McCauley Mountain Ski Center

If it’s summer ride the chair lift. The view is fantastic year round, I recommend packing a picnic for when you reach the top.
In the winter months it’s a small and fun ski/​snowboard destination. Keep in mind that Old Forge holds the record low for New York State, and is always at least 10 degrees colder than Utica. That being said it’s also known for massive amounts of snow, which makes for great skiing! If you visit their website they have web cams at the top so you can check it out before you go. It’s small enough that everyone fearlessly leaves their equipment unlocked, and the biggest lift only carries two people, but I’ve never had to wait any longer than 8 minutes. They have a good variety of slopes that seem like mostly black diamonds, and some blue squares that walk the black diamond line when they’re icy.

McCauley Mt. is absolutely wonderful! If you don’t have time to go to one of the bigger mountains, like Gore, then this is a great place to get some runs in. It’s smaller, but it has something for everyone. Great black diamonds, some nice blues and a few greens. If you live in central NY and feel the urge to strap on a snowboard or your skis, this is the place to get satisfied.
Crazy Fridays are the best. Lowest ticket prices I’ve found in a long time.