6 of the best ski resorts on the USA’s East Coast

If an authentic, low-key experience is your vision of a ski holiday, the East Coast’s, admittedly colder than Cali, slopes are a playground of pistes for winter sports.

The USA’s mountain ranges, including the eastern Appalachians, are home to numerous ski resorts blanketed in snow over the winter season.

It’s under an eight-hour hop across the pond for British skiers to get to the East Coast; that’s around four reruns of the 2016 Eddie the Eagle movie, and a shaved flight time from the further-flung pistes of Colorado.

Plus, weeks or weekends spent slopeside in New England and upstate New York tie in nicely with a bucket list city break to the Big Apple come Christmas.

From the glam, groomed runs of Bretton Woods in the White Mountains to the pistes and parks of Vermont’s Killington, here are the best of the east coast’s slopes.

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Sunday River Resort, Maine

Santa Sunday raises money for charity every year

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Eight peaks, 139 trails, a network of 19 lifts and 884 acres of skiable terrain make up Sunday River Resort in Maine’s mountainous Newry, including the new-for-2023, high-speed Barker 6 ski lift, one of North America’s fastest. Shedloads of dependable snow – natural and manmade – powder the pistes from October to April so it’s no surprise that seasoned skiers flock to the eastern slopes on their weekends for downhill, twilight and Nordic skiing.

There’s even an annual Santa Sunday in December that sees hundreds of Father Christmas lookalikes take to Sunday River’s slopes to raise money for local education charity, The River Fund.

How to ski in Sunday River

Expedia is providing a seven-night stay at the ski-in/ski-out Grand Summit Hotel in Newry for £1,738 in a comfortable standard room sleeping four. A free ski shuttle, ski equipment hire and skiing lessons are also all accessible at the Grand, with Sunday River’s ski resort a stone’s throw away. Departs 2 January 2024.

Return flights from London Gatwick to Augusta State Airport from £617 with JetBlue in January.

Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

New Hampshire’s largest ski area, Bretton Woods offers glam slopeside stays

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With 464 acres of runs, New Hampshire’s largest ski resort, Bretton Woods, means business when it comes to alpine and racing ski sessions on trails with snowmaking to rival a Christmas snow globe.

In this stylish stretch of the White Mountains, traditional pubs have mastered the bites and beverages of the après ski scene, 100km of cross-country ski trails weave across open fields and the Bretton Woods Skyway Gondola ferries families to the summit of Mount Rosebrook for views of Mount Washington and the Presidential Range.

How to ski in Bretton Woods

Expedia has a package to spend seven nights at the Omni Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods’ grand upscale hotel, from £1,856pp, including return flights from London Heathrow, daily ski shuttles and a cosy economy room a three-minute drive from the Bretton Woods ski area. Guests will have access to steamy onsite spa facilities, ski lessons and nine restaurants serving American cuisine during their stay. Departs 6 January 2024.

Killington, Vermont

Known locally as ‘The Beast’, Killington boasts some of the east coast’s best ski slopes

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Vermont’s Killington and Pico Mountains thrive come winter when “The Beast” gets a blanketing of flakes, be it from the bitter Rutland County weather or one of the resort’s powerful snowmaking systems that promise powder well into May.

The popular East Coast ski slopes welcome skiers of all abilities with a wealth of varied terrain from pistes to parks, with wide turn greens at Ramshead and an 18-foot superpipe at Bear Mountain sandwiching the long blacks that wind below the K-1 Express Gondola.

How to ski in Killington

American Ski Classics features seven-day packages to Killington staying at The Mountain Inn, a rustic boutique hotel conveniently on the doorstep of Killington Distillery. From £1,850pp, room only, adventurous adults can explore Killington’s soaring peaks on a holiday that includes return flights from London Heathrow, 23kg checked luggage per person and six days of ski equipment rental. Departs 16 December 2023.

Wachusett Mountain, Massachusetts

The alpine ski resort teams varied terrain with high-altitude pistes

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From Wachusett Mountain, a pristine New England ski resort with 27 trails, eight lifts and a vertical drop of 1,000ft, the Boston skyline sparkles on winter sports weekends with some built-in R&R away from the city.

You’ll find plenty of on and off-piste activities for the whole family at the New England resort, be it flicking some new tricks in the Hitchcock and Frannie’s Folly terrain parks, mountain sweet treats in the Waffle Cabin or snowshoeing through frosty off-grid terrain.

How to ski in Wachusett Mountain

Booking.com is offering seven nights at the Great Wolf Lodge New England in Leominster from £1,933, room only, for families of four. An indoor waterpark, themed rooms for young children and four on-site restaurants make the lodge the ideal spot for some off-piste fun just 11 minutes’ drive from Wachusett Mountain and the Monadnock Triple ski lift. Departs 5 January 2024.

Return flights from London Heathrow to Boston Logan International Airport from £382 with Virgin Atlantic in January.

Hunter, New York

Three hours north of NYC, Hunter Mountain offers four faces of skiing fun

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With 55km of groomed slopes across four faces of Big Mountain, upstate New York’s premier ski resort makes the ultimate weekend ski getaway destination for NYC residents.

In this section of the Catskills, alpine chalet bars are masters of mulled wine, express lifts (The Kaatskill Flyer) ferry visitors 1,676m to the top of the peaks and pistes and the new-for-2023 bubly Tubing Park promises to slide you home at the end of a long day of finetuning your best ski manoeuvres.

How to ski in Hunter

Hunter Mountain Resort has seven nights at the lavish Kaatskill Mountain Club in the northern Catskill Mountains of New York State. Studio suites comfortably sleep two adults for $1,203.12 (£994) per person, including relaxing spa access, a muscle-melting heated pool and ski-in/ski-out privileges from the doorstep of the hotel. Departs 4 December 2023.

Return flights from London Heathrow to Albany Airport from £567 with American Airlines in December.

Blue Mountain Resort, Pennsylvania

A family favourite in the Pocono Mountains, Blue Mountain Resort is a winter sports paradise

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Lifts begin spinning at Palmerton’s top-notch Blue Mountain resort in the Pocono Mountains come the end of November, with the pistes of Pennsylvania’s highest vertical skiing (1,082ft) prepped for skiers of all abilities to take to the slopes.

Five terrain parks bless Blue Mountain with basic jumps at the Yeti and high flyers at the Central Park - a dream for adrenalline-seeking mountain dwellers if the thrills of the largest snow tubing hills in the US, with 52 different lanes, aren’t quite enough for you.

How to ski in Blue Mountain

A seven-night stay at the Woodstone Country Club’s rustic lodge in Danielsville, just a nine-minute drive from Blue Mountain Resort, starts from $1,155 (£941) based on two people sharing a standard room. Stand-out features of a country club ski stay include complimentary continental breakfasts, crackling fireplaces and jacuzzi bathtubs in the spacious suites. Departs 9 February 2024.

Return flights from London Heathrow to Allentown Airport from £595 with American Airlines in January.

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