Oak Mountain

Oak Mountain is a smaller resort located in the Southern Adirondack Mountains, just north of the small hamlet of Speculator. This resort is much smaller than the larger resorts in the Catskills or in the northern Adirondacks, with 22 named trails over 230 acres. The difficulty mix across the ski area is 45 percent novice, 27 percent intermediate, 18 percent advanced, and 9 percent expert. Oak Mountain’s base lodge is located at 1750 feet, while the peak stretches up to 2400 feet. This gives the ski area a medium vertical of 650-feet.

The Trails of Oak Mountain

Oak Mountain has one quad lift and two T-bars. The shorter T-bar services the learning area, letting novice skiers practice in a mandatory slow zone over two trails and one terrain park. Once a skier is ready for something a little more difficult, they can use the quad lift and head up to the peak. From there, two intermediate groomers, an intermediate steep, and a variety of easier cruisers await. The longer T-bar lift on the left side of the mountain allows access to a few cruisers of varying difficulty, from the novice Crosscut/Sugarbush trail to the steeper and faster expert-rated Oak Mountain Run.

Bottom Line

Oak Mountain Ski Area is definitely geared toward the beginning to intermediate skier and their families. People who are comfortable on double blacks at larger resorts aren’t going to find much here to keep them entertained. However, for those who are in their first few years of skiing and want to avoid the crowded lanes and lifts at those larger resorts, Oak Mountain is a great place to while away the weekend. The nearby town of Speculator is a typical sleepy little mountain town with a few restaurants to keep visitors fed. There isn’t an après-ski scene to be spoken of, but you aren’t coming to Oak Mountain for that. You’re coming for the small town feel and the small mountain friendliness, which Oak has in spades.