Hidden Valley is a ski area located in Vernon Township

Vernon Township, New Jersey

-Communities and neighborhoods:Communities and neighborhoods in Vernon Township include the following sections:*Vernon Village "Town Center"*Vernon Valley a.k.a...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, in Sussex County

Sussex County, New Jersey

The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...

 off of County Route 515

County Route 515 (New Jersey)

County Route 515 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from Route 23 in Hardyston Township to the New York state line in Vernon Township. Between Route 23 and Route 94, this highway is known as Vernon-Stolkholm Road. The road then runs concurrent with NJ 94 for ....

, near the intersection with Route 94

Route 94 (New Jersey)

Route 94 is a state highway in the northwestern part of the New Jersey, United States. It runs from the Portland–Columbia Toll Bridge over the Delaware River in Knowlton Township, Warren County, where it connects to Pennsylvania Route 611 , northeast to the New York state line in Vernon Township,...

. Established in 1975 and northwest of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, it is approximately a one hour drive from the George Washington Bridge

George Washington Bridge

The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...

.

The Mountain

The mountain's top elevation

Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 is 1435 feet (437 m) above sea level and bottom elevation is 815 feet (248 m), with a vertical drop of 620 feet (189 m). The resort has 15 trails - 25% beginner, 30% intermediate, and 45% advanced. The longest trail is Browse Along at three quarters of a mile (1.2 km). There are a total of four lifts: three chairlift

Chairlift

An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...

s (one triple, 2 doubles) and a surface lift

Ski tow

thumb|right|A rope tow or ski tow.A ski tow, also called rope tow or handle tow, is a mechanised system for pulling skiers and snowboarders uphill....

, and the uphill capacity is 3,500 per hour. In 2007 the resort, after years of struggling to compete with the nearby and much larger Mountain Creek

Mountain Creek

Mountain Creek is the ski resort closest to New York metropolitan area, located in Vernon Township, New Jersey, on Route 94, from the George Washington Bridge. It offers 167 skiable acres on four mountain peaks, 100% night skiing/snowboarding, and the region's highest vertical feet. Mountain Creek...

, declared bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 and was sold at a sheriff's auction. The new owners are keeping it open.

Notable Skiers

Champion freestyle

Freestyle skiing

Freestyle skiing is form of skiing which used to encompass two disciplines: aerials, and moguls. Except the two disciplines mentioned earlier Freestyle Skiing now consists of Skicross, Half Pipe and Slope Style...

 skier Donna Weinbrecht

Donna Weinbrecht

Donna Weinbrecht won the first gold medal awarded in the first Olympic mogul competitions in freestyle skiing, which were held at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Weinbrecht grew up in West Milford, New Jersey...

, an Olympic

Freestyle skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics

Freestyle skiing was an official sport discipline for the first time at the 1992 Winter Olympics, with medals awarded in the moguls event. Aerials was still a demonstration event at these games...

 gold medalist in moguls, learned to ski and trained at Hidden Valley.

Nolan Kasper

Nolan Kasper

Nolan Kasper is a World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States.He began skiing at age three at Hidden Valley ski area in northern New Jersey, where his father was a ski instructor. Kasper is a graduate of the Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont and attends Dartmouth College in the...

, a slalom

Slalom skiing

Slalom is an alpine skiing discipline, involving skiing between poles spaced much closer together than in Giant Slalom, Super-G or Downhill, thereby causing quicker and shorter turns.- Origins :...

 racer with the U.S. Ski Team

United States Ski Team

The United States Ski Team, operated under the auspices of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association , develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, adaptive alpine, freestyle skiing, cross country, adaptive cross country, ski jumping, and nordic combined....

, began skiing at Hidden Valley in the early 1990s at age three; his father was a ski instructor at the area.

External links

• Hidden Valley NJ.com - official site