Laurel Mountain Ski Resort

Laurel Mountain Ski Resort is a ski resort located in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The resort is the primary attraction of Laurel Mountain State Park.Once known as the Ski Capital of Pennsylvania, Laurel Mountain is a true skier’s mountain. Not only does Laurel Mountain boast the highest vertical drop on the Laurel Ridge in Pennsylvania at 800 feet, the mountain is famous for its double diamond Lower Wildcat Slope, one of the steepest in the state which averages near 60% grade and reaches 72% at its steepest point.HistoryLaurel Mountain’s distinct character is the result of a rich history. The slopes were originally designed by European skiing legend Johann "Hannes" Schneider, the renowned Austrian ski guide and inventor of the Arlberg Method, the basis of modern alpine ski technique. The resort opened in 1940, just before the U.S. entered World War II, and some of the original structures, including the storied Midway Cabin, still stand on the property. Once an exclusive club for the most prestigious residents of Pennsylvania, Laurel Mountain was gifted to the commonwealth in 1964 and is now a winter playground for everyone.Closed for more than a decade, Laurel Mountain is reopening for the 2016-2017 season after an extensive multi-year renovation project to upgrade the facility through a partnership between the Pennsylvania DCNR and Seven Springs Mountain Resort. A modern SkyTrac fixed-grip quad chairlift was installed in the summer of 2016, capable of transporting 2,400 skiers per hour. The snowmaking system was overhauled with the addition of 52 new guns and the water storage capacity nearly doubled to 26 million gallons. Several improvements were also made to the slopes including regrading and widening select areas to improve traffic flow.