these no hassle slopes are for lovers

Forget the mile-high club. Is there anything more romantic than making out on the chairlift? Picture fir trees, fresh powder and fogged-up goggles…

Whether your idea of a good time is the après ski or a double-black diamond, US ski resorts love catering to couples.

Here are four resorts that offer ski holidays catered for you and your better half.

Best for: Convenience and complete privacy.

Just a three-hour drive from NYC, Plattekill Mountain is a Catskills escape you can easily enjoy in a weekend. Its unique indie vibes are the result of being one of very few family-owned ski resorts  in the region.


A couple on  a skit lift.
Rent the whole mountain for a day at the Plattekill Mountain Resort, NY.
Patricia Woznick.

This isn’t the Rockies or even the Adirondacks — there are only 38 runs serviced by four lifts — but that’s good news for couples looking to have an entire mountain to themselves. Yes, for $7,500 you can rent out everything, including the snowtubing operations, for a day. Since the price includes up to 200 lift tickets, why not make it a double date, many times over?

Rates: Lift tickets start at $59 per day. Area lodging starts at $79 per night.

Best for: Expert skiers wanting extremes.


Inset of a couple over a heated pool area.
Follow up a day on the experts-only slopes of Mount Bohemia in Michigan with Nordic plunge pools and sauna.
Chris Guibert

Expect virgin powder at  Mount Bohemia, a funky resort nicknamed “Poor Man’s Japan” located in Michigan’s unruly Upper Peninsula, where Mother Nature dumps 273 inches of snow each year.

“Experts only,” read the signs, warning skiers that runs aren’t groomed and beginners aren’t welcome.

There are only two chairlifts servicing 900 feet of vertical, but the backcountry options are endless.

In December, Mount Bohemia will open a sister property, Voodoo Mountain, offering the first commercial snowcat  east of the Rockies, where skiers ride in a 20-person  vehicle  to a remote mountain for pristine skiing. Also new this year: a traditional Nordic spa.

Couples can shock their systems together by doing a circuit including Michigan’s largest outdoor hot tub, a polar plunge pool and an icy waterfall.

Rates: Lift tickets start at $85 per day. Lodging ranges from $60 per night for a hostel bed to $400 per night for a yurt.

Best for: Celeb sightings and long runs.


A couple at Big Sky.
Enjoy day-long runs on perfect pistes followed by celeb spotting at Big
Sky Resort in Montana.
Tomas Cohen

Big Sky Resort has so many runs you can stay two weeks and still never lay tracks on all of them. Its 5,850 skiable acres are serviced by 39 chairlifts pimped out with extras like heated seats and weatherproof bubbles.

Big Sky is also currently building North America’s fastest chairlift system. Still, it’s unlikely to be as speedy as the zip lines  between runs. Competitive partners can race each other on the  double line.
 Big Sky’s Mountain Village doesn’t have Aspen’s après ski, but the mountain is shared with the exclusive Yellowstone Club with A-listers and avid skiers like Tom and Gisele and Justin and Jessica, the latter rumored to be moving here full-time.

Rates: Lift tickets start at $74 per day. Lodging starts at $179 per night and includes the new Montage Big Sky, opening in December.

Best for: Low budgets and beginner runs.


An airborn skier at Purgatory.
Find your slice of heaven at a divinely low price in Purgatory, Colo.
Scott DW Smith

There’s a saying at this underrated Colorado resort named after a nearby creek: “If this is purgatory, heaven can wait.” Previous owners tried renaming it to Durango  Mountain Resort, but that just offended locals, so it’s now back to the original.

Located just 30 minutes north of Durango in the San Juan Mountains, Purgatory gets more than 21 feet of annual snowfall. Its 105 trails skew beginner to intermediate, making it a great place to learn. But what really distinguishes it  is the price.


Exterior of a lodge at Purgatory.
Purgatory Resort offers “micro weddings” for a ceremony with a view.
Scott DW Smith

For three years now  it’s been named Trip Advisor’s best value ski resort, and all kids 12 and under ski free, every day.

In addition to traditional wedding packages, Purgatory also offers “micro weddings” Monday through Thursday.

Rates: Lift tickets start at $39 per day. Lodging starts at $99 per night.