Royal Mountain Features Ski and Motocross Activities
motocross, recreation, royal mountain, skiing,
And the crown goes to…Royal Mountain Ski Area.
The popular recreation destination is not only a winter hot spot, but also doubles as a motocross venue in the warm-weather months. In fact, Royal Mountain attracts more motocross racers each year than any other track in New York state.
“We average nearly 500 riders per event that we’ve staged here over the last three years,” says Jim Blaise, owner of Royal Mountain Ski Area. “In addition to being the most popular venue in the state, we’re one of the top tracks in the entire Northeast.”
Motocross is a sport involving all-terrain motorcycles that race on enclosed, off-road dirt circuits. Royal Mountain schedules motocross events on seven Sundays throughout the summer, plus a one-time hill climb race that occurs every July. There is also a nighttime supercross series that competes 12 times a year, with all of those races taking place on Wednesday nights.
“Supercross involves high-performance motorcycles racing along a dirt track that includes a number of steep jumps and obstacles,” Blaise says. “Our terrain at the bottom of the mountain is ideal for supercross racing.”
Blaise says the motocross track stretches one mile in length, while the supercross track is a half-mile.
“On Sundays, we get riders from throughout New York and five states away – that’s how popular and well-regarded Royal Mountain has become,” he says. “Then on Wednesday nights, since it’s a midweek event, we get competitors from about a two-hour radius of the track. Our entire season runs from Memorial Day weekend to late August. It’s exciting stuff.”
Also exciting is the snow skiing season at Royal Mountain. The winter resort first opened in 1956, and Blaise took over in 1971.
“I started with a couple of T-bar lifts and now have three double chairs, plus 90 percent of the snow out here is manufactured,” he says.
Blaise adds that Royal Mountain has expanded in some way during each of the past three years.
“For example, for 2009-2010, we doubled our snow-making capacity from pumping 500 gallons a minute up to 1,000 gallons a minute,” he says. “The skiing end of the business is growing every year. We’re usually open for snow skiing around mid-September until the first week of April.”
Royal Mountain Ski Area is located on Route 10 in Caroga Lake.
“We have skiers who range from beginners to experts, and that goes the same for our motocross racing,” Blaise says. “With the bikes, we run a 50-cc series for kids as young as 4 years old, and we also have a women’s division for our hill climb race in July. We have recreation covered here at Royal Mountain, all year long.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
