Belleayre

Located only two and a half hours away from New York City, Belleayre is a doable day trip for many in this area. Belleayre is great for those looking to make a fun day trip thanks to family-friendly terrain and reasonable crowds for the region, but a few factors make the mountain a tough sell for those planning a weekend getaway.

Size and Terrain Layout

Belleayre has 171 skiable acres and a 1,404-foot vertical drop. This is about average for the Catskill region but on the smaller side compared to the East Coast’s top destinations.

Belleayre has a particularly odd layout, characterized by parking lots both at mid-mountain and at the main base. This mid-mountain access road and parking lots essentially cut the resort in two—only a small sliver of the far skiers’ right of the resort offers continuous top-to-bottom skiing without having to navigate a ski bridge. The lower mountain primarily caters to beginners, while the upper mountain is home to trails designed for intermediate-to-expert skiers and riders.

Beginner Terrain

Belleayre offers perhaps the best beginner experience in the Catskills. Belleayre offers three carpets in its bunny hill, and the Lightning Quad also services a handful of beginner runs. These lower-mountain resort areas are very isolated from the rest of the resort, which helps keep more aggressive skier and rider traffic away. Although there are no beginner runs from the top of the mountain, most beginners should be able to handle both the Roaring Brook and the Deer Run intermediate trails, which would likely be considered greens at competitors like Windham and Plattekill.

Intermediate Terrain

With almost 60% of trails rated as blues, Belleayre offers more intermediate-rated terrain than any other difficulty type. This type of terrain is abundant, but there are a few caveats. First of all, the bulk of Belleayre’s blue trails take similar routes and feel somewhat redundant. In addition, getting to many of these trails requires either taking an advanced or expert trail first or engaging on a flat catwalk to reach the starting point. This can make the experience for moderately-skilled skiers and riders a bit more annoying than one might expect.

TRAIL MAP

Advanced Terrain

Belleayre’s advanced terrain ranges from steep groomers to mogul runs, but as with other resorts in this region, its black-diamond runs can’t compare to those found at resorts further north in the Adirondacks and Vermont.

While they do feature steep sections worthy of the black-diamond rating, the vast majority of Belleayre’s black runs are quite short, with most of them only lasting the first few hundred feet off the summit of the mountain. As with the blues, these runs feel decently similar and mostly differ based on their grooming status. The resort technically features two advanced-level glade runs, but they’re almost never open.

Expert Terrain

Belleayre is not for serious experts. The resort's seven expert trails are similar in steepness to its advanced slopes, but the double-black runs typically feature more consistent moguls compared to the occasionally-groomed single-black runs. There are also a handful of expert tree runs, but as with Belleayre’s single-black glades, these remain closed most of the season unless if there happens to be notable recent snowfall.

It’s also worth noting that Belleayre officially closed its Upper Cathedral Brook trail, which was the longest and most consistently steep double-black trail on the mountain, in the early 2020s. The trail’s closure is a loss for experienced skiers and riders.

Backcountry Access

Believe it or not, Belleayre does offer some backcountry access. Across from the edge of the Deer Run trail is the old, abandoned Highmount Ski Area. This area has a few cut but overgrown trails. The runs empty out into the Highmount base area where there are still remnants of a lodge and lifts. From here you will either need a car or you can walk back along the road to the resort. The walk is about a half-hour.

Terrain Park

Belleayre falls short when it comes to freestyle terrain. The resort offers one main terrain park called Area 51 and occasionally sets up a smaller park on the lower half of this trail, typically referred to as Area 15. These areas do have the minimum viable amount of boxes, rails, and jumps, but when it comes to park, there are far better options.

Snow Quality and Resiliency

Belleayre’s snow quality is relative to most other ski resorts in this area such as Hunter and Windham. Expect variable conditions with a firm icy surface most of the season and a few powder days every year. Depending on the weather, new storms can bring either rain or snow.

On the plus side, Belleayre boasts extensive snowmaking capabilities, covering nearly all the groomed trails. As a result, the resort generally offers the best early and late season conditions in the Catskill region.

Lifts

Belleayre has a pretty modern lift set-up for the Catskill region, with both a high-speed quad, the Belleayre Express, and an eight-passenger gondola, the Catskill Thunder Gondola, holding down service to most terrain. Belleayre’s gondola is the only enclosed lift in the entire Catskill region, giving the resort a significant leg up over nearby competitors on cold days.

Belleayre’s helper lifts are on the slower side, with the Hawk and Overlook Quads, which serve just the upper mountain, and the Lightning Quad, which serves just the lower mountain, being slow, fixed-grip lifts. The Overlook Quad is new for the 2023-24 season, having replaced Lift 7 in a slightly elongated alignment that extends the lift below the mid-mountain parking lot (a new ski bridge has been installed in tandem with the new lift).

Crowds

Belleayre does see some crowds during busy times, but they’re nothing compared to Windham or Hunter. The resort is a good pick to attempt to escape some crowds from the city.

However, although crowds are better than Windham and Hunter, Belleayre still regularly sees 10-15 minute waits—especially on rare Catskill powder days. The Belleayre Express and Catskill Thunder Gondola are chokepoints early in the morning.

Navigation

It can be a little hard to navigate Belleayre despite its reasonable size. Getting from the Belleayre Express to the Hawk Quad can be especially tricky as you have to traverse a few catwalks. It is also hard to lap the gondola if you don’t want to continuously take the Deer Run trail. Both of these circumstances put more pressure on the Belleayre Express lift on busy days.

It’s also worth noting that the terrain zone immediately to skiers’ right of the Overlook Lodge—which also happens to be the only part of the resort where the upper and lower mountains are contiguous without a ski bridge—is also quite flat and requires some speed. However, this area sees a fair amount of skier traffic and can get congested, so maintaining this speed can be tough.

On-Mountain Facilities

Belleayre offers multiple lodges, which—at a first glance—might make it look like a great mountain for those looking to stop in for a break. However, none of these lodges are the necessary size to handle demand, even with Belleayre’s lower traffic than some competing mountains. On weekends it can be hard to find seating at any of the lodges, including the two at the base, so come prepared to pack your own food and sit in your car for lunch.

Mountain Aesthetic

Belleayre has some nice views of the surrounding Catskill Mountains. But with the resort’s multiple lifts and smaller size, guests won’t feel very secluded at this mountain—even in some of the gladed areas. While Belleayre doesn’t bring the same amusement-park-like vibes as the worst NYC-area ski hills, it falls well short of a “big mountain” vibe.

Getting There and Parking

Belleayre stands out thanks to its proximity to New York. The mountain is approximately two-and-a-half hours from the New York City metropolitan area, and even closer from some New Jersey and Westchester suburbs.

For those who don’t have a car (or don’t want to drive), bus services exist between the resort and popular New York hubs such as Manhattan and Brooklyn. Some sort of bus service runs to and from Manhattan on a daily cadence during the core season; however, on off-peak weekdays, these buses can be at inconvenient times and not practical for a day trip.

For those who decide to drive, Belleayre offers three main parking areas. They offer free parking at the base, the mid-mountain Overlook Lodge, and slopeside along The Crossing trail. For those who want the most convenient spots, the resort also offers preferred parking by the Overlook Lodge.

RFID Lift Tickets

Belleayre has a very easy system for picking up your RFID card, utilizing the same efficient system as Whiteface and Gore. Simply scan your barcode, and the machine dispenses your lift ticket. It’s quick and efficient.

Lodging

Perhaps the biggest deterrent to a Belleayre weekend trip is its lack of on-site lodging. The resort lacks on-mountain accommodations entirely, and there isn’t much in the immediate vicinity either. There is some lodging in the greater surrounding area, including the Emerson Resort and Spa, which is about 20 minutes away.

Après-ski

There are two bars at Belleayre. The nightlife scene is pretty much non-existent but there are some restaurants and bars in the surrounding area.

Verdict

Belleayre is perfect for those looking to make an easy day-trip from the city, but the resort does not have the infrastructure, size, or terrain variety to justify a true weekend getaway. The mountain is great for those learning to ski or ride, but experienced guests will be left craving more. Thanks to its snowmaking capabilities, Belleayre is one of the best early-season options for those traveling from the city.

Pricing

Belleayre’s lift tickets are fairly reasonable for those who make their plans in advance, with 1-day adult rates going for as low as $57 on off-peak weekdays. Window rates top out at $104, which is somewhat steep for the experience but still on par with most nearby competitors.

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