How to Reach Us:
Address: 499 Mountain Road, Princeton, MA 01541
Telephone: 978-464-2300
Snow Reports: 800-SKI-1234
Fax: 978-464-8054 (Marketing Office); 978-464-5462 (Main Office)
Location: On the Princeton/Westminster town line; off Route 140 in North Central
Mass.; 1 hr. west of Boston, 1+ hrs. north of Providence and 20 minutes
north of Worcester. Easily accessible from Routes 2, 495, 290 and 140.
Directions: From Boston, take Route 2 West, to Exit 25 (Route 140 South), follow signs 3.5 miles.
From Rhode Island and south, Route 146 North to Worcester, to Interstate 290 East, to Exit 19 (Interstate 190 North), to Exit 5 (Route 140 North), access road 12 miles north on the left.
From Worcester, Interstate 290 East to Exit 19 (Interstate 190 North) to Exit 5 (Route 140 North), access road 12 miles north
From the west, Mass Pike to Exit 10 in Auburn (Interstate 290 East) to Exit 19 (Interstate 190 North) to Exit 5 (Route 140 North), access road 12 miles north on the left.
Directions Who's Who at Wachusett
Mountain Facts:
Summit Elevation: 2,006 feet
Vertical Drop: 1,000 feet
Trails: 22
· Skiable Acres: 110
· Novice 30%, Intermediate 40%, Advanced 30%
· The longest trail is 1 1/2 miles on “Balance Rock.”
· Wide variety of terrain that exists for skiers of all abilities.
Lifts: 8 (with an uphill capacity of more than 9,200 skiers per hour) including 2
high speed quad chair lifts (the only 2 in Massachusetts).
· Polar Express: high-speed quad chair -- 4,500 feet
· Minuteman Express: high-speed quad chair -- 3,700 feet
· Monadock:triple chair -- 2,500 feet
· Vickery Bowl: triple chair – 1,500 feet
· Ollie’s: carpet -- 300 feet
· Easy Rider: carpet -- 500 feet
· Beginner: pony lift: -- 350-foot
· Polar Playground: carpet – 200 feet (open for Polar Kids Participants only)
Season: Traditionally, skiing from the day after Thanksgiving until early April.
Hours: Weekday Day: 9:00AM - 4:00PM Night: 4:00PM - 10:00PM
Weekend Day: 8:00AM - 4:00PM Night: 4:00PM - 10:00PM
Snowmaking: 100% coverage on all 108 acres.
- utilize innovative HKD tower guns
- 80 million gallons of water converted into machine-made snow each season, equaling an average of 3 feet of snow covering all the trails.
- Lease water from the City of Fitchburg-owned Wachusett Lake
Grooming: A fleet of 5 snow grooming vehicles manicures the trails two times each day. Features
Zaugg Pipe Designer – state-of-the-art half-pipe grooming attachment to make grooming the ½ pipe
more efficient and provide faster turn-around.
History Facts:
Name: “Wachusett” is the Algonquin Indian word for “The Great Hill.”
First Trails: The first skiing trails on Wachusett Mountain were cut by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930’s. (Pine Hill Trail 1934; Balance Rock Trail 1937)
First Lifts: Oxbow T-bar: 1960 West T-bar: 1962 (the longest T-bar in New England at 3,800 feet.)
Nature/Geology:
· Highest mountain in Massachusetts east of the Connecticut River.
· Largest “Monadnock” (Indian word for mountain that stands alone) east of the Berkshires.
· Home to the only known Old Growth Forest east of the Connecticut River. (Some of the trees here are over 350 years old!)
· Panoramic 360-degree views from the summit; including view of Boston Skyline to the east.
Tourism: Wachusett Mountain has a long history of tourism on the mountain. The first hotel was constructed on the summit in 1882. A new summit hotel was constructed in 1907 and continued operations until it was destroyed by fire in 1970. Over 600,000 people visit the mountain year round with at least half of that number visiting the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation in the summer and fall.
Ski Area Operations: Ralph Crowley was awarded lease from the state to operate Wachusett Mountain in 1969. Located within the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation, Wachusett Mountain Ski Area operates in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, providing skiing and snowboarding on 100 acres of terrain within a 450-acre leased area. A major expansion was completed in 1982; including the construction of the current base lodge.
Mountain Services:
Ski/Snowboard School: The Skier Development Center at Wachusett Mountain is dedicated to providing skiers with a fun learning experience in a variety of programs for all abilities – ranging from Special Beginner Packages to Advanced Training Clinics. The Wachusett Mountain Ski School gives class lessons daily (both private and semi private lessons are also available.) The mountain boasts the largest ski school (200 instructors) in Massachusetts. Over 10,000 Beginner Ski School lessons are taught annually.
Children’s Programs: Special features available for the children ages 4-12 include the Polar Kids, Polar
Den Club and Polar Playground.
Recreational Racing: Wachusett has the # 1 NASTAR program in New England and in the top 10 in the United States! (NASTAR is the world’s largest recreational ski racing program.) Public NASTAR is offered every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wachusett also has one of the largest Night Race League programs in the USA, with approximately 200 racers Monday through Thursday nights for eight weeks during the winter.
Group Sales: Join our “Greatest Possible Savings” (GPS) Club and received reduced rates on lifts, lessons and rentals for groups with 4 or more! Reservation and deposit required. Wachusett features the #1 pre-sold ski group program in New England with up to 65 bus loads of skiers a day during the week.
Rental Equipment: Complete rental shop featuring more than 2000 pairs of Head shaped skis and more than 800 Head snowboards.
Demo Center: Visit Wachusett’s “Instant Action” Demo Center at Mountainside Ski Shop to sign up for a demo – try the latest in high performance shaped skis, snowboards, helmets and other equipment – and head right out the door onto the slopes.
Snowboarding: Wachusett Mountain is a snowboard friendly resort with plenty of diverse terrain for all abilities; including a half-pipe and alpine park. The Mountainside Ski & Sport Shop has the latest snowboard equipment and apparel. The Wachusett Mountain Ski School also offers a variety of learn-to-snowboard programs.
Ski Patrol: To assist all skiers and snowboarders, Wachusett Mountain fields an award-winning Ski Patrol with over 100 highly-trained, dedicated professional men and women. Wachusett also has an additional 100 Patrol Rangers who assist the ski patrol. The Ski Patrol and First Aid building is located adjacent to the main lodge.
Base Facilities:
Base Lodge: The 38,000-square-foot Wachusett Mountain Base Lodge, cited for excellence in architectural design, boasts a warm, comfortable atmosphere with exposed beam construction, a huge fireplace and sun decks surrounding the building. The award winning building’s heating system is unique, using a combination of waste heat generated by snowmaking compressors, passive and active solar heat and electrical back-up. A two-story addition opened in January 2001 featuring added seating, rest rooms, function space and deluxe Mountain Suites offering private rooms available for groups.
Food & Beverage Service Outlets:
· Black Diamond Restaurant
· Coppertop Lounge
· Base Lodge Cafeteria (The Cafeteria will serve 500 hamburgers an hour during a busy winter day and an average of 300 gallons of chili are sold each week.)
· Balance Rock Coffee Shop featuring Starbucks Coffee
· Waffle Haus
Mountainside Ski & Sports Shop: Features the latest in equipment,
clothing and accessories; while-you-wait ski and board tuning; custom
boot fitting; and Instant Action Demo Center. Direct line: 978-464-2626.
Lodging: Wachusett Village Inn & Conference Center, owned and operated by Wachusett Mountain, is a charming 74-room country inn in nearby Westminster is an ideal location to supplement your ski activities at the mountain. Features restaurant, café and lounge; Inn Club with indoor pool, exercise equipment, sauna, hot tub. Complete conference facilities available. Call 978-874-2000; 800-342-1905.
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