What It’s Really Like Skiing/Snowboarding at Gore Mountain
I grew up in upstate New York, so Gore Mountain was a must when it came to skiing/snowboarding. I think Gore is an awesome mountain that offers every type of terrain you want to see as a skier/snowboarder. They have a nice beginner area, great intermediate runs, advanced and glade runs, along with terrain parks. Now, there are some draw-backs to this mountain that I will discuss later in this post, one of those being, the advanced terrain is not always open.
However, there are MANY more positives about Gore than negatives. Gore mountain has the biggest ski resort in New York, with 115 trails and over 12 ski lifts. Gore is a family friendly mountain encompassed with greens, blues, and many black diamonds. In addition, they have over 27 glade trails, terrain parks, and a ski bowl.
In this post you will read about Gore Mountain, Gore Mountain hours, Gore Mountain lift tickets, Gore Mountain NY, Gore Mountain prices, Gore Mountain conditions, Gore Mountain ski, Gore Mountain things to do, Gore Mountain ski resorts, Gore Mountain hike, and more.
This post is all about Gore Mountain.
Gore Mountain:
Gore Mountain Hours & Lift Tickets
Some quick facts about Gore Mountain are, it has a total of 115 trails, 27 glades, 14 ski lifts, a 2,537ft vertical drop, 6 terrain park areas, and mostly intermediate terrain. If you are going to stay for a weekend, I recommend staying in Lake George, Warrensburg, or North Creek. In the winter, Gore is open from 8:30am until 4pm. Most lifts last call is at 3:45pm. Gore is a good mountain for high intermediates. While they do have some nice advanced and expert terrain, someone once described Gore as, “Gore’s always the Dad’s favorite mountain.” That description perfectly describes this mountain. Overall, it’s not a super challenging mountain and has a lot of cruiser runs but it does have some spicy stuff mixed in there.
I will say, Gore typically keeps their snow MUCH better than their Adirondack counterpart, Whiteface. However, Whiteface is situated in a position that leaves it really vulnerable to the wind, so it’s not always Whiteface’s fault. Also, it’s very touristy, so the intermediate runs get skied off VERY quickly. Whereas, I’ve always found Gore has a local’s mountain. In addition, they are really aggressive with their snow-making and maintenance compared to Whiteface and any other mountain in the area. It’s like Killington in its snow-making regards, pretty active and aggressive with it, which is great for its skiers/snowboarders.
Now, as far as lift tickets, they usually run for around $124-141, depending on the time of year and if it’s a weekend or not. Gore is owned by ORDA or the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which is run by New York State. They also own Whiteface and Belleayre (Catskills). You can buy a seasons pass that is good at Gore, Whiteface, and Belleayre (Catskills). This typically costs around $1,000 depending on the time of year you purchase it, the earlier (in the summer) the cheaper. This is for an adult (ages 30-69), costs will be lower for non-holiday dates, children, college students, and seniors.
Gore Mountain : The Mountain
Gore has seven major lifts/regions to it. If you are looking for beginner terrain, you likely want to stay on the double Sunway chair. This lift has a mid-station you can get off at if you want a smaller run. There is also a magic carpet and puma lift next to the Sunway chair, if it is truly your first time skiing or snowboarding.
Then, Gore has the Gondola and the Adirondack Express II. The Gondola seats about eight people while the Express seats four. For really cold and windy days, you definitely want to ride the Gondola because the Express sees a ton of wind on windy days. However, if you do not wish to wait in long lines and have your personal space taken from you, then the Express is your chair. Underneath the Gondola, is a trail called Wild Air. Wild Air, is usually turned into a giant terrain park for all you park junkies and as well as, lower sleigh ride (which is accessible through the Express lift).
The Chatterbox glades are also a lot of fun, which you can find at the beginning of Wild Air. They are a diamond glade. If you take Foxlair into Sunway, about 2/3 of the way down Sunway, if you keep looking to the right, you will see the Otter Slide Glades. They are an intermediate glade that are also a lot of fun. The Gondola brings you a little higher than the Express, and drops you off at the Topridge Triple chair. While, the Express drops you off at the Northwoods Quad and the Saddle Lodge.
Topridge Triple Section
The Topridge Triple Chair has some great diamonds off it, such as, Topridge and Uncas. And if there is enough snow, the trail underneath the Topridge chair (High Pines Glade), is also a lot of fun. The Kill Kare and Pine Brooke glades are a lot of fun too. I recommend the Kill Kare glades that you can access at the beginning of Pine Knot. The only draw-back to these glades are they are rarely open, it’s annoying because they should be open more often. Gore does this with most of its glades, which is a MAJOR drawback for me. I don’t know if it’s just a weekday thing or not, but Gore rarely opens its glades on the weekdays. This is really annoying for people who love the glades.
Now, you can also take a crowded blue trail, Pine Knot to the Straight Brook Quad. The Straight Brook Quad has a lot of fun, easy diamonds and the famous double Diamond, “Rumors,” trail. From the Gondola, you also have a green, Ruby Run, and that will bring you to the Saddle Lodge and Northwoods Quad.
Northwoods Quad Section
While the Northwoods Quad (next to where the Adirondack Express II drops you off), is the slowest lift on the mountain, if it’s not too cold, the runs there are quite fun. Tahawus, Sleeping Bear, Powder Pass, and North Star usually have fresh powder on them, after a nice snowfall, or some moguls/bumps. I find they are some of the most underrated trails of the mountain, for nice cruisers.
The Dark Side
There is a trail you can access underneath the Northwoods Quad that will bring to the highest lift on the mountain, the High Peaks Double chair, or the Dark Side. You want to gain a lot of speed on this run because it does get pretty flat and turn into a cross-country. If you travel underneath the Northwood Quad, you will find you can veer to the right or continue straight. If you want to go to the Dark Side, continue straight, if not, veer to the right. The Dark Side chair has no greens, but a lot of diamonds and glades. This is where you’ll find the most difficult trails on the mountain, that are NOT glades. They are Rumors, Lies, Upper Darby, Lower Steilhang, and the Dark Side glades.
Straight Brook Quad Section
Rumors use to be only accessible through the Straight Brook Quad. However, Gore has since put in a new Dark Side lift and you can get to the famous, “Rumors,” from this lift as well. This run is always bumped up and has a major headwall to begin with. After the headwall, even though the run is fairly steep and crowded, it isn’t that bad after the headwall. In addition, the Straight Brook chair has other nice trails, like, Chatiemac and the Chatiemac glades. Some fun glades in this area are Double Barrel and the Straight Brook glades.
Another section of the mountain is the Dark Side, also called the High Peaks Quad. Hullabaloo, Lower Steilhang, and Lower Darby are nice subtle diamonds as well, but are on the Dark Side of the mountain. Some great glades in this area are MacIntyre glades, and the Dark Side glades (Betty’s run).
Burnt Ridge Section
The last major section of the mountain, is Burnt Ridge. There are a couple ways you can access it. The easiest, is to go on a trail, named, Twister, which you can get to from the Express chair. And about two thirds of the way down on the left side of the trail, there will be a little shoot through the woods. This shot, you will see, connects you to another trail. The other trail is Echo, and that is where you want to be. Typically, there is a sign that says, “access to Burnt Ridge.” Once you go through the shoot, you will be on Echo, and you will continue on that trail until you see the Burnt Ridge Quad (then you know you have arrived at Burnt Ridge).
How to Get to Burnt Ridge
However, you want to gain speed on Echo, because eventually, there will be a flat part that can quickly turn into a cross-country. Sorry, if you are on a snowboard, it might be a little walk for you all. However, it’s not too long, but it is a decent flat. Once you get pass the flat, there is some really good glades at Burnt Ridge. The Abenaki, Barkeater, Boreas are really great glades, located at the top of the lift. At the top of Sagamore the Cirque Glades and lower on Sagamore, the Sagamore Glades look like a lot of fun as well.
I have never skied the Cirque or Sagamore glades but if they are anything like the Abenaki, Barkeater, and or Boreas glades, then they’ll be a lot of fun. As well, if you want to get a nice workout, Sagamore trail usually, has great moguls. You can also access the Tahawus glades from this lift. The Tahawus glades will bring you back to the Northwoods Quad, where the Express and Saddle Lodge are, at the top of the Northwoods Quad. They are also a lot of fun.
Gore Mountain Hike
In the summertime, you can also hike Gore Mountain. I’m not sure if you can hike it in the winter, as the hiking trail does go through some ski trails. This is a nice intermediate to advanced hike. Roundtrip, this hike is about 9.5 miles with an elevation gain of about 2,600ft, which is not bad. I hiked this via the Schaefer Trail and had a really nice, peaceful time.
Gore Mountain Things to Do
Obviously, in the winter either skiing or snowboarding at Gore Mountain is a great option. You can also ski/snowboard at the ski bowl area, as well as nordic ski and snowshoe. The Ski Bowl in North Creek does have a mix of beginner, intermediate, and advanced runs. In addition, they have a couple glade runs. They have a total of 8 Alpine runs including, 3 glade trails. At the North Creek Ski Bowl they have 7 different cross-country and snow-shoe loops available.
In the summertime, I recommend hiking Gore Mountain, white water rafting (Wild Waters Outdoor Center is great), mountain biking and or disk golf at Gore and or Whiteface are also fun options. There’s also many different hidden water spots and hiking available in the area, in Indian Lake, Long Lake, and Blue Mountain Lake.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, I like Gore. It’s like home to me since it was the closest and biggest ski resort where I grew up. Thus, I’ve skied here a lot. I think it offers a good amount of diverse terrain. However, it’s not a super difficult mountain. It’s a very family-friendly, local, mountain and I think they want to keep it that way. Some draw-backs about Gore are they rarely open their glades on weekdays and in general, when they should be open. As someone who mostly skis glades, this is SUPER annoying and why I don’t really ski here anymore (also I’ve grown out of it). Also, it’s not a super challenging mountain. However, there are still some tricky runs that I would put against any run on the east, but not a lot of them.
Overall, I would recommend Gore for families that are visiting upstate New York and the Adirondack Mountains. I will say, it’s much better than Whiteface and I would recommend Gore over Whiteface any day. However, I typically ski in Vermont, and that’s where I would recommend going for advanced to expert skiers. I highly recommend Killington, Pico, Mad River Glen, Jay Peak, Magic, and Sugarbush for advanced/expert skiers. That wraps up our article on Gore Mountain, I hope this was helpful and thank you so much for reading!
