Mountain Creek facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mountain Creek
A view of Mountain Creek from across the valley
Location	Vernon Township, New Jersey
Nearest city	New York City Newark, New Jersey
Coordinates	41°10′52″N 74°30′47″W / 41.181°N 74.513°W / 41.181; -74.513
Top elevation	454 m (1490')
Base elevation	137 m (450')
Skiable area	167 Acres
Runs	46
Longest run	Southern Sojourn (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 popular ski resort in Vernon Township, New Jersey. It is about 47 miles (75 km) from the George Washington Bridge.

This resort has 167 acres of slopes across four mountain peaks. You can enjoy skiing, snowboarding, and even night skiing! Mountain Creek also has a snow tubing park, zip-lines, and an alpine coaster. In summer, it turns into a fun water park from May to September.

Mountain Creek has had a few different owners over the years. It was owned by Intrawest until 2010. Then, it was sold to the nearby Crystal Springs Resort. Later, a New Jersey family bought it. In 2017, the resort faced financial difficulties but recovered by August 2019.

History of Mountain Creek

Early Days: Great Gorge Resort (1965–1971)

A view of Vernon from the top of the Fox Tail Run at Mountain Creek

Great Gorge Resort started in 1965 in McAfee, New Jersey. Three families who worked at the Snow Bowl Ski Resort created it. They learned a lot about making snow and running a ski area. Great Gorge was built on an old farm.

The Bear and South Peaks of Mountain Creek were part of the original Great Gorge Resort. The first lodge was designed by Alexander McIlvaine. He also designed lodges at famous ski resorts like Stratton Mountain. When the World's Fair closed in New York in 1965, parts of the Swiss Pavilion were bought and used in the new lodge.

Great Gorge was the first ski area in the United States to use a jet engine for snowmaking. This powerful engine helped them make lots of snow. It was bought from the Curtiss-Wright Company.

This resort was a big place for ski racing and ski jumping. Many schools and ski clubs held events there. Even the US Ski Team trained at Great Gorge. Famous racers like Stein Eriksen visited. Many skiers and snowboarders who started here later became Olympians.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Great Gorge had a summer zoo at the base of the mountain. You could even see parts of the old animal cages on a beginner trail. The ski area also had a ski jump that was used all year. They used special mats for skiing and jumping when there wasn't snow.

The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway tracks run behind the Great Gorge South parking lot. In the 1970s, a special train brought skiers to the slopes and took them home.

In 1971, Great Gorge North was built on what is now Mountain Creek's Granite Peak. A trail and a chairlift were added to connect it to the original resort. The original resort was then called Great Gorge South.

Later in 1971, Great Gorge faced financial problems. There wasn't enough snow for a few seasons, which meant less money. The resort was taken over by its lenders.

Joining Forces: Vernon Valley/Great Gorge (1971–1997)

In 1968, Vernon Valley Ski Resort opened north of Great Gorge. After Great Gorge South and North faced financial issues, Vernon Valley bought them. The three ski areas then joined to become the Vernon Valley/Great Gorge Resort (VVGG).

In 1974, Great American Recreation (GAR) bought VVGG. They invested a lot in snowmaking equipment. This helped the resort avoid the same snow problems that closed the original Great Gorge. In 1978, VVGG opened Action Park, a summer amusement park. It had over 75 rides, including water slides, bungee jumping, and go-karts.

In the 1980s, a small shopping and dining area called Coblestone Village was built. Also, Great Gorge Village was developed. This was a large complex of 1300 condos. The Spa at Great Gorge was also built, offering a luxury resort with a golf course and pools. VVGG kept improving its skiing, adding new lifts like a triple chairlift in 1981.

In 1989, GAR tried to sell the resort for $50 million. However, the buyer decided not to go through with the deal after looking at the property.

In the early 1990s, VVGG struggled with fewer visitors and management issues. This led to problems for the Great Gorge Resort. Eventually, in 1995, GAR faced financial difficulties. In 1996, only Vernon Valley was open, while Great Gorge North and South were closed. By 1997, GAR shut down Vernon Valley/Great Gorge and Action Park completely.

In 1998, the remaining parts of Great American Recreation were sold. Eugene Mulvihill Sr. kept the Great Gorge golf and hotel area, which became Crystal Springs Resort. The three ski areas and Action Park were sold to Intrawest. Intrawest is a company from Canada that owns and operates ski resorts.

New Beginnings: Mountain Creek under Intrawest (2000s)

The Appalachian as seen from The Cabriolet Gondola February 23, 2008

Intrawest renamed its new properties Mountain Creek. They invested a lot of money to update the resort. Intrawest removed most of the old ski lifts. They replaced them with a fast eight-passenger open-air gondola called The Cabriolet. They also added two high-speed quad chairlifts and other lifts.

The old Great Gorge Lodge was updated and renamed Mountain Creek South Lodge. Intrawest also improved snowmaking by adding over 1,600 new snow guns. The new resort opened in December 1998. Intrawest also started working on Action Park. They removed most of the old rides and focused on the water park section. The water park reopened as Mountain Creek Waterpark in the summer of 1998.

Intrawest had big plans for the resort, including a large village with homes, shops, and restaurants. They also planned a golf course and hotel on the mountaintop. However, this mountaintop plan was stopped. The land had a rule that it could only be used for quiet activities like hiking. Intrawest sold the land back to the state.

On October 10, 1999, the Vernon base lodge was destroyed in a fire. This happened just weeks before the ski season was supposed to start. Temporary tents were quickly set up for the season. These tents had a food court, restaurant, and shops. They were used for about 13 years until a new permanent lodge, the Red Tail Lodge, was built.

In 2002, Mountain Creek opened Black Creek Sanctuary, a luxury condo community. In 2003, construction began on The Appalachian. This was a luxury condo and hotel built where the Vernon base parking lot used to be. The Appalachian opened for the 2006–07 ski season.

Mountain Creek hosted the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix in 2004 and 2005. A key part of this event was Mountain Creek's Superpipe, one of the few in the eastern United States. In summer 2006, Intrawest opened the Diablo Mountain Bike Park. It had downhill trails that the Cabriolet gondola serviced.

For the 2007–08 winter season, Mountain Creek made some changes. The eastern side of Vernon Peak became intermediate slopes. The entire Mountain Creek South area (South Peak and Bear Peak) was changed into a freestyle terrain park. This meant skiers needed a special pass to use this area.

In 2008, Intrawest faced financial challenges. They sold many of their resorts, including Mountain Creek. Mountain Creek then became part of the Crystal Springs Resort.

Mountain Creek Joins Crystal Springs Resort (2010)

Intrawest sold Mountain Creek to the nearby Crystal Springs Resort in May 2010. This brought the resort back under its previous ownership. The new owners immediately started improving the mountain. They replaced the temporary tent complex at Vernon with a new lodge. This new lodge opened for the 2011-12 ski season. It is a three-story building with offices, restaurants, and rental facilities.

In summer 2012, Mountain Creek continued its improvements. They opened a new zip line course and an Alpine Coaster near the waterpark. For that winter, the resort moved and expanded its tubing park, renaming it the Dropzone. The Diablo Mountain Bike Park also became the Mountain Creek Bike Park.

In 2010, the Sojourn Double chairlift was retired after 40 years. A new fixed-grip double chairlift was installed and opened for the 2012–13 season.

Mountain Creek Changes Hands Again (2015)

In 2015, HSK-MC became the sole owner of Mountain Creek. This company was already a partial owner. Since the Koffman family controls HSK-MC, normal operations were expected to continue.

Mountain Creek Today

Mountain Peaks

Mountain Creek has four main peaks for skiing and snowboarding:

• Vernon Peak (originally Vernon Valley Ski Area)
  • Vertical Drop: 1040 feet (317 meters)
  • Base Elevation: 440 feet (134 meters)
  • Summit Elevation: 1480 feet (451 meters)
• Granite Peak (originally Great Gorge North)
  • Vertical Drop: 848 feet (258 meters)
  • Base: 600 feet (183 meters)
  • Summit: 1448 feet (441 meters)
• South Peak (originally Great Gorge South)
  • Vertical Drop: 1000 feet (305 meters)
  • Base: 450 feet (137 meters)
  • Summit: 1450 feet (442 meters)
• Bear Peak (originally Great Gorge South)
  • Vertical Drop: 630 feet (192 meters)
  • Base: 450 feet (137 meters)
  • Summit: 1080 feet (329 meters)

Ski Trails

• There are 43 trails in total.
• The trails cover about 16 miles (26 km).
• All trails are lit for night skiing.
  • 7 trails are for beginners.
  • 24 trails are for intermediate skiers (14 of these are terrain park trails).
  • 8 trails are for advanced skiers (4 of these are terrain park trails).

Mountain Creek Terrain Parks

• The terrain parks cover 63 acres.
• There are 18 freestyle terrain park trails.
• About 47% of the total skiable area is terrain parks.
• Up to 80 features are installed during peak season.

Dropzone Snow Tubing Park

• The park has 30 tubing lanes.
• There are 180 tubes available.
• It has 1 tubing lift to take you up the hill.
• The park is lit for night tubing.
• It is one of the largest tubing parks in North America.

Ski Lifts

Mountain Creek has 9 lifts in total:

• 1 eight-passenger detachable gondola
• 2 high-speed detachable quad chairlifts
• 2 fixed-grip quad chairlifts
• 1 fixed-grip triple chairlift
• 1 fixed-grip double chairlift
• 2 magic carpet surface lifts

Snowmaking System

• Mountain Creek can make snow on 100% of its trails.
• They use 1,000 snow guns to cover the mountain.

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