SAM Magazine—Cambridge, Vt., July 17, 2024—While it’s hard for many to believe we’ve passed the 4th of July mile marker, the classic (and historically lucrative) summer holiday has now come and gone, leaving many operators grateful for water-based amenities and a continued interest in live music events. 

For example, Snow King Mountain, Wyo., unveiled its new mountaintop music venue just before the holiday weekend, hosting King Concerts at the summit stage. Concertgoers rode the eight-passenger Leitner-Poma gondola (installed in 2021) to the summit before taking in the sounds of Old Crow Medicine Show, Blues Traveler, and JJ Grey & Mofro for the holiday weekend. 

According to Snow King general manager Ryan Stanley, favorable conditions allowed a crowd of about 5,000 people to enjoy music and fireworks at the base of the mountain on the fourth. Concerts on the fifth and sixth at the summit stage both sold out. 

“The new concert venue at the summit has been a big success story,” Stanley said. “Tough for anyone to match our views from the top of the mountain where you can see the Teton mountain range, Jackson Hole, the National Elk Refuge, and into Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. To enjoy that view with some amazing music is pretty special.”

While the new mountaintop venue, along with other improvements like the restaurant and gondola, are enough to attract a crowd, Stanley said the addition of the resort’s new planetarium and observatory creates a truly unique experience, which is contributing to an uptick in visitation year-over-year. 

“The observatory has been sold out almost every night in July and people are loving it,” said Stanley. “We have combined our concert experience with the observatory as well as other activities on the mountain. Hopefully that trend will continue into the fall when our business drops off as families return to their normal school programs, and the visitor demographics shift.” 

At Copper Mountain, Colo., communications and philanthropy manager Olivia Butrymovich said the resort “hosted a very successful 4th of July celebration,” which included the annual three-day Red, White, Brews & Tunes concert event in the base area, headlined by Grace Potter, who played to a packed house on the final day. 

Complemented by Copper’s various summer activities including mountain biking, hiking, a mountain coaster, the Wrecktangle obstacle course, bumper boats, scenic chairlift rides, and go-karts, the holiday saw “exceptional turnout,” said Butrymovich. 

Copper also held the resort’s first Woodward Summer Rail Jam Series event of the summer. Farming snow from the winter to create a small park in Center Village, the park offers rail features available to guests on weekends throughout the summer. 

“The Rail Jam was the first of the three-event series taking place on the park this summer and had a great turnout of local skiers and riders competing,” said Butrymovich. If the snow lasts until the final rail jam scheduled for Sept. 6, Copper will have had athletes on snow 12 months out of the year. 

In the Midwest, the weather didn’t quite work out as well. At Wild Mountain, Minn., above average rainfall in May and June resulted in lower visitation than in years past for amenities like water attractions, kart racing, and the FreeFall XP jumping platform. 

Wild Mountain general manager Nathan Hakseth said while the wetter weather continued over the 4th of July weekend, the cycle seems to have broken and the resort now enters a drier period. According to Hakseth, there is a direct correlation between the wet weather and lower visitation numbers over last year, but offering access options to include wet activities, or dry activities, has helped keep guests coming out despite the weather. 

“We do sell three ride options on site: Wet Only, Dry Only, and Superday (which includes everything). With the wetter/cooler weather we have seen guests purchase the dry option more vs. the other options,” said Hakseth. The week after the holiday, Hakseth said it was 85 and sunny and, as a result, visitation was strong.

With a heat wave in the days leading up to the holiday, visitors were drawn to Greek Peak Mountain Resort, N.Y., according to resort president Wes Kryger. 

Business was about the same year-over-year for the resort, but Kryger was pleased with turnout at the resort’s relatively new Campground at Hope Lake, in addition to strong occupancy at its Hope Lake Lodge. 

“Our indoor water park, mountain biking, adventure center, mountain coaster, zip line, and our restaurants were all busy,” said Kryger, adding that the resort offered fireworks on Saturday night as well. 

And in addition to success at the campground, Kryger said he tried something new with Greek Peak’s Lookout facility, which is typically used for weddings and events. “We opened our Lookout facility to the public for the first time with a Clams and Beer special and that was successful,” he said.

Gunstock, N.H., dealt with a well-rounded weather package over the holiday weekend, with hot and humid air complemented by a mixture of sun and overcast skies. Marketing director Bonnie MacPherson said resort personnel are accustomed to being at the mercy of the weather, given the level of their winter business. 

“We’re always looking for that sweet spot when it comes to our adventure park activities (zip line tours, treetop challenge courses, mountain coaster and scenic chairlift rides),” explained MacPherson. “If the weather is too warm and sunny, people spend the day on the lake (Winnipesaukee is just three miles away), and if it’s raining, folks head for indoor fun. We love a cool summer day with a slight overcast—that’s when we crush it in our adventure park.”

Gunstock also offers an on-site campground for its guests. Nearly all 250 sites were booked for the holiday weekend. Strong attendance at the campground could be due to the resort’s annual 4th of July weekend craft fair, which hosted more than 120 vendors this year. 

Campground bookings remain strong going forward, according to MacPherson. “A big bonus for campers staying at Gunstock, in addition all the wonderful hiking and biking trails, and a stocked fishing pond (not to mention our close proximity to the lake, area attractions, concert venues and family activities), is that campers get a great discount on adventure park activities,” she said.

Gunstock has $4.8 million in capital projects going on this summer, too. MacPherson said that in addition to $1.6 million in snowmaking improvements, the plan includes the expansion of a deck for outdoor dining at the Stockade Lodge and a new $1 million welcome center on the resort access road for the campground in summer and Nordic skiing in winter. “None of our improvements have required adjustments or reconfigurations [to summer operations] in any significant way,” she said. 

It was hot for the holiday at Snowshoe, W.Va., said marketing director Shawn Cassell. But when it’s hot at the resort—which is “upside down” with all lodging and amenities located at its 4,848-foot summit—it’s even hotter down in the valleys, so people seek the cooler air at elevation. 

“A little hot for our taste, but not nearly as hot as everywhere else in our region, which I think is a big factor in folks coming up during these heat waves,” explained Cassell. “All of our business units had a very successful weekend. From the live music to the fireworks, everything went really smoothly and we received a ton of positive guest feedback. There were several local artists in the mix, and I think that brought a cool community element to it.” 

Cassell said the resort fared well overall during the holiday period, but the upward trend in business came late. “It was a really strong weekend, and we beat budget in most areas,” said Cassell. “A lot of that pickup came in the last week leading up to it, so I think the heat in our region and the sneaky long weekend probably played a big part in that.”

Cassell also said the resort’s new Hotdogs & Handlebars mountain bike race series more than doubled participation from its last event back in June. The series features “very beginner- and intermediate-friendly races (and post-race hotdogs of course!),” said Cassell. 

Playing off the popularity of hotdogs, Cassell also noted the success of offering “Hutdogs” at the backcountry hut on the Cheat Ridge Trail. “Hutdogs have been way more popular than we imagined. It’s a very remote spot but super popular for backcountry hiking and biking, and guests are loving it. Some said it felt like a mirage when they first came across it out there,” he said.

To the east at Massanutten, Va., the same hot weather brought on a classic summer vibe for holiday visitors. According to Philip Rekitzke, mountain services operations manager, the resort’s Summer Jam Festival on July 3 and its Farmer’s Market were the most successful, with live music, games like cornhole and axe-throwing, local vendors bringing handmade tie dyes, produce, berries, meats, and artisanal treats like crepes and Italian ice. Fireworks rounded out the night. 

While the Summer Jam was a big hit, Rekitzke noted lodging was just below expectations for the weekend, but gave credit to timeshare lodging as an important way to bolster overall occupancy during the holiday period. Massanutten has hundreds of condos, hotel rooms, and residences, many of which offer timeshare ownership.

Rekitzke noted that Massanutten’s bike park “is thriving” following the installation of a Doppelmayr detachable quad and new and improved trails. “Our season pass sales are up over 350 percent,” he said. 

While hot weather seems like a norm this summer for most parts of the United States, clearly resorts stepped up to the challenge of offering a variety of fun activities to keep visitors engaged.