Belleayre Makes Investments for Year Round Venue
By Bond Brungard
HIGHMOUNT – Within a few months, if Mother Nature is in a seasonal mood, Route 28 through Ulster County, will be busy with cars and SUVs headed to Belleayre Mountain, roof racks topped with skis and snowboards. However, some of the added improvements coming to the mountain are not dependent on snow, or the ability to make it. Although there will be improvements to Alpine and Nordic skiing trails, the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), which manages the recreational facility, wants to make improvements to its mountain biking trails.
The facility’s mountain bike operations originate from Overlook Lodge, and about 15 new miles of trails are proposed to challenge riders seeking easy, difficult and more difficult treks.
“Among the reasons for the 2023 amended plan is the fact that Belleayre Mountain does not currently possess any significant mountain biking trails. It is adjacent to the Shandaken Wild Forest area, which includes mountain biking trails as part of the recreational opportunities available there,” said Darcy Norfolk, ORDA’s director of communications. “The 2023 Unit Management Plan includes a master plan to foster interconnections for mountain biking between these two areas.”
When it is cold enough to make snow, ORDA has made important improvements to snowmaking equipment that ensures the process can be more energy efficient.
“Over the past several years, the Olympic Authority has invested in updating Belleayre’s snowmaking infrastructure,” said Norfork. “It’s been a multi-phase series of projects that mean today’s Belleayre is better equipped to make more snow faster with less energy, because snowmaking accounts for approximately 70 percent of ski resort energy.” This work is considered a high priority. The goal is more snow, faster, using less energy.
Away from the mountain, an economic impact analysis for 2022-2023 by ORDA concluded Belleayre contributes about $25 million to Ulster County through consumer spending on lodging, retail, transportation, food and beverages and recreation.
“Belleayre is now a four-season destination. We are delighted that the management of Belleayre, together with the leadership or ORDA, has opened up additional uses. In the summer you can enjoy water-themed activities at the Belleayre Beach, take a scenic gondola ride, hike miles worth of trails, play a round of disc golf…We are looking forward to the completion of an expansion project that will allow Belleayre to have mountain bike rentals on-site starting this coming spring,” said Lisa Berger, Director of Ulster County Tourism & Office of Film. “The gondola allows at least one Catskills peak to be accessible to people with mobility issues – differently abled guests can ride up the gondola and right back down if they choose.”
And it’s the investments made by ORDA, seasonal snowmaking, mountain bikes and for other activities, that Berger said are helpful and instrumental in stabilizing and possibly boosting the economic prospects in this very rural part of the county.
“ORDA has been incredibly generous in terms of the money and attention they have paid to improving snowmaking, over-all on-mountain facilities, and expanding uses at Belleayre. That work has resulted in season passes that exceed those of Hunter Mountain for the upcoming 2023-2024 season,” said Berger. “They averaged 500 people this summer at their Music on the Belle series and hosted an incredibly successful Fall Festival/Oktoberfest that ran over two consecutive weekends in October bringing in people who may never put on a pair of skis. These people stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, visit our art galleries, go to our farmers markets and visit our quaint mountain towns. They play a vital role in the coalition of private/public interests that work cooperatively to improve economic and social issues in our northern-western part of the county.”