Big SNOW is the only indoor ski and snowboard area in North America. It is part of the American Dream Entertainment and Retail Center in The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey, and a great place to learn year-round, get a jump-start on the new downhill season, or tweak your turns between outdoor trips.
Photo Credit: Big SNOW
The complex also offers other recreational activities, including what it claims is the world’s largest theme park.
The slopes at Big SNOW are 1,000 feet long, with a 160-foot vertical drop and a maximum 26-percent pitch, climate-controlled environment at 28 degrees. One slope is a dedicated terrain park, perfect for skiers and riders working on new tricks or just wanting to get some fun in on a relatively short run.
According to Marketing Director Hugh Reynolds, the consistent temperature ensures the optimal mix of snow quality and guest comfort. Snow is machine made. Capacity is 4.4 tons per hour, which is comparable to machine-made snow at outdoor facilities.
Big SNOW encompasses 180,000 square feet, with four acres of terrain, including a specific learning area, four lifts, including a four-passenger fixed grip chairlift, two “Magic Carpets”, and a Poma lift. Maximum slope capacity is 500.
The complex opened on December 5, 2019 and has hosted more than a million guests since. Most are locals, but Big SNOW gets its share of out of towners. Reynolds says a robust local community has built up around Big SNOW. He notes that the operation has thousands of guests who hold either a monthly subscription or multi-visit card product.
For the 2024/2025 season, the facility is open 1pm to 8pm daily. Day passes are $99.99 including equipment and clothing rental, but there’s nothing on the website that tells you the price if you have your own equipment and clothing. There’s also a season pass for unlimited visits.
https://www.bigsnowamericandream.com/snow-day-packages/
Big SNOW Background Story
Big SNOW’s history dates to the early 2000s, when a project called Xanadu was in the works to bring indoor skiing, shopping, and entertainment to the Meadowlands. When it stalled for lack of interest and funding, the state of New Jersey approached the owner/operators of Mall of America to save it.
Enter Joe Hession and his company SNOW Partners. Hession is the founder and CEO of SNOW Operating, and a recognized leader in the field of resort operations. He also created SNOW Operating’s Terrain Based Learning®.
Hession and Reynolds met at Northern New Jersey’s Mountain Creek (formally Vernon Valley). Both are strong advocates of introducing newcomers to skiing or snowboarding, and secured the lease to run the business in 2016.
Big SNOW programs include equipment rentals, outerwear (pants and jackets), a helmet, a two-hour slope access ticket, and complimentary access to the Terrain Based Learning skills area and instructors.
To prevent overcrowding, guests are asked to book lift ticket time slots in advance, similar to tee times in golf and ticket-limited resorts such as Powder.
Ski Bikes also are available for those who want to try something different. The bicycle-like devices are engineered with skis instead of wheels. The “bike” package includes outerwear (not gloves), a helmet, and snowboard boots.
Big SNOW is especially popular in summer, when outdoor skiing and snowboarding is unavailable, and as an early season warm up for practicing before the snow flies.
“On an annual basis more than half of our visitors are new participants to the sports trying them for the first time,” Reynolds says. “We see a good number of tourism guests visiting NYC”.
Big SNOW is just four miles from the Lincoln Tunnel, and the NY/NJ Port Authority offers direct bus service from NYC to American Dream daily.
Mary Jo Tarallo is an award-winning public relations/communications specialist who has more than 40 years working in the snow sports industry. She currently is the creator and editor for Sun and Snow Adventures, a web site/blog that covers health, fitness and lifestyle topics. She also is a freelancer and contributing editor for The Snow Industry Letter. She previously served as the Ski Editor for the Baltimore Sun. Mary Jo spent almost 19 years with SnowSports Industries America and ten years as executive director of the industry’s Learn to Ski and Snowboard initiative.
