Gore Mountain
Overview
Gore Mountain has been a ski destination since 1934, when a ski excursion train first brought visitors to the North Creek Depot in the Adirondacks. The mountain expanded substantially in 1964 with the addition of what locals call “New Gore,” and in 2003 the state’s Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) reopened the older original slopes — “Old Gore” — after they had sat unused since the 1980s. ORDA still owns and operates the mountain today, making it a state-run rather than privately held ski area, and by trail count it’s the largest ski area in New York.
That scale shows up in the numbers: a 771.3 m vertical drop between a 320.9 m base and 1,092.2 m summit, 104 trails totaling 61.38 km, and 14 lifts, including an 8-passenger gondola, ten chairlifts, a J-bar, and two magic carpets. The terrain spreads across four connected peaks — Gore, Bear, Burnt Ridge, and Little Gore mountains — with 30.79 km of intermediate terrain forming the backbone, 19.28 km rated advanced, 8.16 km easy, and 3.06 km expert. Intermediate terrain alone accounts for just over half of that 61.38 km total, with advanced and expert runs combined making up roughly another 36 percent, leaving beginners a comparatively thin 8.16 km easy-terrain slice — plus a marginal 0.1 km logged in a miscellaneous “other” category on the trail map. The Rumor trail carries the reputation as the steepest run on the mountain, while Twister is generally cited as the longest. The Burnt Ridge peak, added to the trail network in a 2008–2009 expansion, brought in several additional runs and glade terrain aimed at more aggressive skiers, broadening what had been a comparatively conservative trail map.
Gore’s base sits above North Creek, a small Adirondack town that grew up around the same rail line that first brought skiers to the mountain in the 1930s. A ski train service from Saratoga Springs briefly revived that rail connection between 2011 and 2017 before it was discontinued, and today most visitors drive in rather than take a train.
That drive-in reality shows up in the resort’s population geography. Albany itself, a city of just over 101,000, sits 116.4 km from the mountain — slightly farther than the airport that shares its name, which carries enough scheduled traffic to be classified as a large airport rather than one of the medium-sized regional fields at Saranac Lake and Rutland. Syracuse, considerably bigger at roughly 144,000 residents, is a longer 186.0 km drive to the west, and even Ville-Marie in Quebec, with about 105,000 people, works out to a comparable 205.1 km — a reminder that Gore’s closest population centers of any real size sit either well south along the Albany corridor or across the Canadian border, with relatively little in between inside the Adirondack Park itself.
Access runs through a cluster of small regional airports rather than one dominant gateway: Adirondack Regional in Saranac Lake at 79.8 km, Rutland–Southern Vermont Regional at 87.7 km, and Albany International, the resort’s designated gateway, at 105.3 km. Gore isn’t currently affiliated with Epic, Ikon, or Indy, so lift tickets are purchased directly, which is typical for ORDA-run mountains that operate outside the major private pass networks.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-13
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| j-bar | 1 |
| gondola | 1 |
| chair lift | 10 |
| magic carpet | 2 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 8.16 km |
| other | 0.1 km |
| expert | 3.06 km |
| advanced | 19.28 km |
| intermediate | 30.79 km |
Maps
Official trail map: see goremountain.com
Run & lift overview
Gore Mountain: 114 runs, 14 lifts. A schematic built from OpenStreetMap/OpenSkiMap data — this is not Gore Mountain's official trail map. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Gore Mountain is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
Gore Mountain has no multi-resort pass affiliations on record.
Getting there
Nearest airports
- Adirondack Regional Airport (SLK) — 79.8 km straight-line
- Rutland - Southern Vermont Regional Airport (RUT) — 87.7 km straight-line
- Albany International Airport (ALB) — 105.3 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- Albany, New York — 116.4 km straight-line
- Syracuse, New York — 186 km straight-line
- Ville-Marie, Quebec — 205.1 km straight-line
Also covered by
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Gore Mountain is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Hickory Ski Center — 28 km straight-line, 331.5 m vertical
- West Mountain Ski Resort — 49 km straight-line, 305.6 m vertical
- Whiteface Mountain Ski Center — 78 km straight-line, 961.2 m vertical
- Middlebury College Snow Bowl — 90 km straight-line, 290.3 m vertical
- Pico Mountain Resort — 95 km straight-line, 588.8 m vertical
FAQ
- How big is Gore Mountain?
- Gore has a 771.3 m vertical drop between a 320.9 m base and 1,092.2 m summit, with 104 trails covering 61.38 km. Fourteen lifts serve the mountain, including a gondola, ten chairlifts, a J-bar, and two magic carpets — the largest lift network of any ski area in New York State.
- Is Gore Mountain state-owned?
- Yes. Gore is operated by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), a New York state agency, making it a public rather than privately owned ski area.
- Is Gore Mountain good for beginners?
- There's a real beginner base — 8.16 km of easy terrain plus two magic carpets — but the mountain's bulk skews toward the middle and upper difficulty bands, with 30.79 km rated intermediate and 19.28 km advanced. Beginners get a workable but comparatively smaller slice of the total terrain.
- Is Gore Mountain good for advanced and expert skiers?
- Yes. Gore carries 19.28 km of advanced terrain and 3.06 km rated expert, spread across four connected peaks — Gore, Bear, Burnt Ridge, and Little Gore. The Rumor trail is the mountain's steepest run, and the Burnt Ridge area, expanded in 2008–2009, added several runs and glades aimed at stronger skiers.
- What's the nearest airport to Gore Mountain?
- Adirondack Regional Airport (SLK) in Saranac Lake is closest at 79.8 km, followed by Rutland–Southern Vermont Regional Airport (RUT) at 87.7 km. Albany International Airport (ALB), 105.3 km away, is the resort's gateway airport and the more practical option for most travelers.
- Which ski pass covers Gore Mountain?
- None of the major multi-resort passes currently list Gore as a partner. As a state-run ORDA property, tickets are bought directly from Gore rather than through an Epic- or Ikon-style pass.
- What town is Gore Mountain near?
- Gore sits above North Creek, New York, in the Adirondacks, roughly an hour's drive from Albany, which is also the base for the resort's nearest large airport at 105.3 km.
- Is there still a ski train to Gore Mountain?
- Not currently. A seasonal ski train from Saratoga Springs ran along the historic North Creek rail line from 2011 to 2017, reviving the same route that first brought skiers to the mountain in the 1930s, but that service was discontinued and today's visitors drive in instead.
Data sources
Last verified: 2026-09-15
Base facts from OpenSkiMap (ODbL), OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata (CC0), OurAirports (public domain) and GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). See /data-sources/.