Mountain Creek Resort

New Jersey offers a unique selection of winter venues, including the Mountain Creek Resort ski area. The four-season facility turns to winter sports from December through March, providing skiing and snowboarding opportunities to local park rats near Vernon Township. It has built a reputation in the region for alpine access across four peaks and the terrain parks it maintains.

Getting here by Interstate Highways I-80, I-84, or I-87 gets motorists close, but they will eventually need to reach New Jersey State Highway 94 to reach Vernon Township. Newark's Liberty International (NJ) or New York's LaGuardia (NY) will place visitors less than 60-miles from town.

Apres-Ski Among the Peaks

The Mountain Creek Resort area sits among Bear, Granite, South, and Vernon peaks. Visitors have access to slopeside lodging accommodations at The Appalachian or townhome rentals at Black Creek Sanctuary just two minutes down the road. Dining options here range from BBQ to gourmet dinners at four locations. Jack & Otto's offers a place for drinks (the bar) or on-the-go refueling (the market).

There are two retail centers serving visitors to the winter venue. Monkey Trails stocks the latest in apparel and accessories one might need for a day on the slopes (or apres-ski). The Showroom offers the latest in hardware and has a demo center so that guests can see what the equipment can do. Mountain Creek Resort has a state-of-the-art rental center that gets visitors geared up and out the door quickly and easily.

Mountainside Repair can get everyone's gear ready for the trails, and it is worth mentioning the Sno-Go bikes that have grown in popularity. Since 1965, instructors at the Mountain Creek Resort area have helped over one-million visitors enjoy alpine and tubing fun in the snow.

Newbies with no experience (or equipment) can use the GO Skiing or GO Snowboarding packages that supply everything they need for the day's learning. One-on-one lessons are available for all ages and skill levels in two-hour sessions. Kids camps, adaptive skiing, and terrain-based learning are options as well.

Four Peaks of Fun

The Mountain Creek Resort ski area offers visitors fun on four peaks, with Vernon peak offering the highest summit at 1,480 feet. That creates the 1,040-foot vertical drop that skiers and riders will enjoy. Average annual snowfall amounts ae 65 inches, so snowmaking is needed to maintain conditions. Snowmaking coverage is 100-percent at Mountain Creek Resort, with 1,000 snow guns employed across the slopes.

There are 46 trails here that provide green-rated beginner runs (24-percent), blue-rated intermediate slopes (46-percent), and black diamond-rated terrain (30-percent). Eight lifts keep guests moving at the Mountain Creek Resort, including three magic carpets.

Snowtubing on 30 full-sized lanes offers a break from traditional skiing and riding for guests, but the biggest non-alpine attraction is the terrain parks. Mountain Creek Resort maintains 67 acres dedicated to free-styling, and there are over 80 features to explore. These areas are located on Bear, South, and Vernon peaks. The progressive terrain ranges from small features at Matchmaker to larger terrain at South Peak Park.