If the weekend storm has you thinking about skiing or snowboarding, you are in luck. The slopes near NYC are open and so are the shuttles to get you there.
Take the bus from NYC to nearby ski/snowboard areas including Hunter Mountain, Windham Mountain, Gore and Mountain Creek, and have fun on the slopes and apres ski without the hassle of driving.
Skiers and snowboarders can board buses in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, and in Long Island for day trips
There also are day-trips and weekend trips to Vermont resorts includng Stratton, Mount Snow and Killington.
The deal usually includes discount lift tickets, some operators offer and on-board snacks and ski movies, and you ride in comfort on modern, luxury coaches.
Reservations are required, since busses sometimes sell-out. Read the fine print on each site about cancellations – theirs or yours.
Arrive at the bus stop at least 15 minutes before departure to ensure you are not left behind.
(Updated for 2019/2020 season)
SEE ALSO
4th and 5th graders ski FREE in New York State
Ski bus trips from Manhattan
Urban Sherpa
This company has the most bus trips from Manhattan, with day-trips to both Hunter and Windham every day of the week in peak season (except Mondays), and occasional overnight trips to Windham, including midweek. Buses leave from Union Square and Times Square.
Urban Sherpa owns the buses they operate, with staff drivers who know the routes well.
- Trips start at $55 for bus only, $95 including an all-mountain lift ticket.
- Overnight trips to Windham are $279, including accomodations
- There are discounts on lesson packages.
- Urban Sherpa is recommended by NYCOTC.
- NYC on the Cheap Editor Evelyn Kanter had a great experience with them last season.
Island Ski Tours
Day-trips to Windham on Wednesdays. Buses leave at 6am from the Grand Hyatt Hotel on 42nd Street, next to Grand Central Terminal.
The bus starts in Medford, Long Island, with pick-ups in Holbrook, Hicksville and Roslyn, before Manhattan.
- Rates start at $55 for bus only, $85 including all-mountain lift ticket.
Sourced Adventures
Day-trips to Hunter on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and on Mondays of three-day weekends such as MLK and Presidents. The first pickup location, at Adventure Cafe, 85 Delancey Street, offers a discount on breakfast. The second location, at West 45th Street at Eleventh Avenue, does not.
- Packages start at $109, for bus, lift ticket and rentals (higher on holidays).
- NYCOTC Warning: There is no information on the website for price of bus only, without lift tickets or rentals, so this is not the bus trip for skiers or boarders with their own equipment or lift ticket passes or vouchers.
NYC Snow Bus from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens
NYC Snow Bus
A busy schedule that includes Hunter, Windham and Mountain Creek on weekdays, and Windham, Hunter, Whiteface and Gore on weekends. Buses will pick you up from Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Astoria, and Union Square.
- Rates start at $59.90 for bus only, $99 with lift ticket (weekends are more)
- Plus numerous packages including lessons and/or rentals.
Specifically for Snowboarders
OvrRide
This is a collective of snowboarders from around the world that have started the first and only rider-owned and -operated tour program in Manhattan.
Buses pick up riders from Williamsburg, Union Square and the Times Square area.
Note – this year OvrRide is not picking up from Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Dumbo, Soho, Union Square, the Upper West Side or the Upper East Side.
Trips include Hunter, Windham, Mt. Snow and Killington, although day-trips to Vermont are a very, very long day.
- Rates start at $99.95, including lift ticket.
See you on the slopes!
This article was published first in 2016 and is updated annually for the winter sports season.
Evelyn Kanter is a native New Yorker who has written for the NY Times, NY Daily News, NY Post, New York Magazine, and is a former on-air reporter for WCBS Newsradio 88 and WABC-TV Eyewitness News.
I’m also the author of several NYC and Hudson Valley guidebooks, including my latest, 100 Things to Do in NYC Before You Die.
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