njskiandride: Snow Bowl Ski Area 1/30/22

[Justo8484]

Seemed like the poconos got skunked, and I didn't have the time to venture into the majestic mountains of New York or New England, so we undertook a mission a little closer to home. After digging through the NELSAP archives and the be-all-end-all of information that is Facebook, @GSSucks and I set our sights on Snow Bowl, a defunct ski area about an hour from NYC in northern New Jersey.

I left home around 5:30 with a friend and we met @GSSucks about 2 hours later where he was pulled off on the side of the rode like a creeper. Car said 5°, weather app said -6° wind chill. Fueled by rice crispy treats and coffee, I booted up and we started our ascent. Minor wrong turn took us into what might have formerly been a snowmaking pond. Luckily it was all dried up, but it made for a spicy descent with skins on and heels loose. 

 

After we found the trail again, the uphill was relatively easy and uneventful. No one else was there, so @GSSucks set the skin track and we tried to keep up. Once at the top, one could theoretically see the NYC skyline, or at least the old trail map says so, but I saw no buildings. Oh well, the snow was good and we had it all to ourselves. We transitioned from uphill to downhill mode and took our first lap. Top 1/3 was a little scrapey and wind blow, but once the pitch kicked up and we got a little farther down the hill, the snow in the loosely spaced trees was great. Probably about 5-6", with some deeper pockets from drifting. 

 

We did four laps in total, for just shy of 1500 vert, with our last run having the best snow of the four. At under 2 hours from home, it's a great option for me when coastal storms skunk the Poconos but deliver farther east.

[GSSucks]

Felt like skiing in VT without the drive, dam fun morning. Might try and make it back Wednesday morning before the rain. 

[Johnny Law]

Soooo sick and conceptually its always cool to ski so close to NYC.

Is that the one you can see from 287/78 ? I have family that lives in Berkely Heights and I could always see it driving but I wasn't sure if that was hilltop ?

[Mixilplix]

Bravo gentleman....Love stuff like that... 

[pcklein31]

Nice report... How hard is it to to find where to go/park?  

I've never heard of this place, but looks like I live about 20 minutes away(near Rockaway Mall)

Here is to hoping we get more snow this year... Won't be able to get out before the rain

[toast21602]

10 minutes ago, pcklein31 said:

Nice report... How hard is it to to find where to go/park?  

I've never heard of this place, but looks like I live about 20 minutes away(near Rockaway Mall)

Here is to hoping we get more snow this year... Won't be able to get out before the rain

I can't speak for them, but I looked into this place last year when we got a bunch of snow and I think there was a small parking lot right along the road as well as a school very close by. I'm pretty sure this is part of a county park now, so there are some trails and maybe a bike park? 

 

[pcklein31]

9 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

I can't speak for them, but I looked into this place last year when we got a bunch of snow and I think there was a small parking lot right along the road as well as a school very close by. I'm pretty sure this is part of a county park now, so there are some trails and maybe a bike park? 

 

Appreciated,, good know!

I saw it was listed as some kind of preserve now, so I assumed there was likely some kind of maintenance. Thanks

[Justo8484]

Yup, right by a school. I don’t think you’d be able to see it from any highway, as it’s not that big and the trails are really not that wide as you can see in my photos. It’s part of Mahlon Dickerson preserve, so yes they do trail maintenance. There are trails in there that people bike, though I don’t think there’s an actual bike park, technically.


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[indiggio]

9 hours ago, toast21602 said:

I can't speak for them, but I looked into this place last year when we got a bunch of snow and I think there was a small parking lot right along the road as well as a school very close by. I'm pretty sure this is part of a county park now, so there are some trails and maybe a bike park? 

 

Looking at the place on Google Earth, looks like there's a parking lot right at the entrance or perhaps in the school lot?


 

[abe]

Super cool my mom and her brothers and sisters learned how to ski there