- Elk Mountain has 27 trails across 180 acres and a 925-foot vertical drop, about 30 minutes from Shehawken Lake Cabin.
- Night skiing runs Thursday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9pm, on scheduled nights. A night ticket is $44.
- Elk isn’t on Ikon or Epic. Tickets are bought direct, and online and window prices are the same.
- 4-wheel drive helps on snowy days but is not required to reach the mountain.
Elk Mountain is one of Pennsylvania’s best-kept ski secrets, 27 trails, 925 feet of vertical, real fall-line skiing, and night sessions Thursday through Saturday. 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 trails across 180 acres, with a 925-foot vertical drop from a 2,667-foot summit, the highest lift-served skiing in eastern Pennsylvania. Every trail has snowmaking, and the longest run is 1.75 miles.
The terrain leans intermediate-to-advanced: 11 of the 27 trails are black diamonds, 10 are blue, and 6 are green. The trails actually fall the way mountains fall. No flat traverses, no resort-built pitch-control. Just real skiing on real terrain.
Lift system: 6 chairs, five doubles and one quad, plus a cable tow in the terrain park. The North Chair reaches the highest lift-served skiing in eastern PA. The doubles are old, slow, and still in service, charm or annoyance depending on your mood. There are two terrain parks, and no tubing.
The trails worth your time.
For intermediates
- Delaware, a blue, and the intermediate route on its side of the mountain
- Kickapoo, a blue with a real pitch to it, good for building up to the blacks
- Susquehanna, a long run on the right side of the mountain
For advanced skiers
- Mohawk, Iroquois, and Tuscarora, the run of black diamonds on the left side of the mountain
- Tunkhannock, the mogul run, the one you brag about after
- Slalom, another black, steep enough to keep advanced skiers honest
For families
Beginners start on the A Beginner’s Chair, a double that serves the learning terrain, and greens like Hiawatha. A beginner-only ticket ($42 on weekends) covers that lift, and Elk’s $130 learn-to-ski package (ages 8+) includes the beginner ticket, a 90-minute group lesson, and rentals. Kids 5 and under ski free with a paying adult.
The night-skiing secret.
Elk Mountain runs night skiing Thursday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9pm, on scheduled nights (check the schedule on elkskier.com). A smaller set of trails is lit at night. Night tickets are $44, less than half the $98 weekend day ticket. If you want both, the extended ticket covers 8:30am to 9pm for $104 on Saturdays and $92 on Thursdays and Fridays.
Lift tickets and where to buy them.
Elk Mountain is not on Ikon or Epic. Tickets are bought direct from the mountain, online or at the window. Prices are the same either way. Online tickets go on sale up to 7 days ahead and are non-refundable, so wait for the forecast.
Elk’s posted prices (last updated October 2025, so confirm before you go):
- Adult (18–64) 8-hour: $98 weekends and holidays, $81–86 Thursday and Friday
- Adult 2-day, Saturday and Sunday: $182
- Night, 4:30–9pm: $44 adults, juniors, and seniors; $38 kids
- Junior (12–17) and senior (65–74) 8-hour: $85 weekends
- Child (6–11) 8-hour: $73 weekends
- Kids 5 and under: free with a paying adult
The only multi-day ticket is the 2-day pass, and Saturday plus Sunday at $182 beats two single days. The full breakdown, including passes and window-only deals, is in the Elk Mountain lift ticket guide.
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 cafeteria and the recently renovated Winter Garden Restaurant, with slopeside tables and a bar. That’s about it. 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:
- 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:
- Lodging at or right by the mountain, limited, and it fills early on weekends
- 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 slow at the lake. See the listing or check dates and ask questions.
