OPENING DAY OF THE SKI SEASON AT BEARTOWN SKI AREA

I like to say Beartown Ski Area is “Clinton County, New York’s, greatest vertical ski area.” Despite the county having plenty of mountains, Beartown is the only ski area in Clinton County. There was an effort to build a large-scale ski area on Lyon Mountain, a 3,800-foot-plus-tall mountain in the county, back in the 1960s, but the project ran out of money and was never completed.

Main Slope and the t-bar at Beartown

Beartown is a small nonprofit ski hill located just outside of Plattsburgh, New York. It’s been open since the 1950s. What it lacks in size and height, it makes up for in charm. No, I didn’t ski 30,000 ft. of vertical today. I didn’t go 40 MPH. I didn’t ski 100 different trails. What I did do was have a great time lapping two runs off the T-bar on a nice and sunny day at an old-school ski area.

Beartown has two surface lifts and 4 ski runs. There’s also several miles of cross county ski trails. The hill offers 150 ft. of vertical. At the base you’ll find a small lodge, which serves food, and several old gondola cabins from the not-so-far-away Whiteface Ski Area, which you’re welcome to sit in and use. Over an old loud speaker, they play music, which you can hear as you ski and ride the lifts.

Looking up at North Slope

Menu inside the lodge

Looking down from North Slope at the base lodge and the parking lot

It’s cheaper to eat at Beartown than it is at a fast food restaurant. In the lodge they were selling hamburgers for $4. A hot dog was $3. A grilled cheese was $3. As for the skiing? My half-day lift ticket was only $21. A full day would’ve been $25.

They were spinning the T-bar with access to two runs: Main Slope and North Slope. Thanks to recent snowfall and snowmaking, coverage on the open terrain was great and there was packed powder everywhere. With it being opening day, it was a fairly busy day on the hill, but it never impacted the skiing and only occasionally was there a one or two-minute wait for the T-bar.

Going up the hill on the t-bar

I ski Beartown three to four times a winter and I always get people who ask why I ski there. I love skiing at the larger resorts and ski areas, but going to Beartown is like stepping back in time. The atmosphere can’t be beat. There’s no doubt about it, Beartown is a small ski hill, but for what’s offered the skiing is quite good and, at its core, isn’t that all that really matters?

Talk to you tomorrow,

Lincoln