Mountain Creek
| Mountain Creek | |
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A view of Vernon from the top of the Fox Tail Run at Mountain Creek
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| Location | Vernon Township, New Jersey |
| Nearest city | New York City |
| Coordinates | 41°10′52″N 74°30′47″W / 41.181°N 74.513°W |
| Top elevation | 454 m (1490') |
| Base elevation | 137 m (450') |
| Runs | 46 |
| Longest run | Southern Sojurn (1881 m, 6170') |
| Lift system | 9 total (1 gondola, 6 chairlifts, 2 magic carpets |
| Terrain parks | 17 Terrain Park trails on South Peak, 1 Terrain Park at Vernon Peak |
| Snowfall | 165cm/year (65") |
| Night skiing | Yes |
| Website | mountaincreek.com |
Mountain Creek is a ski resort in Vernon Township, New Jersey on Route 94, 47 miles (76 km) from the George Washington Bridge, making it the ski resort closest to New York City. It offers 167 skiable acres on four mountain peaks, complete night skiing/snowboarding, and an expansive snowmaking program.
Besides skiing and snowboarding, the resort offers one of the nation's largest snow tubing park, multiple zip-lines, and an alpine coaster. Mountain Creek is also home to a seasonal water park that operates from May to September.
Mountain Creek was owned and operated by Intrawest through May 2010, when it was sold to neighboring Crystal Springs Resort, creating the region's largest all-season vacation resort. The resort is now owned by the Koffman family and is not connected to Crystal Springs, Great Gorge Village and it's slopes side condos, The Minerals Spa and it's owners Andrew Mulvihill.
Great Gorge Resort was founded in McAfee, an unincorporated area of Vernon Township, in 1965 by three families (Kurlander, Fitzgerald, & the Bakers) who worked at the now-closed Snow Bowl Ski Resort in Milton, New Jersey. They worked at Snow Bowl and learned everything they needed to know about snow making and ski area operations. Great Gorge was built on the former Fredericks farm. There are rumors that in the early 1940s there was a small rope tow on the property. So the property was perfect for Jack Kurlander's vision.
Mountain Creek's Bear and South Peaks were the original Great Gorge Resort, with the current South Base Ski Patrol building serving as the Base Lodge. The original lodge was designed by Alexander McIlvaine, who also designed the lodges at Stratton Mountain in Vermont and Squaw Valley in Olympic Valley, California. The World's Fair was held in Flushing, NY in 1964/1965. When the fair closed the entire contents of the Swiss Pavilion were purchased and were transported to be incorporated into the new lodge at Great Gorge. Great Gorge was the first ski area in the United States to use a jet engine to power their snow making operations. The jet engine was purchased from the Curtiss-Wright Company in Fairfield, NJ. The jet engine was located in a building in the parking lot across the street from the new lodge.
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Wikipedia