We were provided with a day’s worth of ski rental, lift tickets, and food vouchers to Camelback Mountain Resort by Momtrends for review purposes only. All opinions are our own and are honest.
Just last week the Beauty and the Bump family took the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Tannersville, PA to spend a day with our Momtrends friends at the Camelback Mountain. This #MTCamelback event–a day allowed us to enjoy a day of skiing and other fun-filled family activities.
Skiing is something I grew up doing. Yes, this Brooklyn girl can ski! But, it was something new for my husband and daughter. As you can imagine, it was exciting to be able to share my love for skiing with them both. Having been around for over 50 years, providing families with fun winter activities, Camelback Mountain was the perfect setting for our new family activity to take place. But before we were able to enjoy the [bunny] slopes together as a family, the husband and daughter had to first have their 90-minute ski lesson.
Camelback Mountain Ski School
I was confident leaving my non-skiing husband and daughter in the hands of the trained and certified ski instructors, of which there are over 250. As a matter of fact, Camelback Mountain was voted the #1place to learn to ski and ride. If you’re a beginner or simply want to brush up on your skills, they can help you and your child prepare for your ski or snowboard adventure. Every lesson is grouped by age and skill set.
The Camelback Mountain’s ski school makes skiing and snowboarding both fun and easy, especially for beginner skiers like my husband and five-year-old daughter. The ski school offers Kids Half-Day Programs, single session Learn to Ski/Ride packages, 90-minute beginner lessons & private lessons. Our daughter had fun while learning how to put on her ski equipment, stand, balance, walk, and get up after falling, which she did a lot of, but that’s OKAY! Her favorite part was the “magic carpet” lift.
More info on their ski school may be found here.
Where to Eat
Skiing can work up a bit of an appetite. After both my husband and daughter’s lessons were over, we stored our poles and skis, and headed over to the Thirsty Camel, one of the nine dining options at Camelback Mountain. Each restaurant offers menu items for individuals with specific dietary requirements and allergy concerns.
The Thirsty Camel is located at the base area of the lodge right behind the ski storage center. The Thirsty Camel is a full wait service restaurant offering burgers, beer, nachos, sandwiches and more. The husband and I enjoyed a burger with fries, while Mini Me had chicken tenders with hot chocolate (get the hot chocolate!). As beer lovers, we paired our burger with the Delaware-based Old Dominion Brewery’s Oak Barrel Stout – a match made in heaven.
Other dining options at Camelback Mountain include: Big Pocono Family Eatery, Cammello’s, East Side Bistro, CBK Lodge, Glen Lodge, Tubing Snack Shack and Cameltop Mountain Lodge
Note: Ski Storage is $2 per day, but was waived due to the inclement weather.
Camelback Resort is More than Just Snow-filled Activities
Even though we visited on a day when we did not have prime skiing the weather conditions, we still made the best of it. For those families who opted not to ski in the mist and fog, Camelback Mountain, in addition to their snow-centered activities like skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing, had a lot more to offer like the Aquatopia, their massive indoor waterpark that opened May of 2015.
Think of the Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark as 170,000 square feet of fun for the entire family. It is the largest indoor family entertainment center and indoor waterpark in the Northeast with 13 slides, seven pools (including a wave pool), a lazy river and so much more. To make things even better, the water is set at a comfortable 84 degrees all day long. Talk about a nice respite from the cold temperatures outside. And if you’re worried about safety, you do not have to because the Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark has, on-hand, over 120 trained lifeguards.
Not fond of aquatic activities? There’s still more to do. There’s the Oasis Kids’ Spa, you can spend time making pottery at Polka Dot Pots, spend time at the arcade, play a round of mini golf, or even rock climb. Trust me, you will never get bored!
When You Arrive
We suggest arriving early to Camelback Mountain, especially if you plan on taking lessons prior to skiing. This will maximize your time on the slopes, and allow for some wiggle room when picking up your ski equipment. It helped that we had Preferred Parking ($20 for the day) that placed us right at the entrance where we checked-in and picked up our rental ski equipment.
Although the ski equipment rental process is easy, we found that finding the right fit took a bit of time. Camelback uses Burton snowboards and Salomon skis. The ski boots are not offered in half sizes, so both my husband and myself found ourselves switching out our boots to get the perfect fit. One thing I know from skiing previously is that you do not want an uncomfortable ski boot. Don’t worry, the Camelback Mountain staff are hospitable, and will even have the right fit boot brought to wherever you are at your convenience, something the husband and I thought was a nice gesture.
Make a visit to Camelback Mountain and Camelback Resort
For weeks, we have looked forward to this trip, me especially since I have wanted to share my love for skiing with my family as soon as our daughter became old enough. We are happy that we were able to experience skiing as a family in a fun environment at Camelback Mountain. We had a ton of fun – me from watching my husband and daughter learn to ski, and enjoy doing so, and them trying something new while having fun. We cannot wait to return to Camelback Mountain. The next time we visit, we hope for better skiing weather, and more time to explore all of what Camelback has to offer.
Should you choose to stay at Camelback Lodge, Momtrends recommends a two-night stay at the 453-suite lodge, as it is connected to both the ski hill and Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark. See their specials here.
Camelback Resort is located at 193 Resort Drive, Tannersville, PA, about 90-minutes from New York City, and about 2-hours from the Philadelphia area.
Check out and pin the below Top Reasons Skiing Should be Your New Family Winter Activity.
What do you think? Will you add skiing to your lineup of family winter activities?
We were provided with a day’s worth of ski rental, lift tickets, and food vouchers to Camelback Mountain by Momtrends for review purposes only. All opinions are our own and are honest.