Poconos Winter Sports

The Poconos
Winter Sports

If you like winter sports, you'll have to spend some time in The Poconos. Winter is done right up here, and you'll never run out of places to get outside and enjoy yourself in the winter. Even if conditions in some areas are showing rain, there might still be snow up on the plateau, or on Mount Pocono. Remember, places like Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg are at much lower sea level than parts of the Poconos up on the plateau.

Remember to dress for success, which in the winter Poconos means layers layers layers. Layers for warmth, and layers for dryness. You want the layer next to your skin to be make of some modern wicking material that keeps sweat away from your skin. Cotton and Wool are no good for this, since the minute you begin sweating, the cotton will absorb the sweat and soak you to the bone. And we all know why you probably don't want wool next to your skin...! Skiers, dont' forget sunblock and sunglasses of course, and for everyone, stay hydrated.

We've rounded up basic info on each major winter sport in the Poconos, as well a short list for each activity, listing where you can go to enjoy each activity. Have fun, stay warm, and enjoy The Poconos in Wintertime!!

Downhill Skiing

Downhill skiing is hands down the number one reason people travel to The Poconos in winter. There are nine major ski areas, as well as numerous smaller ski runs inside private resorts and private communities. Check each ski resort's website or annual events brochure for lists of special events. There are lots of them...races, festivals, parades, kids' days, etc. If you're new at alpine skiing, or it's been a while, consider enrolling in a short basic skiing workshop at any one of ski resorts in the Poconos. Skiing is easy, but there are some techniques you'll be grateful to know once you're zooming down the slopes. Courses are plentiful and fun, so why not? All the ski resorts make snow, since skiing and snowboarding (see below) are major draws for the tourism industry here. Here's a list of the major ski areas in the Poconos:

Shawnee Mountain, in Shawnee-on-Delaware, in the Delaware Water Gap region.
Alpine Mountain Ski Area, in the Stroudsburg area.
Big Boulder Ski Area, in the Jim Thorpe area.
Camelback Ski Area, in Tannersville, in the Stroudsburg area.
Big Bear at Masthope, in Lackawaxen, in the Lake Wallenpaupack Area
Blue Mountain Ski Area, in Palmerton, in the Jim Thorpe area.
Jack Frost Ski Area, in Blakeslee.
Mount Tone Ski Area, in Lake Como in the Lake Wallenpaupack area.
Tanglewood Ski Area, in Tafton, in the Lake Wallenpaupack area.

Tubing

This isn't really a sport, but hey, neither is ice skating for most of us amateurs. Snow tubing has really caught on as a major winter activity in the past couple of decades, especially with kids. All the major ski resorts in the Poconos have special tubing areas, and they make snow if necessary, too. Of course part of a day of tubing is consuming hot chocolate afterwards, and most of the tubing areas have hot chocolate, marshmallows, and a bonfire to make the scene complete. Here are the places that offer tubing facilities:

Fernwood, in Bushkill, which is in the Delaware Water Gap area.
Shawnee Mountain, in Shawnee-on-Delaware, also in the Delaware Gap area.
Blue Mountain Ski Area, in Palmerton, in the general area of Jim Thorpe.
Alpine Mountain Ski Area, in Analomink, in the Stroudsburg area.
Big Boulder Ski Area, in Blakeslee.
Camelback Ski Area, in Tannersville.
Jack Frost Ski Area, also in Blakeslee.
Tanglewood Ski Area, in Tafton, near Lake Wallenpaupack.
Big Bear at Masthope, in Lackawaxen, also near Lake Wallenpaupack.
Mount Tone Ski Area, in Lake Como, also near Lake Wallenpaupack.

Ice Skating

There are lots of resorts in The Poconos that have either indoor or outdoor skating rinks, but you can also get your skates on and go to the following public areas for ice skating:

Pocono Ice Arena at Shawnee, in Shawnee-on-Delaware, in the Delaware Water Gap region.
Mountain Manor, in Marshalls Creek, also in the Delaware Water Gap region.
Promised Land State Park, in Promised Land Village, which is in the Mount Pocono area.

Cros-Country Skiing

Cross country skiing, or Nordic Skiing, is a fun, strenuous workout that involves the fun of skiing but not the crowds, expense, and glamour that comes with downhill skiing. You can glide through the snow silently and at your own pace, working out your legs like no other sport, almost anywhere you can get out on the snow. Lots of inns and B&B's have cross country ski packages, where they let you use or rent their equipment and provide trails or just a lot of land for you to ski on. There are also lots of maintained public cross country ski trails (maintained, but they don't make artificial snow for these trails) in the Poconos. Here is a list of most of them:

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Bushkill.
Gouldsboro State Park, in the Mount Pocono area.
Promised Land State Park, in the Mount Pocono area.
Tobyhanna State Park, in the Mount Pocono area.
Hickory Run State Park, in the general vicinity of Jim Thorpe.
Beltzville State Park, in Lehighton.
Lehigh Gorge State Park, in White Haven.
Delaware State Forest, in the Lake Wallenpaupack area.
Mauch Chunk Lake Park, in Jim Thorpe.

Snowmobiling

Just as with snowboarding and with tubing, Poconos ski areas and resorts have heeded the call of popular pubic opinion, and set aside special trails for snomobiling as well. You can rent snomobiles at most ski areas, and also at lots of the resorts you might find yourself staying in. There are also stand-alone rental agencies that rent snomobiles, too. They will often only let you use the vehicles on their own designated property or trails, however. If you bring your own snomobile, make sure it's registered, like a car. Snomobiles used on public land must be registered. Please please please keep in mind that when you drive your snomobile off the designated snomobile trails, you are destroying the ecosystem that's trying to survive through the winter, and which already has it hard enough with survival. You will be crushing new growth, tearing up old growth, and causing erosion and general destruction, not the mention causing much ill-will towards snomobiling. With that said, here are places to go snomobiling in The Poconos:

Delaware State Forest, in the Lake Wallenpaupack area.
Promised Land State Park, in Promised Land Village, which is in the Mount Pocono area.
Beltzville State Park, near Lehighton, which is in the general vicinity of Jim Thorpe area.
Lehigh Gorge, in White Haven.
Tobyhanna State Park, just outside of Tobyhanna, which is in the Mount Pocono area.

Snowboarding

All the major alpine or downhill ski areas in The Poconos allow snowboarders on their slopes, and some even set aside special areas for snowboarding only. Lift tickets are the same price as for skiers, and they use the same lifts, too. You can find lots of half and quarter pipes for snowboarding, and areas for jumping, too. Snowboarding is statistically more dangerous than downhill skiing...more accidents and more sever accidents. Take advantage of the many snowboarding lessons offered at ski areas. Just as you can rent skis at ski mountains, you can usually rent snowboards, too. As with skiing season, resorts begin making snow around Thanksgiving and continue on through sometime in mid-March. You can go snowboarding all winter long, if you like.

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