Photo above courtesy NewEnglandSkiHistory.com
Yawgoo Valley, Exeter • 36 skiable acres on 245′ vertical
Specs: Summit elevation: 315′; Base elevation: 70′. 3 Lifts: 2 doubles, 1 surface. Uphill Capacity: 2700/hr. Terrain Mix: 50-30-20. Longest Run: 2,200′. Season: usually January through mid March. Night Skiing. Annual Snowfall: 48″ (?!). Snowmaking: 100%.
The SKInny: Good small suburban ski area, great for newbies, novice/intermediates, and kids skiing. Warm friendly atmosphere, and where else you gonna ski in Rhode Island? But it’s more than that. Yawgoo not only promotes the sport, but promotes fun and with gimmicks like their “coins” they make the whole thing affordable. And as the locals say when hitting top speed: YAWGOOOOO!
Signature Trail: TNT
More info…
Complete history of Yawgoo — and other Rhode Island ski areas — is available at the New England Ski History website. Their sister site, New England Ski Industry is a comprehensive source for news that covers everything from the biggest resorts to the smallest community rope tows. Both are worth checking out.
Lift Tickets at Discount: This is a “clearinghouse” of sorts that many ski areas use to raise cash by selling discount tickets in advance, called Liftopia. If you haven’t used this service, it is important to knowfor certain that you are going on a specific date. The deeply discounted tickets must be purchased in advance; generally up to two days out. The sticking point is that some ski resorts only make a limited number of tickets available to Liftopia for any given day, so they might be sold out if you wait too long…so, as soon as you are absolutely, positively sure that you will be skiing on a certain day, click this link to get deeply discounted tickets. I’ve used this service many times, but again, ONLY when I am absolutely certain I will be skiing on a specific date. You need to have access to a printer to print out your receipt, and you have to take identification with you to the mountain. I’ve knocked a third off the price of some tickets. Not every area participates, but it’s well worth checking if you’ve got a date nailed down. Note that sometimes they offer deals in which you can pay a slightly higher fee that gives you the option to change dates.