Massachusetts Ski Resorts Ranked & Mapped
Massachusetts is not really known as a ski state, and is often dwarfed by its neighboring states, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. However, Massachusetts has its fair share of decent east coast resorts and ski areas. Not known for its mountainous area, Massachusetts still has more than you’d think. Fantastic ski resorts like Berkshire East, Jiminy Peak, and Bousquet are only a few located within the state.
Massachusetts Ski Season
The ski season in Massachusetts typically runs from late November to early April, depending on the weather and snow conditions.
In general, ski resorts in Massachusetts rely heavily on natural snowfall to provide good skiing and snowboarding conditions. Some may open earlier or later, depending on how cold the fall season is during that year.
List of All Massachusetts Ski Resorts
Massachusetts has 9 ski resorts, evenly spread throughout the state. It used to be 10, but Ski Blandford stopped operations in 2020 after not being able to withstand the COVID-related lockdowns and restrictions.
The resorts that are remaining inside Massachusetts are spread out pretty evenly between the eastern and western sides of the state.
| Resort | Pass | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Berkshire East | INDY | Charlemont, MA, 01339 |
| Blue Hills Ski Area | Canton, MA, 02021 | |
| Bousquet Mountain | Pittsfield, MA, 01201 | |
| Jiminy Peak | Hancock, MA, 01237 | |
| Nashoba Valley | Boxborough, MA, 01719 | |
| Otis Ridge Ski Area | Otis, MA, 01253 | |
| Ski Bradford | Haverhill, MA, 01835 | |
| Ski Butternut | Great Barrington, MA, 01230 | |
| Ski Ward | Shrewsbury, MA, 01545 | |
| Wachusett Mountain Ski Area | Princeton, MA, 01541 |
Explaining Our ‘Difficulty Score’
Parks & Trips created a proprietary Difficulty Score that is generated by looking at the number of easy-intermediate-expert slopes by acreage and the maximum vertical drop of the overall resort.
Our algorithm compares each resort’s metrics with all others in North America, then gives each a Difficulty Score, which we use to rank them accordingly. Resorts with a lower score are easier than those with a higher one. However, a high score does not mean that the resort does not have any easy slopes, or vice versa. This is just an overall score given to the resort based on all its metrics grouped together.
The Most Difficult Massachusetts Ski Resorts
Bousquet Mountain is the most difficult ski resort based on our calculations. They have the fewest number of beginner trails, and a healthy 750 ft vertical. The majority of their trails are for the advanced skiers.
Jiminy Peak and Berkshire East round out the top three here. All three aren’t too far apart in difficulty level, but Jiminy and Berkshire have a more balanced set of trails for every skill level.
| Rank | Resort | Green Trails | Blue Trails | Black Trails | Difficulty ScoreTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Bousquet Mountain | 14% | 45% | 41% | 47.5% |
| #2 | Jiminy Peak | 22% | 45% | 33% | 45.9% |
| #3 | Berkshire East | 30% | 35% | 35% | 45.0% |
| #4 | Wachusett Mountain Ski Area | 30% | 40% | 30% | 41.3% |
| #5 | Ski Butternut | 20% | 60% | 20% | 39.7% |
| #6 | Nashoba Valley | 20% | 47% | 33% | 37.2% |
| #7 | Otis Ridge Ski Area | 30% | 40% | 30% | 34.9% |
The Easiest Ski Resorts in Massachusetts
Blue Hills Ski Area and Ski Ward are virtually tied as the easiest ski resorts in the state of Massachusetts. They are not however ONLY for the beginners, as both have a decent amount of black diamond skilled slopes. Blue Hills is considered easier, however, because 50% of its trails are green.
| Rank | Resort | Green Trails | Blue Trails | Black Trails | Difficulty ScoreTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Blue Hills Ski Area | 50% | 33% | 17% | 24% |
| #2 | Ski Ward | 30% | 60% | 10% | 25% |
| #3 | Ski Bradford | 10% | 80% | 10% | 31% |
| #4 | Otis Ridge Ski Area | 30% | 40% | 30% | 35% |
| #5 | Nashoba Valley | 20% | 47% | 33% | 37% |
| #6 | Ski Butternut | 20% | 60% | 20% | 40% |
| #7 | Wachusett Mountain Ski Area | 30% | 40% | 30% | 41% |
The Largest Ski Resorts in Massachusetts
Choosing the largest ski resorts is a bit of a tricky proposition. Do you look at just the summit elevation? How about the total acreage, most trails, or steepest vertical drop?
Well, we decided to combine all four of those metrics into one ranking to get the best idea, although we fully admit this is completely subjective. We’ve given you all the data in the following table to make your own decision.
Based on our data, Berkshire East Mountain Resort is easily the largest ski resort in MA. It has the steepest vertical drop (beats Jiminy Peak by 50 ft), and by far the most skiable acres (more than doubling Bousquet). Berkshire and Jiminy each have the same number of trails. Wachusett and Butternut are the only other two ski resorts in the state that have a vertical drop over 1,000 feet.
| Rank | Resort | Summit Elevation | Base Elevation | Vertical Drop | Acres | Trails |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Berkshire East | 1,840 ft | 660 ft | 1,180 ft | 400 | 45 |
| #2 | Jiminy Peak | 2,380 ft | 1,250 ft | 1,130 ft | 170 | 45 |
| #3 | Wachusett Mountain Ski Area | 2,006 ft | 990 ft | 1,016 ft | 110 | 22 |
| #4 | Ski Butternut | 1,800 ft | 800 ft | 1,000 ft | 110 | 22 |
| #5 | Bousquet Mountain | 1,818 ft | 1,068 ft | 750 ft | 200 | 22 |
| #6 | Otis Ridge Ski Area | 1,700 ft | 1,300 ft | 400 ft | 60 | 11 |
| #7 | Ski Bradford | 1,548 ft | 1,300 ft | 248 ft | 48 | 15 |
| #8 | Blue Hills Ski Area | 635 ft | 266 ft | 369 ft | 60 | 6 |
| #9 | Nashoba Valley | 440 ft | 200 ft | 240 ft | 59 | 17 |
| #10 | Ski Ward | 410 ft | 200 ft | 210 ft | 45 | 9 |
