Peek'n Peak

Considering Western New York State for your next destination ski holiday? For most, the answer is probably not, but if you happen to be living in the general area, one of the options is Peek’n Peak. This hill is New York’s westernmost ski resort, located just about a mile from Pennsylvania’s border.

For less-experienced skiers and riders, Peek’n Peak offers a strong value proposition. In addition, the resort’s impressive architectural design, with many buildings in the style of Tudor-style castles, charms and delights. However, a number of drawbacks make this oddly-named resort a less-than-desirable option for many trip-goers, even those within the region.

Snow

Peek’n Peak is located about 13 miles from Lake Erie’s southern coast, so it benefits from lake effect snow, netting a very respectable average snowfall of 145 inches per year. This is nearly double the snowfall of its southern competitor Seven Springs, but not quite as impressive as its nearest competitor, Holiday Valley. Additionally, Peek’n Peak’s snowmaking infrastructure creates a solid base for those years when mother nature doesn’t cooperate. Even during particularly abysmal winters, Peek’n Peak may manage to stay 100% open by the mid-season.

Mountain Aesthetic

Western New York is not known for rugged mountains, and Peek’n Peek is not going to change that. The resort is cut into the side of a hill that overlooks farmland, and both the top and bottom parts outside the bounds of the resort often lack snow entirely. The top of the resort is lined by condos, leading the overall resort to feel strangely rural and agricultural at the bottom and suburban at the top.

When it comes to the footprint itself, Peek’n Peak has a relatively small demeanor with short, tree-defined runs that lack much in the way of distinguishing character.

Terrain Layout and Navigation

Still, the unusual layout of this front-facing resort lends a modestly distinct feel to each of its three major terrain zones. The three blue runs that define the southernmost pod feel more remote than the rest of the mountain, especially since only one of them returns to the rest of the resort. Along with some blues, the next pod over contains all of the mountain’s black terrain. This terrain is also the most unique of the resort, as many of the various black runs roll into a fun little valley. Moving over from there is a pair of top-to-bottom green trails, one featuring switchbacks, and the other a straight shot down. The pod furthest to the north holds a few blue runs and the resort’s park terrain, which features a surprisingly large and varied array of boxes, rails, barrels, stairs, and jumps.

As a consequence of its layout, for such a small resort, Peek’n Peek is surprisingly tedious to navigate. It requires two lift rides to get from the southern base area all the way to the northern one, andthreerides to get back!

TRAIL MAP

Lifts

Speaking of the lifts, Peek’n Peak’s fleet of fixed-grip triple chairs can handle whatever crowd flow the mountain draws, and while the lifts are all slow, the resort probably has more lift capacity than it needs. Two of the resort’s four main lifts, as well as the bunny hill lift, have a second, redundant lift that doubles uphill capacity on busy days. The lifts are showing signs of aging, with tattered seat cushions and cracked windows at several of the upper stations. Given the shortness of the runs, a high-speed upgrade may not make sense here, but the lift network is in need of a refresh.

Advanced and Expert Terrain

Although the resort advertises 24% advanced and expert terrain, none of Peek’n Peak’s black runs are particularly difficult. Runs of this difficulty are really only distinguished from blues by a slight increase in grade or narrower pathway. And even if they do happen to find Peek’n Peak’s black trails difficult, advanced and expert skiers will likely exhaust the resort’s offerings within an hour or so.

Beginner and Intermediate Terrain

On the other hand, the low overall level of difficulty here means that the resort’s advertised 12% green terrain is a bit of an undersell—on the contrary, Peek’n Peak is a solid place to learn. The resort offers an $80 first-time ski/ride package, which includes a 90-minute lesson, gear rental, and all-day access to the learning area, which is located immediately next to the base lodge and features two chairlifts and a magic carpet. After the lesson, learners can upgrade their pass to full-resort access for $45, opening access to the transitional green terrain just beyond the bunny hill, and eventually to the resort’s extensive blue terrain.

Skiers and riders at the intermediate level will be able to enjoy the entire footprint of the resort. In fact, the entirety of both the northernmost and southernmost terrain pods are made up exclusively of blue terrain. Those familiar with greens at larger destination resorts probably won’t have much of an issue with any of Peek’n Peak’s blues.

Facilities

The small resort boasts a surprising amount of food and dining options, with at least one located at each of the three base areas. Offerings include typical ski lodge fare, a bar-and-grill, and a relatively fancy sit-down restaurant at the hotel’s Bistro 210. Prices are reasonable relative to other ski resorts. The resort’s impressive Tudor-style architecture extends to many of these buildings.

Getting There

Peek’n Peak is not a destination resort—if you’re visiting, you’re almost certainly driving in from a point within a two-hour radius. Its nearest cities are Erie, PA (30 minutes); Buffalo, NY (1.5 hrs); Pittsburgh, PA (2 hrs); and Cleveland, OH (2 hrs).

Lodging

The gorgeous Inn at the Peak offers a ski-in, ski-out package which includes lift access for as little as $99 midweek. The resort also rents ski-in, ski-out condos across the entire top of the resort.

Après-ski

Peek’n Peak is isolated—there’s no town here. Still, because the resort offers night skiing, all of its bars and restaurants are open relatively late, meaning that après-ski is available no matter how late “après” begins for you.

Verdict

Peek’n Peak is a strong value proposition and a great place to learn for those who live within its radius, but it certainly won’t hold the interest of advanced and expert skiers—or even intermediates looking for more than a few hours’ worth of slope time. Geography hurts the resort, both in terms of its terrain as well as its competition: Pittsburgh skiers and riders are an hour closer to Seven Springs, and Buffalo residents are a half hour closer toHoliday Valley; both of these resorts offer overall better mountain experiences.

Cleveland residents willing to make the extra drive will likely find Peek’n Peak a more compelling daytrip offering than the more local, but tiny, Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, & Brandywine resorts (which are all now on the Epic Pass), but for Clevelanders staying the night, the extra hour to get to Holiday Valley may be a worthwhile investment.

Pricing

Peek’n Peak is a strong value proposition: weekend full-day tickets are $76, and weekday tickets $61, and since every one of resort’s runs remain open until 9 pm, visitors can get a lot of skiing or riding in for that price. The resort occasionally even offers an unadvertised buy-one-get-one special on midweek tickets.