Lead Photo Credit: @crotched_mountain Instagram
This past Sunday at 2 a.m., the clocks fell back an hour. Annoyingly, the East Coast loses its light earlier. Within a week, the sun over my stretch of the Jersey Shore disappears before 5 p.m. That’s right around the time that most of us are pretending to put a period on one last email.
However, there is one upside that everyone seems to forget. The best time to ski for anyone with a job, is under the lights. And the night skiing après ski? That’s its own animal. The lines are shorter, the beers are undoubtedly colder, and the parking lot feels like a tailgate party with chairlifts.
What Is Night Skiing Après?
Night skiing après ski is not your average post ski day scene. Instead it’s getting in a few hours after work, then grabbing a pint by the fire in the lodge before the lifts shut down for the night. It is not a full day. It is laps for 2-3 hours, one or two good beers, and home and in bed before the evening news. On a Wednesday night, that’s exactly the point.
Bear Creek Night Skiing: Every Trail Lit Until 9
Photo Credit @bear_creek Instagram
Bear Creek in Macungie, Pennsylvania, has 100% of its terrain lit up and runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. This includes 23 trails and parks and 510 vertical feet. Is it Jackson Hole? No, not at all. It doesn’t have to be.
Bear Creek has a lodge that gets it right. Just inside the main lodge, you’ll find The Grille serving beers from their rotating tap list and house brined wings that are a must after the last chair. Upstairs at Trail’s End Café, you can look out over the pool and pretend to count your kids’ laps. In the background a solo act works through an acoustic set as you listen and work through your beer.
The best thing I found at Bear Creek wasn’t on a menu. It was a local who kept a gallon water jug stashed in the bushes at the top of the lift. Was this a bold hydration strategy or a possible cover story? I never asked. Either way, I respect the effort.
Crotched Mountain Night Skiing and the Midnight Madness Legend
Photo Credit: @crotched_mountain Instagram
Crotched Mountain, in Bennington, New Hampshire, is the night skiing legend. Come mid-December, night skiing runs Tuesday through Saturday until 9 p.m. You’ll get 1,000 vertical feet on five lifts and a weeknight crowd you know left work early.
Then there’s Midnight Madness. Five select nights throughout the season the lifts at Crotched until midnight. The DJ keeps the lodge pumping while the drink specials have them dancing in the free glow gear giveaway they just received. Old timers that still show up will tell you it used to run until 3 a.m. They aren’t lying. They also aren’t 22 anymore. Neither are you.
Take some time to thaw out at the Onset pub between sessions. Then go back out. The snow under the lights at 11:30 is firm, fast, and fun.
Snow King Night Skiing: The Town Hill in Jackson
Out West, night skiing is about as rare as inexpensive housing in Teton County. Snow King is the exception to the rule. Rising straight up out of the town of Jackson, and within walking distance to town square, it’s the only night skiing in the Jackson area.
Snow King is no kiddy hill. With 110 acres of night terrain and 1,571 feet of vertical, most of which you can see directly from the bar, their numbers are legit. Night skiing there is a short window that runs roughly 4 to 6:30 p.m. Ski the big mountain by day, the town hill at twilight, then walk to dinner without ever having to repark.
Night Skiing Survival Kit
- Lens: be sure to pack both lenses. Swap to a clear or low light lens as the sun dips because dark lenses at night are how you become instant friends with a snow gun.
- Layers: pack extra layers because the temperature falls hard like a big tree once the sun leaves.
- Tickets: If you are only skiing at night, look for evening or extended session tickets. They usually cost less than a full day and can save you money for an extra round or two.
- Timing: get there at the start. The snow is still decent during the first hour under the lights. After that the groomers get scraped pretty thin from a long day of being skied on .
Where Is the Best Night Skiing on the East Coast?
For convenience from New York and Philly, Bear Creek wins on every trail lit and lifts until 9 every day. For the party, circle Crotched’s Midnight Madness nights the minute they post.
The lights brighten the trail. There’s a speaker in the lot playing something from 2003. Meanwhile the liftie waves you on for one more run, and nobody in the lodge is watching the clock anymore.
About the Author
Rich Stoner is the founder of the après-ski lifestyle clothing and media brand, All About Après. He is also the co-host of the Après All Day Podcast. No stranger to the ski and après-ski scene, Rich has been a long time contributor for many publications on topics like skiing, travel, gear, beer and food. However, his passion is on the slopes and enjoying good times with good people. You can find him perfecting his craft carving turns and drinking beers in the Green Mountains of Vermont. @allaboutapres