Paul Heggie

Review of Camelbeach Mountain Resort

The worst-run, worst-managed ski resort in Pennsyl...

The worst-run, worst-managed ski resort in Pennsylvania.

This pains me to say because I've been a multiple-year pass holder at Camelback, and Camelback is where I learned to snowboard. I want to love Camelback, but I can't.

Camelback's management has gotten worse and worse over the years.

They're consistently under-staffed, which leads to fewer lifts being open (on every day I've been up this year, it's taken hours to get more than 2 lifts open on the mountain), which leads to longer lines and waits, even at times and on days when there shouldn't be waits. This year has exposed Camelback's faults like no other--as most other mountains have a system and plan in place to limit capacity during COVID, Camelback has let its mountain run amok, lift lines stretching for 200+ yards across trails and to the parking lots. And they now charge money to park in most (if not all) of the lots, which is new for this year.

The biggest open secret at Camelback is that they don't check lift tickets. They quite literally do not have a system in place to check for lift tickets. In the last three years (and dozens of trips), I've seen a worker check for lift tickets once. Not only does this lead to more crowding (which is already a huge problem) as a bunch of folks take advantage of that, but it's frustrating as a paying customer to see no accountability in this area.

Furthermore, Camelback somehow consistently has less terrain open than its nearby competitors like Blue, and even Bear Creek, which is much farther south. They keep repeating the line to us "We have 377 new snow guns"--It doesn't matter. Hasn't translated to more trails open.

No workers, not enough lifts open, a lack of organization and planning, no crowd limits, AND less trails--it's a perfect storm.

If you visit Bear Creek or Blue or Seven Springs (or any other mountain, really), you'll notice the night-and-day difference in operations and management. Even Elk, which is much more bare bones and old school, surpasses Camelback in the way it's run.

This year has been the last straw for me as a pass holder. Starting next season, I (and my friends and family) plan to spend zero dollars at Camelback, and I'll be encouraging everyone I know looking to ski in NE Pennsylvania to spend their time and money at Blue, Elk, or Bear Creek until Camelback makes substantial changes.