3 Mountains on the East Coast to Visit Year-Round

Planning a vacation can be tiring, stressful & irritating and trying to find someplace that offers interest to everyone can also be a struggle sometimes. Say you love the snow & winter weather but your kids love the water & heat. Well here are 3 mountains on the East Coast that meets everyone’s needs.

#3: Mountain Creek - Vernon, New Jersey

Mountain Creek is a resort located in Vernon, New Jersey, right at the NY/NJ border. The mountain welcomes thousands of people & families year round, thanks to their efficient use of their mountain. Over the summer, you can head over to Mountain Creek and enjoy their outdoor waterpark, which includes slides, lazy rivers, wave pools and so much more. Tickets to get into the park start at $39.99 and parking is $10. Some more summer fun options are their bike park, which includes various paths for anyone from beginner to pro, ziplining down the mountain for a scenic view or taking the views at your own pace and using their Alpine Mountain Coaster, which you control. Now if you’re more of a winter person like myself, don’t worry, Mountain Creek has what you’re looking for. While all the summer activities sound like fun and they surely get a lot of traffic during that time, Mountain Creek is primarily known for Skiing & Snowboarding. The mountain offers two peaks for their visitors, North and South, with North being the more “family friendly” side with not many jumps and mainly just riding and South being the “fun zone” with all the jumps and rails you could imagine. Tickets to go riding start at $59. They also offer snow tubing for anyone not interested in riding. Mountain Creek also hosts the Special Olympics often and are holding the 2023 Special Olympics Winter Games this February. All around, this is the perfect “budget-friendly” attraction for families or solos. More information can be found at https://mountaincreek.com/.

#2: Jay Peak - Jay Peak, Vermont

If you’re looking to go more up north for your winter vacation, Jay Peak is the place for you. Jay Peak is located at the very top of Vermont, just 30 minutes away from the Canadian border. So you could probably imagine that wintertime and ski/snowboarding are a pretty big deal up there. And it is. The mountain’s terrain stretches over 300 acres and offers multiple trails for new and experienced riders to explore and at the top of the mountain, you can actually see parts of Canada. You can’t beat that view. But with so much to do and see comes a price. Tickets to go up the mountain for just half a day start at $76 and get gradually higher the longer you may want to stay. Many say that the price is worth it though, as there is typically more to ride, do and see at Jay Peak compared to Mountain Creek. But if you’re looking for a fun summer trip as well, like Mountain Creek, Jay Peak offers a variety of fun summer activities as well! Jay Peak has its very own indoor waterpark and outdoor pool to meet all your summer fun needs. You can even rent cabanas. The park offers kid friendly slides to risk taking dives and even a flowrider! Tickets start at $49 and kids 3 and under get in for free! More summer activities at Jay Peak include golf, spas, a movie theater, indoor ice rink, tram rides and shopping. To learn more about those activities, head over to https://jaypeakresort.com/ for more information.

#1: Camelback Mountain - Monroe County, Pennsylvania

Now, in this article, you’ve already read about 2 very fun and highly recommended resorts and you could be wondering “what’s better than snow AND summer at once?”. Well Camelback Mountain in Pennsylvania is the answer to that question and takes the cake for combining summer and winter fun. Like Jay Peak & Mountain Creek, Camelback’s main winter activity is skiing and snowboarding. Camelback offers 39 different ski trails, 166 acres of slope, 100% snow coverage and 3 ski in, ski out restaurants. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like every skier/snowboarder's dream come true. The mountain is highly recommended with many saying that it is also a great place for beginners or pros, like its competitors. Tickets start at $62. But what makes this mountain so special that is took the #1 spot? Well, if you haven’t noticed, these 3 attractions highly focus on winter sports, with all of them being very well known ski/snowboarding spots. But what sets Camelback so much higher than the others is its truly “year-round” functionality. If you’re not into snowboarding or skiing or snow in general, or you just want to take a day off of the snow fun, that’s no problem at Camelback and it seems highly impossible to get bored at this place. Camelback has 2 waterparks, Aquatopia Indoor Park and Camelbeach Outdoor Park, both providing hours of fun for you and your family. Aquatopia just opened up their new “Mountain Mayhem”, 403 foot ride. Camelbeach offers a fairly new flowrider experience and both parks have a wide range of slides, pools and rivers. Tickets start at $89 for both parks, but don’t wait too long, they sell out quickly! Aside from your usual waterpark summer fun, Camelback also has an indoor amusement center that includes escape rooms, laser tag, arcades and bumper cars. If you want to get outside and enjoy the fresh air, the resort also offers ziplining, a mountain coaster, UTV tours and a variety of after dark activities. To book your trip and learn more information, head over to https://www.camelbackresort.com.

No matter what mountain you choose to visit, it’s a clear sign that you’ll find loads of fun wherever you go. No matter the time of year, sun in the air or snow on the ground, these mountains will provide a family vacation that you and your family will remember forever.