TANNERSVILLE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This ski season marks the 50th anniversary for Camelback Mountain Resort in the Pocono Mountains. In 1963 Beatlemania was making world news, first class postage was raised to five cents and the average price of a new car was $3,200. It was the golden age of skiing and Camelback Mountain Resort opened with 14 trails and three lifts, hosting 41,656 skiers in their first season. Today Camelback welcomes nearly one million visitors annually to a 160-acre trail system offering 34 trails, 16 lifts, 100% snowmaking, the largest snowtubing park in the U.S., CBK Mountain Adventures and Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark, the largest waterpark in PA. The last 50 years are certainly rich in both sentiment and history… but this winter season boasts the launch of the largest expansion project to date!
Construction crews have been working since September at the base of Camelback Mountain on the construction of the all new $163 million Camelback Lodge & Indoor Waterpark. Scheduled to open in February, 2015, it will be the largest hotel and indoor waterpark ever constructed in the U.S. in a single phase.
“This is an exciting time for Camelback Mountain Resort,” said co-owner Arthur Berry III. “It’s a time to celebrate and look back at 50 years of history and it’s an excellent time to announce construction of what will become the most interactive resort destination in the country. In many ways, we’re just getting warmed up.”
The eight-story, 533,000 square-foot, 453-suite mountain-modern architectural style hotel will feature a nearly 170,000 square-foot indoor entertainment center comprised of an 82-degree, 125,000 square-foot, highly-themed, indoor adventure waterpark -- the largest in the eastern U.S. There will be 30,000 square feet of dry play amusement including an arcade, game center, kids’ club activity center, ropes course, mini-golf, laser tag and more. Guests can enjoy a 10,000 square-foot luxury spa and fitness center, four new restaurants, each with a unique menu and ambiance, including a ski-in ski-out bar and outdoor patio at the base of the mountain; 25,000 square feet of meeting and conference space will be available.
The Future’s So Bright, You’ll Have To Wear Shades…
No matter what the season, the sun will shine down inside the colossal, year-round indoor waterpark. Featuring a state-of-the-art Texlon transparent roof, guests will get their Vitamin D under natural light and warmth. The adventure themed, multi-level waterpark will boast seven pools including recreational, zero-depth kids’ pools, an adventure river and wave pool and 19 slides and rides, including family rides, daring slides, and a FlowRider boogie-board and surfing attraction. An array of gentle to exhilarating water entertainment will excite and engage guests of all ages beyond anything they’ve ever experienced before.
Camelback Mountain Resort featuring Camelback Lodge & Indoor Waterpark is located in Tannersville, Pa. The heart of the Pocono Mountains draws visitors from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia with 28 million people living within 180 miles of this historic recreation vacation destination. Annual tourist visits to the Pocono Mountains region average 25 million and 93% of those are leisure visitors.
“The Pocono Mountains welcomes the addition of Camelback Lodge & Indoor Waterpark to its already existing tourism landscape of attractions and accommodations,” said Carl Wilgus, president/CEO of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau. “The new lodge and indoor waterpark combined with Camelback Mountain Resort’s history of quality management and customer service excellence will make this a welcome addition and asset to the Pocono Mountains tourism product.”
For more information about Camelback Mountain Resort’s 50th ski season and the new Camelback Lodge & Indoor Waterpark, visit www.CamelbackMtnResort.com.
About The Camelback Lodge & Indoor Waterpark Ownership Group
The Camelback Lodge & Indoor Waterpark ownership group is a partnership comprised of Arthur Berry III and Ken Ellis, co-owners of Camelback Mountain Resort and Camelbeach Waterpark and Tim Gantz, Pete Helland Jr., Tim Lucke and Pat Helland of Waterpark Ventures Management Services, LLC (WVMS), a first-class resort and waterpark development and management company that helped develop and is co-owner of the largest indoor waterpark resort property in the U.S.
Arthur Berry III and Ken Ellis first met on the Saratoga, NY campus of Skidmore College in 1982. Through their friendship they formed a vision to start a business together that would bring fun to the lives of their friends and guests alike. Their vision became a reality when they purchased Camelback Mountain Resort in June 2005. The resort has seen substantial growth in just eight short years of ownership and the biggest venture lies ahead during the 50th Anniversary season of Camelback Mountain Resort. In the winter of 2013/2014 the $163 million Camelback Lodge & Indoor Waterpark will begin to take shape as the largest indoor adventure waterpark hotel under constructed in the Northeastern US. Combined with Camelback’s winter operations, outdoor waterpark, tree-top adventure center and snowtubing park, Camelback Mountain Resort will soon be the most interactive resort in the U.S.A.
WVMS will oversee development and operations of Camelback Lodge & Indoor Waterpark. Comprised of four partners with a long legacy in the indoor and outdoor waterpark and entertainment industry, Tim Gantz, Pete Helland Jr., Tim Lucke and Pat Helland are no strangers to grand-scale waterpark resorts. Hailing from Wisconsin Dells, Wis., the “Waterpark Capital of the World,” each partner brings substantial experience, among them the former owner and operator of America’s Largest Outdoor Waterpark, Noah’s Ark. More recently WVMS developed and manages the 716 key Wilderness at the Smokies Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and helped develop and is co-owner of the largest waterpark resort property in the U.S., Wilderness Resort in the Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
