America's Largest Snow Tubing Resort Is A Pocono Mountain Winter Wonderland With Pristine Slopes

Winter fun abounds this time of year, when snow blankets the ground and transforms the landscape into a seasonal playground. Depending on where you live in America, it's typically a time for warm beanies and jackets, hot cocoa, and snow sports. The country is dotted with great resorts offering a range of winter activities. While the West Coast has Snoqualmie Pass, Washington's winter wonderland and tubing park, on the East Coast, it's all about tubing at Blue Mountain Resort in the Pocono Mountains. This is where you'll find the largest snow tubing park in America.

Boasting up to 56 groomed lanes down at least 1,000 feet of freshly powdered slope, the tubing environment at Blue Mountain is appropriately set up for hours of entertainment. Kids and adults alike cruise down the lanes on solo and tandem inflatable tubes, sometimes facing forward, other times backwards. The powder glows white during the day, but after sunset, the resort's Sonic Snow Tubing party begins. Light shows and music create a lively atmosphere for racing friends and family down the tracks.

If you love a bit of après ski, you'll enjoy the après tube at Blue Mountain Resort. The outdoor patio has great views of the snow tubing lanes, as well as fire pits perfect for gathering around while sipping on cocktails, hot cocoa, or wine. The Slopeside Pub & Grill is particularly great for post-tubing drinks and dinner. It hosts live music between Thursday and Sunday during the winter season, but also has great deals on burgers and beer pitchers. You can also grab tacos and beers from the Tipsy Taco Food Truck to enjoy around the fire. Four-course wine-and-food pairing nights, delicious ice cream sundaes, and wood-fired pizzas ensure all taste buds are covered, no matter the age.

Blue Mountain Resort is about 100 miles from New York City. You can also drive there in just over 1.5 hours from Philadelphia. Each tubing session is two hours long and usually costs between $30 and $50 (at the time of writing). You can save a little if you book as a group of 20 or more people or show proof of active or past military duty.

There's no limit to the number of rides you can have during your session. However, that means you may enjoy the tubing park more when it's less busy during the week. Although there are ski lifts that make it easy to get from the bottom to the top, there's no accounting for the wait times if a lot of people want to ride. In the past, visitors have complained about long queues and only getting two or three 30-second rides an hour. But the resort has expanded its lanes from 46 to 56 in recent years, which should hopefully streamline the queues and give you more rides per session. It has also added tower fans to the park to ensure the snow is always powdery.

During December, Blue Mountain Resort hosts special Christmas Snow Tubing nights from Thursday to Sunday. The usual music and lights have a Christmasy theme, and even Santa gets around the tubing fun in his jolly red suit, his white beard flapping in the wind. Other Christmas-themed events include gingerbread house-making workshops and buffet breakfasts with Santa at the resort's Vista Ballroom. Staying in New York? Check out the annual Bank of America Winter Village with exciting treats, shops, and activities. If you live further inland, you could also visit Lutsen, Minnesota's charming winter paradise with a ski resort and winery.