Ski country is the hilly, snowy portions of the boundary between the

Niagara Frontier The Niagara Frontier refers to the stretch of land in the United States that is south of Lake Ontario and north of Lake Erie, and extends westward to Cleveland, Ohio. The term dates to the War of 1812, when the northern border was in contention b ...

and the

Southern Tier The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York region of New York State, consisting of counties west of the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County and geographically situated along or very near the northern border ...

of the western part of New York.

Weather

The area is a largely hilly terrain, mostly downwind from

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

and the Finger Lakes, along the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly spans ...

between the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

, the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

and

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

watersheds. The result of this is that through orographic lift, a significant amount of

lake effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through ...

falls there during the months of November, December and January. The portion of ski country in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...

is defined by a geologic formation known as the Chautauqua Ridge.

Ski destinations

As the name implies, the area is particularly popular with skiers, and there are several ski resorts that stretch from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

into Central New York. The local ski resorts primarily offer

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

while the numerous state parks use their hiking trails for

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

. Overall, the state of New York is the third-most popular skiing destination in the United States, behind

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, with neighboring

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

a close fourth.

Resorts

;Pennsylvania *

Mount Pleasant of Edinboro Mount Pleasant of Edinboro is a small ski resort nestled in the "ski country" snowbelt region of northwestern Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-A ...

- in Edinboro, Pennsylvania installed first chair lift in 2014 (also offers

snow tubing Tubing, also known as inner tubing, bumper tubing, towed tubing, or kite tubing, is a recreational activity where an individual rides on top of an inner tube, either on water, snow, or through the air. The tubes themselves are also known as "donu ...

) *

Ski Denton A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

/Denton Hill - in Coudersport, Pennsylvania ''(slightly outside the general definition of ski country, no longer in operation)'' ;New York * Big Basin Ski Area - in Red House, New York. Operated from 1951 until New York's ongoing

eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

campaign forced most of Red House's private property to be vacated in 1972. State park ski areas closed but not forgotten
''Ellicottville Times''. * Bluemont Ski Area - Yorkshire, New York - closed in 1982 * Bova Ski Resort - in Red House, New York. Bova (named after the Beauvais family, who donated the land) was the site of a Great Depression-era public works project as part of Allegany State Park that would serve as the area's first ski destination. The Bova resort also included the region's only ski jumps. The ski jumps were damaged by a mudslide in 1979, and outdated and malfunctioning equipment led to the area's shutdown in 1980. * Brantling Ski Slopes - in Sodus, New York *

Bristol Mountain Bristol Mountain, formally known as Bristol Mountain Winter Resort, is a ski resort located in South Bristol, New York in the Finger Lakes region. It is located from the center of Rochester, New York, the nearest major city to the resort, and ab ...

- in South Bristol, New York (also offers

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. ...

) * Buffalo Ski Club - in Colden * Cockaigne Ski Resort - in Cherry Creek (town), New York *

Dry Hill Ski Area Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medical) ...

- in

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by th ...

Greek Peak Greek Peak Mountain Resort is a mountain resort located near Cortland, NY. It claims a vertical drop of and 220 acres of ski terrain. Greek Peak offers day and night skiing, 7 days a week, and weather permitting, Greek Peak typically opens for s ...

- in Virgil, New York near the city of Cortland * Grosstal/Wing Hollow Ski Area - in

Allegany, New York Allegany is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 7,493 at the 2020 census. The Town of Allegany is on the south border of the county, west of the City of Olean. There is a village named Allegany inside ...

(closed in early 80's) * Holiday Valley - in

Ellicottville (town), New York Ellicottville is a town in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,317 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Joseph Ellicott, principal land agent of the Holland Land Company. The town of Ellicottville includes a ...

* Holimont - in Ellicottville (also offers Nordic skiing) * Poverty Hill/Concord Ski Club - in Ellicottville (closed 1991, land currently being repurposed) *

Kissing Bridge A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction ...

- in Glenwood, New York within the town of Colden *

Labrador Mountain , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

- in

Truxton, New York Truxton is a town in Cortland County, New York, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2010 census. The town is named for Commodore Thomas Truxtun, a privateer in the American Revolution and one of the US Navy's first commanding officers. ...

* Mount Hermanns - in Olean, was the first commercial ski resort in the area and was established in the 1930s. It closed after several decades of operation due to competition from other, newer resorts in the area.Clark, Bob (March 24, 2013
Remember when ... Olean was Ski City?
''Olean Times Herald''. Retrieved March 25, 2013. *

Peek'n Peak Peek'n Peak Resort and Spa is ski resort in southwestern New York in Chautauqua County. The resort is located at the western end of the ''ski country'' snowbelt. Peek'n Peak opened in 1964. The lodge was built in the Tudor style architecture st ...

- in Clymer, New York * Snow Ridge Ski Resort - in Turin, New York * Song Mountain Resort - in

Tully, New York Tully is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population of the town was 951 at the 2019 census. The name of the town is derived from the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. The town is on the county's southern border, south o ...

* Swain Ski Resort - in

Grove, New York Grove is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 497 at the 2020 census. Grove is in the northeast part of Allegany County, northwest of Hornell. History The town of Grove was established in 1827 as "Church Tract" ...

Swain ski resort March 9 2017 from main lift

Toggenburg Mountain Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the river Thur and that of its main tributary, the Necker. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis'') of the canton of St. Gallen ( ...

- in Fabius, New York

State parks

* Art Roscoe Ski Area at Allegany State Park in Red House, New York *

Keuka Lake State Park Keuka Lake State Park is a state park located in Yates County, New York. The park is located on the north end of the west branch of Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. The park is in the southeast part of the town of Jerusalem, southeast of B ...

Jerusalem, New York Jerusalem is a town in Yates County, New York, United States. The population was 4,469 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the ancient city of Jerusalem. The Town of Jerusalem is on the south border of the county and is southwest of G ...

* Letchworth State Park in Livingston County, New York *

Long Point State Park on Lake Chautauqua Long Point State Park (on Chautauqua Lake) is a state park located in the Town of Ellery, near the hamlet of Maple Springs in Chautauqua County, New York. The park is located on a short peninsula on the east side of the lake and can be reac ...

near

Maple Springs, New York Maple Springs is a hamlet located within the Town of Ellery in Chautauqua County, New York, United States at an elevation of above sea level. It is situated along the east shore of Chautauqua Lake, between the villages of Mayville and Bemus ...

References

External links