Snö Mountain

I was there with a group and as a beginner. The instructor was good and beginner slopes where decent. There was a little too much ice though. Food was ok.

I went skiing here with a group of friends the first weekend of February 2013. Overall, we had a good time. The skiing conditions were ok. While all of the slopes were open, you could tell that with additional snow, the trails would be much wider. The runs here are probably the longest in the Poconos. That being said, they also have the slowest lifts as well. These two features combine to give you one chilly ride to the top of the mountain. While there, we predominately used the «Long Haul» lift which runs from the absolute bottom of the mountain to the peak. It is extremely slow. So much so that a few in our group chose to end the day earlier because they were getting too cold during the long lift rides.
On the plus side though, when you combine the intermediate runs with the advance runs on that side of the hill, you end up with great, long runs. We were surprised by the lack of other skiers since it was a Saturday. The hills never got too crowded, and we never had to wait in line for the lift.
I have to say that one of the great things about Sno Mt is the bar. They have actual food, not just chicken fingers and French fires, but sandwiches and platters all for a reasonable prices — around $ 10. Plus they don’t kill you for beers. The Saturday we were there they had $ 2 Coors Lights, $ 3 Yuengling’s & $ 4 Shock Tops.

This is one of my favorite mountains in the tri-​state area. They run great specials especially for military and they are always having some type of discount. I have never really had to wait on a lift there and you can pretty much bet the crowd is going to be more local and smaller. I like the hills and they even have a double black for the adventurous types. It is not huge however they have tubing for the kids and a terrain park for boarders. The mountain is very snowboard friendly and the lodge has a nice little pub for the parents and some post boarding drinks. This is definitely my go to local slope!

The summertime destination for the wintertime ski bums. Try saying that 5 times fast.
Dubbed «Northeast PA’s Newest Waterpark and Family Fun Headquarters», this water park is nestled on top of Snö Mountain (formerly Montage), which is the ski slop in the winter (but you probably already figured that out from the catchy tag line).
This place is pretty cool. Are you feeling adventurous? Well then, the zip line is calling your name. Sitting in the ski lift, you are transported to the top of the mountain, get harnessed in, and sit back and enjoy the view! Soar over tree tops, ski trails, slides, rides, and hundreds of amazed onlookers as you race down the mountain at speeds reaching over 50 mph! Traveling with a group of 4? No problem, it is set up to where you can all go at the same time! Memories to last a lifetime.
Zip lines not your thing? Not to worry! There are all sorts of water activities to partake in! Some of the attractions include: Tundra Tornado, Sno Cove Beach Wave Pool, Baby Moose Watering Hole, and Polar Bear Pond to name a few.
Hanging out in the sun all day makes one hungry and thirsty. Where does one go to eat? Dipping Dots, hot dogs, pizza, and popcorn are just a few items you can find at the Snö Grille. Over 21? Check out Snö Grille Restaurant, which serves a variety of barley pops, in addition to wine, cocktails and numerous food items to choose from.
Check the website for some cool upcoming events that the park is hosting!
Nice place to relax and cool off from the humid summer weather.

Sno’s ok. I’ve done the bottom of the mountain (black diamond area) once on skis last year. The runs were relatively short and repetitive for the most part, but not terrible. There’s a good amount of snow down at the base. The upper mountain has the green/​blues and that area flat out sucks. The runs are extremely repetitive and the greens/​blues are basically the same skill level. They’re short, pretty boring, and it’s typically windy up there. The lifts are almost as slow as Bear Creek’s, which is not a good thing. No high speed lifts here. The one pro to this place is the food in the bar. It’s greasy and yummy. Otherwise, there are military/​student discounts, so whip out those cards!

My husband taught our 3 year old son to ski here. The conditions were based on the weather, which was not ideal. The prior day of rain caused it to be icy.
It’s a great place for a couple hours.
HUGE BONUS: THEY OFFER AN AWESOME MILITARY DISCOUNT!

Sno Mountain is alright. My friends and I unfortunately went when it was extremely windy. It was extremely icy at the top of the mountain where the easier courses are. They made some snow, but the wind blew it all away. We were forced to stay on the black diamonds all day because they had the most powder. As an intermediate snowboarder at best, I was not too thrilled about this, but it was better than a thick sheet of ice.
All the trails were pretty much the same. I liked that they were wide, but they generally curved the same way, and the only noticeable difference between trails was the steepness. I got bored very quickly.
We went Presidents’ day weekend, so there was a «parade» (which was just a bunch of skiers holding flares going down the mountain) and fireworks. There were a few fire pits around, too. The lodge offered a made-​to-​order pasta bar for $ 10 where a handsome chef seasons your pasta the way you want it with the option of adding mushrooms, onions, broccoli, sausage, meatballs, shrimp, olives, various other toppings, and finally, with white or red sauce.
Maybe it was just the terrible conditions, but the only emotion I can conjure about the trails is ‘meh’. The nice things about the lodge and the fireworks can’t quite bump this up to four stars.

Family bargain! Yes, it’s not the biggest place, but the grooming is always fantastic, the people are helpful and laid back, and I never have waited in line for anything. You can picnic in the lodge without getting hassled or getting stuff stolen. The food is decent and large portions. The lodge itself is not the coziest, but if you care, then you’re not really a skier are you ;) The place is nearly empty until afternoon when the snow boarders show up. The double blacks keep my hubby grinning, the kids love the greens and the several wide blues… none of those rediculous narrow greens that become an icy obstacle course like at the two other nearby resorts. The many random jumps (optional of course!) also keep things interesting. Absolute best thing… ski school instructors are great and even a group lesson tends to have a max of three kids, so they learn tons at a fast rate. Another huge plus… you can get a 40 dollarish timestamped ticket to ski any four hours… great to get there at whatever time you can gather the family and all the gear and actually be geared up, then pay for ski time and only ski time… Without my husband rushing us out at dawn or denying the kids a lunch break because our tickets are wasting away!
Also very convenient parking, and I actually found lost stuff at the lost and found! Fire pits and drinks on the deck are a nice touch at sunset too.
Only drawback for young families… limited lessons for 3 to 5 year olds and no skiwee or daycare. We just bring grandma!
Oh, and the waterpark version in summer was a similar experience… just big enough for us to keep all age kids busy, and the ten year old group could have a lot of independence since it’s pretty centralized, except for the very cool bumper boats at the bottom of the chairlifts by the lake.
We give five stars, as do all sets of houseguests we have brought over the years!

A decent resort. Could use more trails. For beginners, I counted a total of one bunny green (whose lift is almost never operational) and one long green with three detour ramps thrown in.

We do like skiing SNO MOUNTAIN. I like how all the expert runs are at the bottom. They are a little short but pretty challenging particularly the head walls & ESPECIALLY White Lightning. That one just plans scares me! You can get some really long runs in if you start at the top and ski to the bottom of the expert runs. The chair lift isn’t the fastest but gets the job down. The upper part of the mountain is pretty wide open so if you go on a windy day it can practically blow you back up the mountain.
Inside the lodge they have a convoluted locker system where you have to go to an office and get a key where there is always a line to get the key & return it (to receive your $ 5 deposit). They also did a kind of jerky thing where they but slanted boards above the lockers
so you can’t put anything on top of lockers. It’s really kind of a dick move if you ask me.
BUT — if you give me a choice of skiing Jack Frost/​Big Boulder or Sno Mountain I’m going to pick Sno Mountain every time. It’s just BETTER.

We skiied at Sno (or Snö) and Elk this weekend. Snö was relatively uncrowded. The runs are split in that there are not a lot of intermediate. I was impressed with two things, one is that a skier crashed instead of hitting my son, and that a lift operator subtly slowed a lift as we got off. So, the people there are a little more friendly and considerate than some skiers can be. We would definitely go back. The grooming was good, and the snow was good, in that it was great than 30 F all day and while not slushy or quite spring conditions, it was easier to ski, with only small ice patches. The food that I tried in passing was good but expensive, like $ 6 for a small chilli that costs $ 4 at an expensive place.
I liked their web site, but I’m perhaps more easily pleased than other reviewers.

As I was gently taken away by the rickety chair lift, I thought to myself, «So. This is what skiing in the 1930s was like, eh?».
It think that their website kind of shows how dated they are. The hill is pretty small and although the trails are wide and spacious, it is generally pretty lacking in that you spend more time on the old lifts than you do going down the hills. Still, I guess that’s better than spending the time in line.
The one bright spot is that they don’t charge extra for the tubing so if you’re tired of going down the same ski trail, you can do that instead.
The lodge food was expensive and ridiculous with sub-​gas station food at gourmet prices. For example, two hot chocolates and a pretzel? $ 11.50. I think they sub-​contracted their hot food out to Dairy Queen.
On top of all of that, their Skee-​Ball machines are both broken. C’MON!!!
Seriously, though. If I’m writing a review of a ski «resort» and have mentioned skee-​ball, you know the place is iffy.

Montage Mountain, now Snö Mountain, is an excellent ski resort in the Poconos of North East Pennsylvania. This is the second year of privately owned independent operation, having been owned previously by Lackawanna County and was the local ski hill for Scranton and Wilkes Barre residents. With the independent ownership as a result of a sale, there have been numerous improvements including snowmaking and very good food.
The resort has no lodging, as it caters primarily to nearby residents. However, it is worth a trip from Philadelphia, New York and even as far down as DC. Uncrowded, with fabulous snow making and friendly staff.
Primarily a ski mountain, the resort has made strides in making non-​skiers and non-​boarders welcome. A tubing hill is available, and a new zipline takes adventurers down about 600 feet at vertiginous speeds from the top of the mountain down to the main lodge.
The trails are primarily beginner and advanced, with a lack of true intermediate trails. The blue trails they market are straight as an arrow and despite the incredible snow making, lack a lot of the challenge that a true blue trail may have.
However, when it comes to advanced terrain, the lower half of the resort has one slope with their standard bearing double-​black diamond, White Lightning. This trail is easily 55 to 60 degrees in slope and offers an amazing challenge to the expert skier. The other two double black diamonds are also outstanding, Boomer and Smoke. There are several single black diamonds that offer a very good challenge also.
The only down side to the resort is the lack of high-​speed detachable lifts. However, considering the lack of crowds, it doesn’t affect the transit time as even during busy weekends, there are few lines.
The other salient point is the food. With the passage into private hands, the new owners have set up the best ski lodge food in the Mid Atlantic. No hockey puck hamburgers here. Their sit-​down restaurant is very good to excellent, and it has a pasta and fresh meat bar with food cooked on the spot by a talented chef. Outstanding.
Highly recommended for a great ski day in the East.