Only one resort in the Empire State is owned and operated by the state itself: Belleayre Mountain, which sits in Highmount in the heart of the Catskill Mountain Forest Preserve on a site declared "forever wild" by the state of New York back in 1885. This bold proclamation made New York one of the first states to set aside a piece of land for the future enjoyment of others. By the next century, local skiers had decided that "enjoyment" meant skiing, and they pressured the Department of Environmental Conservation to put a ski resort on the mountain. In 1947, New York amended their state constitution to allow for a ski mountain in the preserve.

After a 1949 groundbreaking, Belleayre opened its first season with five trails and the state's first chairlift. The resort was immediately popular; locals still remember visitors sleeping in tents outside the ticket office to be the first on the slopes.

Six decades later, Belleayre hasn't lost its luster; it gets 175,000 visitors a year. With a northeastern exposure, the natural snow coverage is so good that Belleayre is often the first mountain in the area to open and the last to close. To supplement the natural coverage, snowmaking reaches 96 percent of the mountain, and Belleayre proudly vaunts its nightly grooming. With eight lifts accessing 55 trails, the terrain is varied enough to keep everyone busy, from the clumsiest beginner to the slickest carver. Although more than half the mountain is dedicated to intermediate terrain, experts can challenge themselves on double blacks like Cathedral Brook, or find the Catskills' only cat-access skiing in the glades on the east side of the mountain. Cross-country

Only one resort in the Empire State is owned and operated by the state itself: Belleayre Mountain, which sits in Highmount in the heart of the Catskill Mountain Forest Preserve on a site declared "forever wild" by the state of New York back in 1885. This bold proclamation made New York one of the first states to set aside a piece of land for the future enjoyment of others. By the next century, local skiers had decided that "enjoyment" meant skiing, and they pressured the Department of Environmental Conservation to put a ski resort on the mountain. In 1947, New York amended their state constitution to allow for a ski mountain in the preserve.

After a 1949 groundbreaking, Belleayre opened its first season with five trails and the state's first chairlift. The resort was immediately popular; locals still remember visitors sleeping in tents outside the ticket office to be the first on the slopes.

Six decades later, Belleayre hasn't lost its luster; it gets 175,000 visitors a year. With a northeastern exposure, the natural snow coverage is so good that Belleayre is often the first mountain in the area to open and the last to close. To supplement the natural coverage, snowmaking reaches 96 percent of the mountain, and Belleayre proudly vaunts its nightly grooming. With eight lifts accessing 55 trails, the terrain is varied enough to keep everyone busy, from the clumsiest beginner to the slickest carver. Although more than half the mountain is dedicated to intermediate terrain, experts can challenge themselves on double blacks like Cathedral Brook, or find the Catskills' only cat-access skiing in the glades on the east side of the mountain. Cross-country skiers can take advantage of five trails of varying difficulty for no charge.

Belleayre's all-day KidsCamp offers four hours of lesson and lunch, making it a great place to bring kids for their first ride. Belleayre also has a strong adaptive snowsports program for mono or bi skiers, the blind, and autistic students, with ongoing building on a new lodge to house the program.

Just 2.5 hours from New York City and 1.5 hours from Albany, Belleayre is primely located to attract day-trippers—several bus companies offer a package of round-trip transportation and one-day lift ticket—but lodging is available at local hotels for longer trips. The planned Belleayre Resort will add the ability to house even more people. Initially met with resistance from nearby resorts Hunter and Wyndham, as well as local residents and conservation groups when it was proposed back in 1999, the project has now been approved and the resort will be the only upscale, four-season resort serving the New York metropolitan area. Proponents of the project hope that the resort will help bring the Catskills back to its tourism heyday, with Belleayre at its forefront.