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Best Snow Tubing near Philly for Families

Try Galactic tubing at Camelback Mountain for nighttime family adventures. Photo courtesy of Camelback
Try Galactic tubing at Camelback Mountain for nighttime family adventures. Photo courtesy of Camelback
12/8/23 - By Lindsay Li

We've rounded up the best places for snow tubing near Philly for the ultimate winter fun.

Winter fun hardly gets more exciting than this, and we've rounded up our favorite places to go snow tubing near Philadelphia. As a kid, my snow tubing experiences consisted of my dad pulling snow tubes behind his 4-wheeler near our house. Safety standards have changed in the Philly area since the 1980s, and now we don’t have to resort to such creative measures. So get ready to ride the slopes down carefully crafted lanes from the Lehigh Valley to the Poconos at these snowy spots packed with cold-weather family fun.

For more winter excursions, check out our favorite sledding spots near Philly and our list of family-friendly skiing and snow boarding destinations. All of our favorite wintertime highlights can be found in our Winter Activities Guide for Philly Families.

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Where to Go Snow Tubing near Philly 

1. Bear Creek—Lehigh Valley

In what might be the closest location to Philadelphia city limits, head to Bear Creek for a simple but fun snow tubing outing. This spot only offers single-rider tubes. Participants must be at least 6 years old and 42" tall. Tickets can be purchased online or in person at the ticket window or at the Snowsports desk. Indoor dining is available, including The Grille, serving American continental cuisine and the Trail's End Cafe and Bar, with traditional breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. 

2. Blue Mountain—Palmerton 

Blue Mountain Snow Tubing Park is home to the longest and fastest lanes in Pennsylvania. The resort has expanded its snow tubing park to 52 lanes, making it the largest snow tubing park in the country. Each lane is over 1,000 feet long, with three carpet lifts for tubing fun. For the 2023/24 season, the Sonic Snow Tubing experience is being expanded, with the Snow Tubing Park turning into a laser light and music show after 5 pm. Tubing this season is expected to open on December 8, depending on conditions. The park is serviced by a magic carpet lift, which is like an endless conveyor belt. Tubers can choose between a single or double tube to enjoy the sport with a friend, or to give support to a nervous first-timer. Guests must be 36" or taller to go snow tubing at Blue Mountain Resort. Tickets must be purchased in advance. After tubing, enjoy fire pits, a food truck, bar, and cafe service. 

Enjoy all 40 lanes of snow tubing at Camelback Mountain. Photo courtesy of Camelback

3. Camelback Mountain—Tannersville

If you're looking for a night of fun, the lit-up nighttime after-dark experience Galactic tubing is a slope-side tubing party complete with music, disco lighting, up to 40 lightning-fast lanes, and two magic carpet lifts. Riders must be 44" tall to ride alone. Riders who are 33" to 43" tall can ride in a double tube or as part of a chain with a participating adult 18 or older. Children may not ride in laps for any reason. For those who work up an appetite, check out the food trucks and restaurants serving a variety of foods, from tacos and pizza to burgers and sit-down fare, with beer on tap for the adults. The 2023/24 season is expected to kick off on December 15.

4. Iron Valley Tubing—Lebanon

Children must be 40" or taller to use the large tube run at Iron Valley. Once down the hill, two tow lifts pull tubers and tubes back to the top. While there is no longer a separate kids' hill, children are welcome on all lanes, as long as they meet the height requirements. No lap seating. The Miner's Pub and Snack Bar offers plenty of kid-friendly food like pizza and mini tacos, along with adult-sized entrees and salads. Tickets must be purchased in advance online.

Bring your family out for a day of snow tubing fun at Jack Frost Big Boulder.
Bring your family out for a day of snow tubing fun at Jack Frost Big Boulder.

5. Jack Frost and Big Boulder—White Haven

Visit Jack Frost for skiiing and Big Boulder for tubing with these two resorts in one. Tubing sessions are two hours long and available at set times. Guests can expect two 600-foot conveyor carpets to transport snow tubers up at Big Boulder's Bubly Tube Park. Participants should be 42" tall and 4 years old. Each tube holds only a single rider, and no lap sitting is permitted. Consider the Epic Pass for resort-wide discounts. Guests are encouraged to purchase all tickets online in advance. 

6. Montage Mountain—Scranton

Montage Mountain aims to open its snow tubing park by December 23. Considered among the longest and fastest tracks, the mountain offers snow tubing for children based on height, not age. For the kids' section, tubers must be between 32" and 41" tall. For the main tubing park, guests must be 42" or taller. There are 10 lanes and Magic Carpet Surface Lifts to take guests back to the top quickly. Open seven days a week, Montage Mountain offers four-hour tubing sessions on weekdays and two-hour sessions on weekends. Tickets can be purchased online or in person. Military discounts are available, and indoor dining is open, as well as grab and go bites at the Sammie Shed. 

7. Roundtop Mountain—Lewisberry

This spot in York County offers 10 large lanes with 800-foot runs and 80-foot vertical drops. Once you go down the hill, a "magic carpet" takes you back to the top. Guests must be taller than 42" to go tubing. The mountain is open for tubing Wednesdays through Sundays. The resort recommends purchasing tickets online in advance for the best dates and availability. If you decide to purchase onsite, all transactions are cashless, so be prepared with credit or debit cards.

Shawnee Mountain snow tubing
Sail down Shawnee Mountain in a single tube or a tandem tube to double the fun. Photo courtesy of Shawnee Mountain

8. Shawnee Mountain—East Stroudsburg

Shawnee Mountain tentatively opens for snow tubing on December 16, as long as mother nature cooperates. The Snow Tubing park features single tubes as well as adult and child tandem tubes with two conveyor lifts to whisk you to the top. The age recommendation for the snow tubing park is age 4 and older. Tandem tubes are for one adult and one child under 46" tall; no lap sitting allowed. When you're done tubing, there's a choice of food options, with a food court, cafeteria, and two restaurants. Please note: Snow tubing tickets will only be sold online. In addition, Shawnee Mountain has gone cashless. All major credit cards are accepted, and there are also reverse ATMs but no Tap to Pay available at this time.

9. Whitetail Resort—Mercersburg

Riders must be 42" tall to tube the large runs at Whitetail. Sessions are two hours in duration, and tickets can only be purchased online. It is recommended to print out the release from the website in advance to save time. Tubing is available Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

10. Liberty Mountain—Fairfield

At the Bubly Tube Park at Liberty Mountain, riders at least 42" high can participate in two-hour sessions. Book online to select tickets, starting on December 30 for the 2023/24 winter season. 

This post was updated in December 2023 by writer Alyce Wilson.

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