Winter Fun at Camelback

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This past weekend, we headed to Pennsylvania for some snowy, winter-weather fun in the Pocono Mountains.   My husband and son absolutely love winter, the snow, and all that goes along with it, so they were very excited for this adventure.

Camelback has a lot to offer guests in the winter.  You can go skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing- even ride a mountain coaster.  Camelback offers both skiing and snowboarding lessons, for children and adults (separate classes), as well as private lessons.  We did avail ourselves to lessons- no need to spend the whole day tumbling down everything, now is there?

You can bring your own skiing or snowboarding equipment, or you can rent some there. They have ski or snowboard boots, skis, poles, snowboards, and helmets in sizes from small children through adult. Not having our own equipment, we used rentals.  They size you up, you give them your height and weight (yes, you have to tell the truth), and they find a set that will work for you.  Even my little snow-bunny had the perfect sized skis.

None of us are skiers, so this was going to be a learning experience for the lot of us. The very first thing that we did after getting into our borrowed ski-gear was head to our respective lessons.  My son was with the children, so I dropped him off and signed him in.  He was given a nametag, and I was given a magnetic card on a lanyard so that they would know I was his mother, and would be authorized to pick him up. Without that lanyard, no one can pick up the children for security.

He did a great job, falling a few times, but getting the hang of it in general.  He totally freaked out the first time he fell- he wasn’t hurt, but it scared him, and the feeling of not being able to get up easily in his strange boots and skis (they really are hard to maneuver in for us newbies) was not comforting.  However, the staff was fantastic with him and very patient, and he was soon back at it and heading back down the training hill.

As for me, my lesson was with a group of other adults.   We didn’t get to finish the lesson, because one of the women was not able to “turn left”, so we all had to stand on our skis and wait, but at least we got a half hour in.  Prior to that, we had walked around in a circle sans skis, taken turns sliding down a small incline and sideways-stepping back up, then skiing down the slope and turning left and turning right.

We also had the chance to go snow tubing, which was a lot of fun.  We went during the evening hours, which was great because it was so much less crowded then it had been during the day.  We got so many runs in, and had what is probably too much fun.  You can go in single tubes, double tubes, or you can line your tubes up and go down together.  We, of course, had to try all of these options.  At one point, my husband put us all in a row (first son, then me, then him) and shot us down the hill so fast that my son and I laughed the whole time, we were not at all expecting that speed.  We nearly went up the whole “slow down” ramp we were going so fast.

At the end of the day, we headed back to our hotel (located right down the street from where we were snow tubing), The Chateau Resort. Super convenient (and even pet friendly), it was great not to have to travel far after a day outdoors- we were pretty tired.  The view from the room was beautiful, you could see the slopes and two (nearly frozen) lakes from the sliding glass doors. There was a balcony, but for my taste, it was too cold to sit out there in the winter, ha.  There is an indoor pool, sauna, fitness center, and restaurant as well as a small amenities shop in case you forgot something you needed.  The breakfast in the hotel is either by the menu or buffet style, whichever you prefer (extra fee for this).

Coming Soon To Camelback!

In April, 2015 Camelback Resort will unveil the new Camelback Lodge & Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark at the base of Camelback Mountain in Tannersville, Pa. The 453-suite lodge will be coupled with the largest indoor family entertainment center and indoor waterpark in the Northeast. Complementing the existing seasonal outdoor waterpark,
skiing, snowboarding, snowtubing, ziplining, treetops obstacle course, alpine mountain coaster and more, Camelback Resort will soon offer more year-round excitement in one location than any other mountain resort in the country.

Discounted pricing for groups of 10 or more. Buffets, food vouchers, custom catered events and team building activities available.  For more information, to order a gift card, or to make advanced reservations call 1.855.515.1283 or visit CamelbackResort.com.