The Poconos Ski Trip

For this ski trip, we head out to the Pocono Mountains of northeast Pennsylvania.

The Pocono Mountains region of PA is known for its picturesque natural beauty and outdoor recreational opportunities, particularly in the winter months, when the area transforms into a winter wonderland.

The ski resorts we picked for this trip offer the best in downhill thrills, with a variety of runs for skiers and snowboarders of all levels. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a beginner, you’ll find plenty of challenging and exciting trails to explore at all three!

Sightseeing Options

On the way from Newark to the first set of ski resorts, you’ll pass right by the Delaware Water Gap. We featured this wonderful National Recreation Area on our list of parks that really should be reclassified as National Parks. If you have time, consider checking it out. Even in the winter it is a great place to visit.

Ski Passes

Both Jack Frost and Big Boulder are right next to each other, and are both a part of the EPIC pass network. We would highly suggest buying a 2-day Epic pass to use at these two resorts. Doing so will save you around 20% on lift ticket prices, especially if you buy them early when they first go on sale in late March.

Epic Passes are fantastic. Not only do you get lift access at a discount, it provides discounts on après food, drink, and lodging options at the participating resorts as well. The Epic pass is a physical card that you don’t need a reservation to use, and it has an RFID chip in it that the lift operators scan. It really does make visiting ski resorts much easier – provided they are owned by Vail (who also owns Epic).

Blue Mountain is a part of a competing ski pass called IKON. You could purchase a one-day pass from IKON to save a bit of money as well. Be warned, though: both of these prepurchased lift tickets are non-refundable and non-transferrable.

Itinerary Notes

We chose Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) as the place we are going to fly in and out of. However, Philadelphia International (PHL) would be almost as close. Both airports will work just fine for this ski trip. It might be a good idea to check flight prices to and from both of these airports to see if one happens to be cheaper than the other.

We also would suggest renting a vehicle with either optional 4-wheel drive or all-wheel drive (AWD) for this trip. The Poconos don’t get a ton of snow, but the roads can easily become snow covered in the event of a couple of inches falling. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and simply have a vehicle that you won’t be worried about driving in bad weather.

Make sure you schedule your rental ahead of time. There will be nothing worse than showing up at a rental counter only to find out they are all out of cars. Do yourself a favor and just reserve it when you book your flights.