Last Updated on 25th February 2021 by Steve
State College in Central Pennsylvania is home to plenty of residents looking for active winter sports activities. Skiing is popular among both students at and employees of Penn State and there are six ski resorts within a reasonable drive of the city, including one which is just on the outskirts of the municipality.
Tussey Mountain
Tussey Mountain is the closest ski resort to State College with the lifts starting to the south of the settlement of Boalsburg on the outskirts of the university city.
It is a small ski area with a main quad chairlift, a T-bar and a short double chairlift for beginners. There are seven runs on a 500-foot vertical with just under 40 acres of terrain.
Distance from State College: 7 miles
Website: www.tusseymountain.com
Blue Knob All Seasons Resort
The skiing at Blue Knob Mountain is sometimes underrated as the ski resort in the Allegheny mountains is not especially big. However it has the highest skiing in the state and some challenging terrain.
Blue Knob offers four lifts for skiers, with the beginners’ slopes nearer the top of the area. Some tough double black diamond runs feature under two long double chairlifts.
Distance from State College: 65 miles
Website: blueknob.com
Roundtop Mountain Resort
Roundtop Mountain Resort is a relatively small ski area just to the south of Harrisburg, offering five chairlifts, a tow and three magic carpets.
The terrain includes 21 runs over a vertical of 600 feet, with the most challenging slopes being off to the left on one triple and one quadruple chairlift.
Distance to State College: 100 miles
Website: www.skiroundtop.com
Liberty Mountain Resort
Liberty Mountain ski resort is located not far from the Maryland border and around 10 miles from the historic town of Gettysburg.
The Liberty Mountain ski area has five quad chairlifts, a drag lift and two magic carpets. The terrain covers around 100 acres over a vertical drop of 620 feet, with 16 trails of all standards.
Distance to State College: 111 miles
Website: www.libertymountainresort.com
Ski Whitetail
Whitetail Mountain Resort is another ski area down on the southern border of Pennsylvania, located just outside the town of Mercersburg. The ski resort offers nine lifts and 23 trails with a vertical drop of 935 feet. It also features 100% snowmaking on the terrain and night skiing on four evenings in the week.
Distance to State College: 91 miles
Website: www.skiwhitetail.com
Ski Sawmill Family Resort
Ski Sawmill is a small family ski area located to the north-east of State College.
The terrain has a vertical drop of just over 500 feet and the four lifts – two chairlifts and two T-bars – serve 12 different ski runs of a mostly easy technical nature.
Distance to State College: 77 miles
Website: skisawmill.com
More information: Pennsylvania’s Top Ski Resorts
