictGomez]

i'm more than likely to have forgotten atleast 1 of the car chargers for their various devices

Leave an iGO or one of the competing products in your car and just swap out the tips. Your problems are solved.

 

[ScottySkis]

3.5 hours to south Vermont, but when my home hill opens up with natural snow less then 2 hours.

 

[kingslug]

My ride to hunter is 2.5 to 3 hours each way...the bus to Killington is almost 6 and while I'm not driving sitting in that thing that long pretty much sucks..but they have movies...

 

[hammer]

Most times 2 hours each way but will go 2.5 hours for the right place or conditions. Still makes for a long day trip, especially when one has dogs at home...

 

[Riverskier]

2 hours and 15 minutes, which gets me to Sugarloaf or Saddleback, but I hate it. Sugarloaf is on my pass, but I only usually ski there once or twice a year because of the drive. Sunday River at an hour and 15 minutes is just so much easier. I love Saddleback and would love to go there more on blackout days, but with Mt. Abram exactly an hour away, I usually opt to go there.

 

[dlague]

Living in central NH, we drive to Jay Peak, Sunday River so about 2.5 to 3 hours. Generally we target a tank of gas round trip! Any further then we find a place to stay! However, we ski at 10 to 12 ski areas per season so some trips are les than 30 minutes!

 

[Angus]

drive 3.5 hours one way routinely to places like stowe, mad river valley or wildcat. longest day trip I've taken was saddleback 4.5+ hours each way alone - a killer. most of the longer rides mentioned above occur in spring when daylight is more plentiful. unfortunately, staying over is not really an option. do plan to do more weekend trips this year after winter sports end for kids. always feel bad about the burning all that gas for one day of skiing.

 

[BenedictGomez]

You New Englanders are all spoiled with nearby mountains. From NJ or NYC it's 2.5 hours minimum drive to decent skiing in the Catskills. I often just bite-the-bullet and drive past there with Smuggs or Jay Peak as the destination. For perspective, that's like someone in New Hampshire driving to Le Massif!

 

[mriceyman]

ill drive up to 4 but i make sure ill be out there for first chair and stay til at least 3 o clock

 

[midd]

apres is a big part of the skiing experience, so I rarely day trip. Seat by the fireplace with a few cocktails is an infinitely better day than a few hours behind the wheel.

 

[4aprice]

Snow is 4, and Killington about 4.5 from me. I have done those but its a rough day and I probably won't be doing it again anytime soon. I would do 3 hrs if there was something in that range. My conundrum is usually figuring out (based on conditions/mountain offerings) if I want to drive 45 mins versus 2hrs.

SnowRock you must live close to me as those are my times to those areas as well. Used limit my day trips to the Pocono's, Catskills and Berkshires but my daughter is now attending Castleton and I've gotten so used to the 87 shuffle that it doesn't seem that long of a drive anymore. I could actually see doing Killington for a day combining it with seeing my daughter and buzzing home. To do a trip like that involves traveling at off peak times which makes it much less stressful especially around here in NJ. (less stressful then trying to get to the Catskills on a weekday morning and fighting I-80 and 287 both coming and going) Certainly traveling that far I prefer to stay over but things don't always work out that way. It nice to have the Pocono's in the back yard as well (45 min).

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[Nick]

Alex, Ski Stef (my sister) went to Castleton... dunno if i mentioned that before

 

[abc]

The answer to that question really depends on where you live. Where I live, the first decent skiing hill is about 2 hrs away! So you can guess my answers!!!

Will I drive 3-4 hrs for better skiing? Probably, except there isn't anything in between that's significantly "better" than the Cats. Sure, bigger mountains and more trails. But equally crowded. There was a time southern VT has more snow. But not the last few years. The Cats got just as much if not more! So why bother?

The really BETTER skiing is in northern VT, 4-6 hours away. And it's so much better I'd stay the whole weekend anyway!

So, day trip distance is 2 1/4 max, to Plattekill

 

[Cheese]

I try to cap it at 2 1/2 hours since that's as long as my bladder will hang onto a cup of coffee. Stopping to take a leak is out of the question when rushing for first chair. On the way back beer comes knocking earlier but then I'm in less of a rush and typically stop for dinner short of the 2 hour mark anyway.

Loon & Waterville - 1 1/2 hours
Cannon - 2 hours
Bretton Woods - 2 1/4
Attitash - 2 1/2
Wildcat - 2 3/4

Vermont is a little further so I typically take a friend or two along and Maine I don't think I've ever gone to alone.