Thunder Ridge

Located just an hour’s drive from New York City, Thunder Ridge has long been a haven for weary New Yorkers looking to get away from it all. Access to the Ridge is as easy as taking the Metro-North via the Harlem Line to Patterson and then hopping on the free shuttle to the ski area. Thunder Ridge has 100 acres of skiing with complete snowmaking coverage for the days when Mother Nature gets lean with her snow. The mountain has a typical 500-foot vertical with 6 lifts total. 1 triple, 2 doubles, and three surface lifts all ferry skiers to 30 runs and 1 terrain park, split up into 40 percent novice, 40 percent intermediate, and 20 percent advanced. Best of all, Thunder Ridge has night skiing over its entire area, so there’s no reason to stop skiing just because the sun goes down.

Highlights of the Mountain

There are three primary lifts that service Thunder Ridge. A short double chair services the learning area along with a Magic Carpet lift. Another short carpet lift covers the upper section of the slow area for novices who want to try something a little steeper.

The main double chair, A-lift, loads right outside the main lodge and heads all the way to the peak. From there, novice skiers can head left to Bull’s Run, a wide gentle slope that turns into Deer Pasture. From there, you can either take the handle tow back up to midmountain or head down The Road back to the learning area. Heading to the right when you get off the double leads to two expert steeps and one wide bumpy groomer.

From the triple B-chair, novices can head a little bit up the slope to the Lovers Lane trail, a wide curving cruiser that leads back to the base. Intermediate skiers can head either direction to one of three intermediates as well as the terrain park. For expert skiers, Fools Delight is a fast steep that travels along the fall line underneath the B-Lift. The Face is a wide open expert-rated steep that has a variety of moguls and ungroomed terrain to challenge most skiers.

Après Ski

The base lodge at Thunder Ridge is spacious with a great view of the base. There is a full service cafeteria that offers burgers, fries, and other hot foods as well as hot drinks. The resort offers full childcare and a college discount every day but Sunday. Thunder Ridge also has a Race Team that is designed to groom younger skiers to becoming competitive racers; the program is open to skiers as young as six.

For true après ski, you should head into Patterson or Brewster. McGrath’s is a local hotspot with cold beer on draft plenty of local craft brews by the bottle. They also serve your typical pub fare that’s hot, delicious, and fairly inexpensive. Putnam Diner in Patterson offers great diner food with an in-house cocktail lounge that serves cocktails and top shelf whiskies right next to some of the best pie in New York.