Getting ready for great family skiing right here in the Berkshires…
The people that live in New England and do nothing all winter but complain about snow and cold weather do nothing all winter. In order to realize how lucky we have it in the northeast you really need to embrace some sort of winter activity to find the joy of the outdoors during the winter months in New England.
One of those activities is skiing. When people are saying “I hope it doesn’t snow,” skiers are saying “I hope it snows…a lot.” Skiing in New England is unique and a challenge. You could have fresh powder one day and frozen granular the next. Hell, you can enjoy fresh powder in the morning and frozen granular in the afternoon. If you can ski the ever-changing conditions in New England, you can ski anywhere.
Sure, New England has some very impressive ski areas with great elevation and a ton of trails. Attitash, Sunday River, Wildcat, and Sugarloaf all come to mind. However, we are very fortunate to have so many great ski areas right here in the Berkshires.
Bousquet Mountain was recently purchased by a local group and has spent a lot of money renovating the facility over the spring, summer, and now into the fall. This year skiing Bousquet you will enjoy a brand-new base lodge, upgraded snowmaking, a newly upgraded lift, and wider trails according to the Bousquet website. Lots of other improvements will certainly bring Bousquet back to relive the glory days that made skiing in Pittsfield awesome. Bousquet offers both day and night skiing.
Ski Butternut is another ski area in the Berkshires located in South County in Great Barrington. The ski area rests on 100 acres, has 22 trails, 10 lifts, and 100% snowmaking capabilities according to the Ski Butternut website.
Jiminy Peak in Hancock features 45 trails and the summit is an impressive 2,380. The owners and staff are true believers in respecting the environment. The resort features a wind turbine that produces up to 50% of the electrical demand during winter months when the wind is the strongest according to the Jiminy Peak website. Jiminy Peak offers both day and night skiing.
Catamount is over the border in Hillsdale, New York which is about a 45-minute drive south from Pittsfield and only a 15-minute drive from Great Barrington. The mountain resort is located on Mount Frey and features 39 trails on 119 acres according to their Wikipedia page. The owners and operators are the Schaefer’s, a local family from Charlemont that also owns and operates Berkshire East Mountain Resort. They are one of the very few locally owned ski operations in New England.
Berkshire East is also locally owned by the Schaefer family who has some serious roots planted on the mountain with close to 45-years of ownership in this beautiful ski resort according to their website. Berkshire East is in Charlemont on the Mohawk Trail. The summit elevation is 1,700 ft with trails and 4 chair lift systems and 100% snow-making capabilities. They offer both day and night skiing.
Otis Ridge is in Otis Mass and features 10 trails, 2 lifts, and 2 rope tows. Otis Ridge also features both day and night skiing.