With the Pocono Mountains within view, and the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau located on Main Street, it's not surprising that Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, offers many winter activities for both locals and visitors. Located in northeastern Pennsylvania, the town of Stroudsburg has a population of just more than 6,000 residents. In addition to winter activities, Stroudsburg and neighboring East Stroudsburg are home to many hotels and restaurants, catering to both winter tourists and visitors to the East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania campus.
When most people think of the Pocono Mountains in winter, it is skiing that comes to mind first as a winter activity. There are eight major ski resorts in the Stroudsburg area, all offering both downhill skiing and snowboarding. The resorts range in size from small, family-oriented facilities to larger resorts with more extensive and challenging trail systems. The largest ski resort in the Poconos is Camelback, located in Tannersville, about a ten minute drive from Stroudsburg. The mountain has an 800-foot vertical drop and 34 trails in total, all of which are open for night skiing. There are four lodges at the resort for warming up or taking a lunch break, and Camelback offers ski-and-stay packages that include accommodations at local hotels, inns, rental cottages and condos.
Camelback Mountain Resort
One Camelback Road
Tannersville, PA 18372
570-629-1661
skicamelback.com
For those seeking a Nordic-style outdoor winter activity, the Stroudsburg area has a wide variety of cross-country skiing options. There are more than ten facilities offering trails for Nordic skiing. The Pocono Manor Inn, located less than 15 minutes from Stroudsburg, combines fine lodging and dining with 20 miles of groomed cross-country trails that are available to guests and non-guests. There is also snowshoeing and ice skating available, weather permitting, in the winter months at the Inn, along with snowmobiling and dog sledding, for the more adventuresome visitors. The Inn itself has 250 guest rooms, many with views of the Pocono Mountains. The Exchange, the historic restaurant at the Inn, serves dinner nightly, as it has done since opening in 1902.
The Inn at Pocono Manor
Route 314
One Manor Drive
Pocono Manor, PA 18349
800-233-8150
poconomanor.com
When you need a break from the rigors of skiing or the excitement of snowmobiling, ice fishing may be just the ticket. Tobyhanna Lake and Gouldsboro Lake, both located in Tobyhanna State Park, are two of the most popular ice fishing venues in the Pocono Mountains. Located about 20 minute from Stroudsburg, the lakes are 170 and 250 acres, respectively. When the ice is four inches thick, holes can be drilled with ice augers to drop a line. The ice is not monitored by the park for thickness, so be sure you know how to gauge ice thickness before venturing out.
Tobyhanna State Park
P.O .Box 387
Tobyhanna, PA 18466
570-894-8336
dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/Tobyhanna.aspx
