Plattekill

Located in the Catskill region of New York State, Plattekill is the only family-owned ski resort left in the region—and a somewhat under-the-radar alternative to other popular day-trip resorts. As the furthest Catskill mountain from New York City at just under three hours away, the ski area offers significantly fewer lift lines and less buildup than its nearby competitors.

But while Plattekill may offer low crowds, a local vibe, and some surprisingly interesting terrain, the mountain falls short in a few key ways. And while the ski area may market itself as a “family skiing” mountain, it turns out there’s a little bit more to that story.

Size and Terrain Layout

Plattekill has 130 skiable acres with 40 trails and a 1,100 ft vertical drop. This makes it much smaller than competitors. The mountain has a simple layout with two peaks and one base area. The North Face double chair provides access to most of the mountain's expert terrain and the Sunshine triple chair gives guests access to a few beginner, intermediate, and advanced trails.

Beginner Terrain

Despite the Catskill region’s reputation for having family and friendly terrain, Plattekill's beginner terrain is surprisingly lacking. While the resort does have a magic-carpet-served bunny hill, progression options from there are extremely limited, with the next easiest terrain being two long cruisers, one off each peak. As a result, beginners will find themselves missing a stepping stone between the magic carpet and the green trails from the top of the mountain. Those looking to learn how to ski or ride within driving distance of New York City will find better options elsewhere.

Intermediate Terrain

Once again, Plattekill surprises with the intensity of its intermediate-rated trails. The intermediate terrain at Plattekill is generally harder than other blues in the region. Unlike nearly every other ski resort within reasonable proximity, Plattekill does not consistently groom all of its blue runs. This can result in mogul buildup on multiple trails, which may be very difficult for typical intermediates to navigate—and makes Plattekill’s blues relative in challenge to some advanced or even expert trails at other Catskill region mountains. The lack of grooming is especially present on the terrain served by the double chair.

But Plattekill’s blue runs are not universally unmaintained. The resort does groom a handful of its intermediate trails on a regular basis, most notably the Sundown to Lower Face route off the triple chair. The resort does not reliably post grooming reports, but grooming operations tend to be better later in the season once the natural snow base has built up. If you’re unsure of conditions during your visit, it may be best to check with locals to understand the grooming status of each run.

Terrain Park

Plattekill has one small terrain park on the Shredded Mozzarella intermediate trail. It usually consists of boxes, rails, and small jumps, but it isn’t anything to write home about.

TRAIL MAP

Advanced Terrain

Plattekill doesn’t have many single-black-diamond-rated slopes, although some of the aforementioned blues would likely qualify for this rating at other mountains. The only groomed black run is the Upper Face, which is located off the triple chair. The Cliffs trail is unique for the Catskills, providing some small cliff drops that are hard to come by at other resorts in the region (although these are not mandatory). The rest of Plattekill’s single-black runs are ungroomed and typically bumped up, making the resort a much better place to practice moguls than other Catskill region competitors.

Expert Terrain

If you’re looking for expert terrain in the Catskill region, Plattekill is the place to be. The mountain offers the steepest and most sustained pitches in all of the Catskills—unlike nearby competitors, the resort’s toughest trails maintain their gradients from top to bottom. Trails such as Blockbuster and Freefall are very steep and with moguls built up, they’re very difficult, making for some surprisingly good endurance terrain.

Snow Quality and Resiliency

Plattekill, like most other ski resorts in the region, has very variable conditions throughout the core winter season. The resort will see a few powder days a year, but guests should mostly expect a firm or icy surface.

As a small, family-owned ski resort, Plattekill lacks modern snowmaking. After numerous days with no snow or warm weather, the mountain can develop bare spots and become unenjoyable to ski or ride on. The limited grooming operations don’t help either, with more trails typically remaining ungroomed than groomed. Due to these circumstances, Plattekill will often have the shortest season of anywhere in the Catskills.

Navigation

Thanks to its compact, simple layout, it's very easy to navigate Plattekill. There are only two lifts and two peaks, and all trails lead back to both lifts and the singular base area. There is one small drawback; if you end up on one side of the base and want to get to the other, a hill exists between the double and the triple chairs. If you are at the bottom of the double chair, you will either need to take your skis off or sidestep up a hill to get to the triple lift.

Lifts and Crowds

Perhaps Plattekill’s biggest drawback is its lift setup. The resort is held down exclusively by slow lifts, one double and one triple, both of which are over forty-five years old at this point. While these lifts aren’t the longest in the region, the long ride times can be somewhat of a pain on cold days.

On the other hand, the crowds at Plattekill are pretty much non-existent. Despite the low capacity of the chairlifts, skiers and riders will never be waiting more than a few minutes in a lift line, even during peak times. This is a huge benefit of a resort this close to New York City, where weekend and holiday lift lines are very hard to avoid.

On-Mountain Facilities

Plattekill has one main lodge at the base. This building houses rentals, lift tickets, food, and a gift shop. There is a restaurant on the second floor, which is pretty much just a walk-up bar, and seating is always readily available.

Mountain Aesthetic

As a very small ski area, Plattekill lacks the big mountain feel of many resorts further north. But besides the local feel, there are a few aspects of the Plattekill experience that make for an enjoyable vibe. There are multiple trails where one can feel secluded and alone with nature—which is not always a given at resorts this close to New York City. In addition, the mountain offers beautiful views of the surrounding peaks from the top when it’s clear, and they’re viewable from small decks near the top of both lifts.

Getting There and Parking

While it’s a bit further north than its closest competitors, Plattekill is still more of a day trip mountain from New York City than anything else. The mountain is approximately two hours and forty-five minutes away from the New York City metropolitan area, and even closer from some New Jersey and Westchester suburbs.

Unlike most of the other Catskill ski areas, public transportation to Plattekill is extremely limited. In most cases, driving up by car is the only practical option to get there. The one main parking lot is free and a short walk to the lifts, but despite the resort’s limited demand, it can fill up on busy days.

Lodging

Plattekill is much more for day-trippers than overnighters, and the ski area lacks on-site lodging. But for those looking to make an overnight stay out of their Plattekill trip, a handful of hotels, inns, and vacation home rentals exist a short drive away.

Après-ski

Plattekill’s après-ski scene is essentially non-existent. There is a bar on the second floor of the lodge, but it’s rarely all that lively and has very little going on after the slopes close.

Operating Schedule

Unlike its corporate-owned Catskills competitors, Plattekill does not operate on typical weekdays. The resort only operates Friday through Sunday, with operations on other days only occurring during holiday periods.

“Rent the Mountain” Program

Although the resort may not be officially open Mondays through Thursdays, Plattekill is unique in that groups can rent out the entire mountain on any day the resort is not open to the public. Pricing for a rent-out is about $10,000, which includes a fully-staffed mountain and lift tickets for up to 200 people.

Verdict

Plattekill is a solid choice for New York City day-trippers looking to avoid crowds and commercialized vibes, but it lacks the size, infrastructure, and on-mountain maintenance to stand out against its more popular competitors. The mountain offers local vibes and surprisingly fun terrain for advanced skiers and riders, but it’s a hard sell for the average family or those looking for a full weekend getaway.

Pricing

Plattekill isn’t a terrible value, but isn’t actually all that much of a bargain lift-ticket-wise either. Lift ticket prices start at a fairly reasonable $63 but go up to over $90 at the window on peak days; depending on your tolerance for a small footprint and slow lifts, this cost of entry may or may not be worth the escape from crowds of the other Catskill mountains.

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