x
Breaking News
More () »

Pocono Resorts Readying for Holiday Traffic

MONROE COUNTY — Some of the ski resorts and other attractions in the Poconos are gearing up for the holiday tourist traffic with some displays and activit...
mon-resorts

MONROE COUNTY -- Some of the ski resorts and other attractions in the Poconos are gearing up for the holiday tourist traffic with some displays and activities sure to bring some holiday cheer.

People at Shawnee Mountain Ski Resort are hoping to get their slopes covered before the holiday tourists get here.

Snowmakers are banking on the cold weather to get some more covering.

Some other resorts are putting up some impressive decorations to draw in the holiday crowd.

It looks good enough to eat and if it weren't on display, many people might take a bite or two. The life-sized gingerbread house at Skytop Lodge in Barrett Township is a big attraction that many come back each year to see.

"This place, just in general, has everything beautiful about Christmas and that's why we love coming back each year," said Bernadette O'Connor, of Phoenixville.

O'Connor and her husband have been coming to Skytop Lodge in December for the last six years. They love seeing how the display changes with each passing year.

"Every year it's a little. (This is the) first time I have seen it as a Skytop bakery. It's usually like a Christmas house, it's a real gingerbread house but this looks lovely."

Christa Sapone is Skytop's executive pastry chef and the mastermind behind the giant cookie house.

She says it takes months of planning, more than 600 pounds of flour, a couple hundred pounds of candy and 300 hours of labor to create this holiday attraction.

"Everybody loves it," said Sapone. "Everybody who comes here each year, they really are in shock to know that it is all real, it's all edible and they are very amazed to just to see it."

It's not just the holiday displays that draw people to the Poconos, it's also activities like skiing. Many resorts are hoping to get slopes covered before the holidays.

"We've been doing the snow dance and it has finally come upon us, so now we are just getting geared up," said Robin Manfredi, Shawnee Mountain Ski Resort.

At Shawnee Mountain near Marshalls Creek, there are some snow-covered mountains. With cold weather ahead, workers plan to pump snow guns as many days as they can.

"We need the cold weather to set in so people know the guns are going to start."

There have been no official opening dates for ski resorts yet in the Poconos or throughout are viewing area, but many of them are hoping to open soon.

Before You Leave, Check This Out