Road Trip: Jiminy Peak's Alpine Coaster

I finally got out to Massachusetts to go on an alpine coaster!

The closest ski resort with an alpine coaster AND alpine slides is Jiminy Peak. It's not far from Albany, so it's not too horrible of a drive (it's a little over 5 hours from Buffalo). And for what you get to do there, it's well worth that drive.

The alpine coaster was fast! It took until my third time down before I could do it without the brakes. I was sure I was going to fly right off the edge of the mountain. As it turned out, I didn't. I was shocked.

I have absolutely no idea how someone could film the experience while controlling the brakes and flying down the course. I know I couldn't do it, so here's a YouTube video of someone who did...



Then there's the two alpine slides. As great as the alpine coaster was, I liked the slides better. It felt more like the experience of riding the luge (which I compare just about everything to since it's so much fun).

My first couple runs down the alpine slides were mellow as I got used to the tracks. But by the end of the day, I was flying up and around the turns. I'm happy to say I never once flipped the sled, launched it out of the track, or crashed into anyone.

The crashing is the biggest worry because you never know how slow the person in front of you might be going. That's something you always have to be looking ahead for.



The alpine slide is only open from May - October on days without rain. The alpine coaster is open year round.

The price is $45 for an all day pass which includes the coaster, slides, plus some additional attractions or $9 per ride. Get the all day pass! If you do a single ride and get stuck behind someone who's scared and goes slow, you'll have just wasted $9 on a really boring ride. Plus, it's not worth driving all that way if you're only going to go down the courses one or two times.

Check out the Jiminy Peak website for a list of all their attractions (there's a bunch) and the operating dates.

And let's hope one of our Buffalo ski resorts installs an alpine coaster and some alpine slides soon!