I was 21 the first time I went skiing. I mastered the bunny slope fairly quickly but when the time came to get on the ski lift, I just couldn’t do it! I was so uncomfortable at the idea of riding so high in the air with just one bar holding me in that I froze. I never made it off the bunny slope and I regretted it. When I got the chance to team up with SkiPA and take the kids to Camelback Mountain a few weeks ago, I knew we had to go. At ten and twelve years old, I was determined to get them on the slopes now!
Three weeks before Christmas, I put the shopping and wrapping on hold so we could drive to Camelback, in the Pocono Mountains and just a little over two hours from the Jersey Shore. Once we got there, it quickly became clear why Camelback was voted the #1 place to learn to ski in the Poconos. With 15 acres of beginner trails and their Triple Ticket Max, a new skier is all set with a lift ticket, equipment rental and a 90 minute beginner ski or snowboard lesson, which is where my kids started. They both opted for skis and headed off with the ski instructor. The ski instruction area was much bigger than I expected with hills of every size. In 90 minutes, they went from an almost flat surface to a good size hill and were able to make it down, zigzagging all the way. I was impressed.
Their lesson gave my husband enough time to get comfortable being back on skis and scope out some of the other trails to see where he would take the kids first. My son jumped right from the bunny slope to beginner and even intermediate slopes that day. I didn’t see him and my husband for the rest of the day. While my daughter didn’t make it on the ski lift that day, she did laps on the beginner slope till her feet went numb, growing more confident as the day progressed. Mission accomplished! While I was not at all ready to try my hand at skiing again, I loved watching my children thoroughly enjoy skiing.
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With the help of SkiPA’s Snowpass, I am looking forward to spending more time on the mountain. The Snowpass makes it easy and affordable to introduce your children to skiing. Fourth and fifth graders ski or snowboard for free, up to three times at any participating Pennsylvania ski resorts when accompanied by a paying adult! Since Camelback offers a Triple Ticket, good for 3 lift tickets during the season, it made a perfect Christmas gift for my husband. Don’t tell him, it’s a surprise! |  |
Once we returned our skis, it was onto the next adventure. Luckily Camelback Resort was just a couple of minutes away because after the adrenaline from skiing wore off, the kids were cold and tired. Walking into the warm and cozy lobby, with the fireplace blazing was exactly what we needed after being on the mountain all day. It was not your typical hotel lobby. There was a large movie screen, comfy sofas for a pj movie night that was starting an hour or so later, it was basically my dream Great Room! Events were planned throughout the evening - storytime with Mrs. Claus, writing letters to Santa and even some crafts. I almost convinced the kids to skip Galactic Snowtubing in favor of watching the movie. Almost!
As you may have gathered, I’m a pretty big scaredy cat when it comes to anything mildly adventurous. The kids had tried something new and skied for me so I had to hold up my end of the deal. We hopped in the shuttle to America’s largest snowtubing park. When we stepped onto the magic carpet to head up to the top, I was too caught up in my daughter’s excitement to get nervous. It was really a sight to behold - an LED disco light show set to music pumping over 42 tubing lanes down the mountain. I am proud to say, I snowtubed with the best of them that night! I would have filmed it but that would have required letting go of the handles and I wasn’t ready for that yet. Baby steps! |
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Just when you think the adventure is over you realize Camelback Resort is home to Aquatopia, USA Today’s #1 Indoor Waterpark in the country. After a good night’s sleep we were ready to see if the park lived up to the claim. I can honestly say, without a doubt, that it did. There was something for everyone in our family - from The Lost (aka lazy) River to the thrilling family raft ride, Venus Slydetrap, to the Mystic Springs Spa which I more than earned after not one, but two trips down Storm Chaser (one with each kid, of course). The kids spent most of their time jumping between the four tube slides, while my husband bounced back and forth from the slides to the hot tub. Our last stop before we headed home was the Bombora Flowrider, a surfing simulator perfect for working on your boogie boarding skills! You can watch our successful and not so successful attempts in the video.
As we left Aquatopia, and walked through the Arcadia Family Indoor Adventure Center, we realized that there was still so much more to do. Two floors of video and arcade games, a rock climbing wall, laser tag and even mini golf - Camelback Resort is packed with enough family fun to keep us busy for days. Did I mention that admission to Aquatopia and lift tickets for the mountain are included with your hotel stay? When the snow melts, don’t worry, there is an outdoor waterpark, zip lining and an adventure course. Just a few hours from home, this was the perfect getaway - fun, affordable, skiing and swimming! We are already planning our next trip!
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*My family was hosted by Camelback Resort and SkiPA for purposes of this review. All opinions are strictly those of the author.
