Campgaw Mountain Ski Area — Attraction in Mahwah

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We went one Saturday in February and it was incredibly crowded. I didn't really feel like there were any limits even though there's Covid-19. It's a really small mountain for skiing and... crowded! Long lines... One person had Covid there and 500, 600 people would have had to quarantine and a good number would have gotten sick. Few people wore masks.

It opened at 9:00am and we arrived at about 9:30am. First there was the line to get inside. Then there was the line to get our tickets (even though we pre-ordered!). Then, there was the line to "check-in". Then there was the line to get our gear and about half-way through... at 10:30am, I'd say... they ran out of snowboards bigger than 5' 3. My mother had to get one smaller than she needed. We finished all the lines and got our gear and everything... done by 11:30am. That's right. 2 hours doing nothing. Our feet already hurt and we hadn't even started!

Now brings me to the next part, the slope itself. The site said that there were 13 trails but that's an over-exaggeration. It's one short, tiny mountain (more like a small hill) that you just go straight down, no curves --- nothing. That doesn't even bring me to the end of it. The line for the ski slope was a good half an hour. We stayed until 6:00pm and I think only went down the slope 6, 7, maybe 8 times.

One thing I did like was that the ski lift had a stop at the middle of the mountain for younger riders. This was really nice especially since it's incredibly steep if you don't stop at the middle. There's also a magic carpet.

My five-year-old brother took a lesson for an hour and a half. It was his third time skiing I think? but we assumed since the site said that they had lessons and all that that he would gain a basic understanding of skiing. However, when we got him back, he still couldn't stand. It took us 2 hours and 4 times down the slope to get him to stand and then he still couldn't stop. So... yeah. The lessons weren't that great. I don't recommend them.

The food court was open. I was happy about that because I was hungry but I was also angry about that because of Covid. We went to a different ski slope in January, it was less crowded, there were better trails, and the food court was closed except for closed food and drinks. It was more like one of those museum food courts where you choose your stuff pre-wrapped and all that... Here it wasn't like that. It was all big lines (for this too!) and cooks without masks and gloves and they ran out of french fries...

There was also this big ledge that I didn't see so when I skied on it, I feel and almost broke my back. There was some ice in some places and again it was pretty steep.

Overall, I rate it one star. Please note that I do assume that some of these things are just cause of when I came. It's probably not that crowded on a weekday and they probably don't run out of snowboards and french fries every day. They probably don't have long lines all the time. Either way, I don't recommend Campgaw. If you HAD to go, I'd say only if you're a beginner. If you CAN ski or snowboard already, you'll get bored of the mountain...

A waste of time and money! I reserved an hour from 7-8pm for 12/27 and essentially my group went down the mountain twice. It was not my first time visiting Campgaw so I made sure to purchase our tickets in advance along with making sure to print out any waivers and forms that could be filled out ahead of time to avoid lag time and focus on enjoying our tubing experience. Well, needless to say it was all in vain. We arrived at Campgaw 20 minutes early, forms in hand and after promptly getting our temperatures checked, we were directed to a ridiculously long line at an outdoor window. I was sure this line was for people that needed to purchase tickets and/or fill out their waiver forms but no, this line was for everybody. Although their website indicates that customers should fill out forms in advance to “speed up your entry process”, people on this line had been filling out forms at the window. So why advertise a speedier process for those that bring their forms to the mountain if it’ll just amount to the same wait? Our total wait time on this line was almost 30 minutes and it cut into 20 minutes of our time tubing which amounted to two trips down the mountain before they promptly announced they were closing at 7:58pm. To add insult to injury, the shop directly inside had about 3 to 4 girls just sitting down, giggling and doing much of nothing unless someone wanted to buy snow gear which I didn’t see any sort of line for. So Campgaw would make their customers wait an unnecessarily long line outside when there were perfectly capable staff members inside that could assist the line by opening an additional window and salvaging time for their customers to enjoy their experience? Ridiculous. When I asked to speak to a manager to explain what had occurred and to allow them a chance to rectify my experience, a young girl named Julie or Julia explained that she wasn’t the manager but there is nothing they can do and I should’ve gotten there much earlier. She also pointed out that the actual manager would tell me the same thing. I tried to reason that I did get there early with my paperwork filled out but she didn’t seem to care. It’s disappointing that during these difficult times and with people trying to support businesses despite their financial restraints during this pandemic, Campgaw would exercise such a lack of customer service. Seeing by their lack of responses on here, I can’t imagine anyone will reach out to me regarding this horrible experience but I invite them to rectify this as is their...

Small, but A really fun time for kids to learn to ski or go tubing.

Midweek twilight skiing here was a nice find. First off, it's reasonably priced at $25 so you're not breaking the bank. Sure, there are some resorts elsewhere where younger kids ski/ride free, but if you have to pay, it's hard to find a better price. It was also pretty empty, so you weren't waiting on the lift line for more than a couple minutes, max.

It's small, so pretty much there is 1 lift (plus 1 magic carpet to learning area) running on mid week days & twilight. This also means it's a great place to let kids roam a little but not have to worry that they're going to get lost. If you want more variety, get here before dusk, as the trails off to the side are still open. It's also nice that the lift has a mid station, so you can get off halfway if you want the easier and flatter portion, or proceed all the way up if you want a steeper challenge.

The cafeteria is fine. Nothing amazing but serviceable considering the size of the place. Heavy on fried fare, at least this year. Prices were a bit high, but not unreasonable. The glass enclosed greenhouse area is a nice seating area. This year, we were able to eat in there while being pretty well distanced.

We had our own gear so I can't review the rental shop or ski school.

I would think kids from 4 to 12 (and their parents or guardian) would enjoy it here. Especially if they have a sibling or friend or someone to enjoy it with. Older kids or those seeking more challenging terrain may exhaust the mountain pretty quickly. Felt comfortable as parent that kids would enjoy themselves while staying safe.

Tubing was fun here too. It's just off to side of bunny hill and served by its own magic carpet. This winter at least, You reserve a 2 hour time slot. Plenty of tubes and in decent shape. Lines at top are a bit disorganized and that's where you do most of waiting. But that's pretty normal. Expect it to be busier on weekends. We got about 6 runs in.

It's hard to get in same heat if you're with others. The course itself is pretty fun, but routine (i feel like all tubing place have pretty much the same hill). You can get going pretty fast if you're an adult and stay low. But never felt unsafe or anything.

We would definitely come back for the skiing, especially midweek. If you haven't given it a try and you're within 30-45 min drive and you want a good place for kids to practice, Campgaw should be...