Elk Mountain is one of Pennsylvania’s best-kept ski secrets — 27 trails, 1,000 feet of vertical, real fall-line skiing, and night sessions Thursday through Sunday. It’s 30 minutes from the cabin. Here’s the planning page.
The mountain, quickly.
Elk Mountain is in Susquehanna County, PA, just over the line from Wayne County, near the village of Union Dale. 27 named trails across 200 acres of skiable terrain, with a 1,000-foot vertical drop. That’s the same vertical as Hunter or Belleayre in the Catskills, more than Camelback or Big Boulder in the central Poconos, and substantially more than most of New England’s smaller mountains.
The terrain leans intermediate-to-advanced. The mountain has a reputation as “the Pocono’s most challenging ski area” — not because the trails are scary, but because they actually fall the way mountains fall. No flat traverses, no resort-built pitch-control. Just real skiing on real terrain.
Lift system: 4 chairs (one quad, three doubles) and a magic carpet for the learning area. The quad runs from the base to the summit and is fast enough to keep your legs honest. The three doubles are old, slow, and still in service — charm or annoyance depending on your mood.
The trails worth your time.
For intermediates
- Tunkhannock — the mountain’s signature blue trail, top to bottom, wide enough for confident cruising
- Lehigh — longer, more rolling, beautifully cut through the woods
- Susquehanna — the sustained pitch is what makes Elk feel like a real mountain
For advanced skiers
- The Allegheny Trail — classic narrow eastern black, with a drop-in that’s a real ski move
- Mahican — steep, often bumpy, the trail you brag about at après
- The lower section of Lehigh — gets icy by mid-afternoon if it’s been warm
For families
The learning area at the base is excellent — gentle, wide, served by a magic carpet and a beginner double. Kids progress fast on Elk because the green and easy-blue trails (Delaware, Snow Plume, Junior’s Run) are forgiving but feel like real skiing.
The night-skiing secret.
Elk Mountain runs night skiing Thursday through Sunday. Lit terrain includes most of the front side — Tunkhannock, Lehigh, and the lower mountain. The Saturday night session is the move: lift lines empty after 6pm, snow firms up to perfect ice-cream-on-cold-nights consistency, and the trails feel like a different mountain. Tickets are cheaper for night-only access ($45-55 vs. $75-90 for full day). If you ski Saturday day, you can come back Saturday night for the price of one full day.
Lift tickets and where to buy them.
Elk Mountain is not on Ikon, Epic, or any of the multi-resort passes. Tickets are bought direct from the mountain, online or at the window. Buy online for the discount — window prices are $20+ more on weekends.
Approximate 2026 pricing:
- Adult day: $80-95
- Adult night: $45-55
- Adult weekend day: $90-105
- Junior (13-18): $60-75
- Senior (65+): $60-75
- Child (under 13): $50-65
For multiple days, the Frequent Skier Card gets you 4 days for the price of 3. Worth it if you’ll ski 3+ days at Elk in a season.
Drive from the cabin.
Shehawken Lake Cabin to the Elk Mountain base lodge is about 30 minutes by car. The drive heads west out of Starrucca, through Pleasant Mount, then south on PA-374 to Union Dale. The road is two-lane and rural — can be slow if it’s actively snowing. 4-wheel drive is helpful, not required. Most guests drive sedans up here in winter and manage fine; the cabin’s driveway gets plowed when it snows.
For the full ski-weekend itinerary from a NYC perspective, the Elk Mountain weekend post walks through the schedule.
Food and après.
Don’t expect the after-ski scene of a major resort. Elk Mountain has a base lodge with a cafeteria and a small bar. That’s it. There are no slopeside hotels, no boutique food trucks, no fire-pit lounges. The mountain’s charm is partly that the après scene is somewhere else — usually back at your rental.
For dinner after skiing, options near Elk:
- The Lacawac in Lake Como — 20 minutes from the mountain, classic American
- Hancock House Hotel in Hancock, NY — 35 minutes, the nicest sit-down dinner in the area
- Honesdale — 50 minutes, but worth it if you want a real food town. Native is the best dinner in 40 miles.
Where to stay.
Most Elk Mountain skiers stay in one of three places:
- The base lodge accommodations — small, lodge-style, fine for a single night
- Local hotels in Carbondale or Scranton — chain hotels, 30-45 minutes from the mountain
- Cabin rentals on the surrounding lakes — the Wayne County and Susquehanna County options
Shehawken Lake Cabin (Brothers Den on Airbnb) is in the third category — 30 minutes from Elk, on a private lake, with a fireplace and a great room that handles 6 ski-weekend guests easily. The advantage: in shoulder season, you can do a Saturday-only ski trip and spend Sunday paddling on the lake (yes, it usually thaws enough by mid-March). See the listing or check dates and ask questions.
