Hunter Mountain is only a few hours from NYC and to be honest as a result is a bit crowded on weekends but for an all around good time while skiing, Hunter Mountain just cannot be beat in the North East.

Getting there is quite easy and there are quite a few places to stay that are close to the mountain as well as rentals available Mountainside (like everywhere else, you will pay top dollar and it is not always worth it). Should you need equipment, there a enough places to rent from outside with decent equipment, on the mountain itself you will pay more and the equipment is not as good, but for most beginners it is just fine. But expect long lines at the mountain for rentals, I recommend you rent closer to home or outside the mountain.

The lodge is large, but always crowded and you need to get there early to insure that you will get a locker large enough to keep your things in. There is adequate parking available at the base, but it is not paved so expect to be walking on muddy ground on warmer days, a major turn off.

There are quite a variety of trails available for the different levels of skiers and the black trails represent moderate to difficult levels of skiing comparative to other, "better" known mountains. The mountain has been Snow Board friendly but that could change at any time. They do have a half moon for boarders.

The big problem with Hunter is its proximity to NYC and the surrounding urban areas. You unfortunately get too large of a crowd and too much riff raff! I never feel safe to leave any equipment out of site for too long, locked or not. I know they say you should lock up everything, but for those of you who ski on a regular basis, you know when you can leave things out without concern (in many other places) and here you cannot! So needless to say that skiing at Hunter on almost any weekend during the season is out of the question. The prices are way too high and the lift lines almost unbearable to enjoy the weekends. In all fairness, during the week the place is great, but the nightlife will of course drop off considerably.

The best and only reason to go up there is the nightlife in Hunter. There are too many places to list and almost every one of them is a blast. The best is of course HVI (Hunter Village Inn) across from the mountain entrance. But like anywhere, watch the drinking and driving. In fact, let Smiley's do the driving (a local taxi service that should be familiar to the Hampton's crowd). One interesting thing is that almost all the bars and clubs are owned by all the same folks who own places out in the Hampton’s. So if you're friendly with the owners, bartender and regular crowd of the Hampton’s you will feel right at home out here. I do know quite a bit of the folks out there so needless to say I have a good time, even if I skip the skiing for the weekend. There are of course other things to do but I've never bothered with them (i.e., snowmobile, horseback riding, cross country skiing). All in all, Hunter is a fun place but not for skiing on the weekends. So go knowing you will have fun, provided the nightlife is for you, or just go during the week and have a good time. Or just go to Windham and have a much better experience and be close enough to enjoy the night life of Hunter Mountain (only 30 minutes away).

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