If you’re excited about the prospect of racing down a snow-covered hill, but not quite ready to try skiing and snowboarding, snow tubing is a great way to get started on your snow sports journey. And, most Pennsylvania ski area resorts offer dedicated snow tubing lanes. Snow tubing is something the entire family can enjoy and requires no special skills or equipment except for your snow gear, of course. Best of all, unlike traditional sledding, you can forgo the dreaded hike back up the hill as most resorts feature a conveyor carpet ride back to the top. Most tubes are designed for single riders, but some resorts offer tandem-style and even family-sized tubes, too.
Be sure to check out the specific age and height requirements as they vary by resort, and you are good to go. Here’s just a few of our favorite spots, that cater to specific needs, for starters.
1. WHERE TO TUBE WITH TODDLERS
Liberty Mountain Resort | Fairfield
For families with toddlers in tow, Liberty Mountain Resort, located north of the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, features the bubly Tube Park, made especially for toddlers, ages two-four. Parents can help their kids with their tubes and also join in on the fun. At Liberty Mountain families can enjoy 15 tubing lanes and relax on the moving carpet as it conveys them and their tube back to the top. For those looking to take a quick break, the Boulder Ridge Lodge is the perfect spot to warm-up, grab a quick snack, and watch all the action on the hill.
2. BEST BET FOR FAMILY SNOW TUBING
Blue Mountain Resort | Palmerton
For those seeking a family tubing getaway that can accommodate more than one person per tube, Blue Mountain Resort is the place to go. The resort is the only tubing park in the Pocono Mountains to feature family-sized snow tubes, which can fit up to four adults or six children comfortably. This is a perfect choice for small children who are not quite ready to tube on their own yet. Blue Mountain’s Snow Tubing Park features 39 lanes over 1,000-feet long with three lifts to take you back to the top, so the fun can keep rolling.
3. BEST PLACE TO SEE A GALACTIC LIGHT SHOW
Camelback Mountain | Tannersville
Located in the Poconos, just 90 minutes from New York City, Camelback Mountain Resort is a popular destination for families. With more than 40 lightning-fast tubing lanes, Camelback claims the title as the biggest snow tubing park in the US. Snow tubers can enjoy two-hour tubing sessions and two state-of-the-art Magic Carpet Lifts, which effortlessly carry you to the top, so you can save all that energy for more tubing thrills. At night the snowtubing park dazzles with an out-of-this-world Galactic LED light show.
4. WHERE TO GO FOR SPEED IN NORTHEAST PA
Montage Mountain | Scranton
If you’re looking for some snow tubing thrills in the northeast region of PA, Montage Mountain Resort has you covered. The resort features ten tubing lanes that are 806 feet long, making it the longest and fastest tubing facility in the area. With a Magic Carpet Conveyor Lift to take you back to the top, LED lighting, and multiple fire pits, Montage is a great place to go for tubing into the evening hours.
5. BEST BET FOR TUBING THRILLS IN THE WEST
Mount Pleasant of Edinboro | Cambridge Springs
Located in the snowbelt region of northwestern Pennsylvania in Erie County, Mount Pleasant is a favorite winter family destination. Tubers can get their thrills with eight snow tubing lanes that are 600 feet long and feature a 6-story drop.
These are just a small sampling of the snow tubing options in PA. Almost all the ski resorts in the state offer snow tubing in addition to skiing. To find the nearest location to you and for a complete list of snow tubing resorts, visit the SkiPA website.
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