The 16 Best Places for Downhill and Cross-Country Skiing Around Rochester

Skiing is a popular winter activity. It is both a great way to stay fit and a social experience. Many ski destinations around Rochester offer downhill and cross-country ski rentals as well as snowshoes. Besides, skiing around Rochester is an excellent exercise that helps you maintain your vitamin D levels when exposed to sunshine.

Going to a resort will provide you with all the amenities you’d expect for the price tag: a shop with rental and repair services, lessons, support for adaptive snow sports, lifts, lodges, food, entertainment, childcare services, and lots and lots of people.

One even has an indoor water park. You also get manicured slopes, making it possible to ski when natural snow may not be on the ground elsewhere.

Taking your cross-country skis to Monroe County Park or New York State Park or renting them from a nature center is a more rustic, simple, and inexpensive experience.

Cross-Country Skiing Around Rochester

Ski Rentals Available

1. Bryncliff Resort Varysburg
2. Podunk Cross Country Ski Center Ithaca
3. Reinstein Woods and Nature Preserve Depew
4. Cumming Nature Center Naples

Cross-country ski rentals and trails are also available at many of the downhill ski resorts below.

Bring Your Own Skis

1. Turning Point Park
2. Monroe County Parks
3. New York State Parks Within a 2-hour Drive
4. Nature Centers, Wildlife Preserves, Management Areas, Refuges, and Observatories

Here’s a little inspiration from the NYS DEC,

“Don’t let snow keep you off New York State’s thousands of trails this winter. Grab a pair of cross-country skis or snowshoes and enjoy your favorite trails all winter long. The solitude and all engulfing silence of the wilderness in winter await. Many trails are easier to traverse in winter as the rocks, roots, and mud are covered with nothing but smooth, deep snow. You can go to areas otherwise not accessible in summer due to wet conditions and take shortcuts across frozen lakes. You may be surprised that a day of exercise and exploring nature in winter could be so much fun!”

Downhill Snowboarding and Skiing Around Rochester

1. Swain & Monroe County Parks (Powder Mills and Northampton) are equipped with a gradual ski slope accessed by a single rope tow, an on-site lodge, rental equipment, and experienced ski and snowboard instructors.
2. Swain Resort Swain
3. Bristol Mountain Bristol
4. Hunt Hollow Ski Club Naples
5. Brantling Ski & Snowboard Sodus
6. Greek Peak Cortland
7. Holiday Valley Ellicottville
8. Kissing Bridge Glenwood

Do you have a favorite place to ski or snowboard?

I’d love to hear from you—please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.