Bear Creek boosts summer stays with winter perks

Bear Creek Mountain Resort is a four-season resort in Macungie. In the winter, the resort’s ski mountain is bustling with activity. During the summer months, the organization is finding creative solutions to fill rooms.

Gary Kline, Director of Marketing and Guest Experience, said Bear Creek Mountain Resort decided to offer complimentary ski lift tickets with every room booked in July and August.

“It might feel like summer, but we’re still thinking winter too,” Kline said. “Everything seems like it’s price-driven right now, so we have to be real conscious of price because there’s a lot of competition out there.”

During the summer months, Bear Creek Mountain Resort aims to draw guests in for large group gatherings. The company said it has over 10 family reunions scheduled for 2025. Over Memorial Day weekend, the resort hosted 90 family members who traveled from across the globe to gather in Macungie. India, Canada, Zambia, Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and New York were represented.

In addition to family reunions, Bear Creek draws in large groups with its wedding packages and corporate retreat services. Each group works with a resort sales representative to customize their experience based on the occasion.

To appeal to summer guests, the resort’s 330 acres of land are equipped with outdoor swimming, spa services, on-site dining options, a mountain activity center, and seasonal activities including snow tubing, skiing, axe throwing, ATV rides and archery.

“We take tremendous pride in ensuring our guests have the ultimate getaway every time they visit Bear Creek Mountain Resort,” Kristy Hill, Director of Events, said in a statement.

Bear Creek Mountain Resort was first opened in 1967 as the Doe Mountain Ski Area, previously home to the Rittenhouse Gap mines. Upon opening, it was the first ski resort of its kind in the area. In 1999, Doe Mountain changed ownership and is now known as Bear Creek Mountain Resort. The Resort is owned and managed by Southern Management Companies, a privately owned property management company headquartered in Virginia.

According to the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, Governor Shapiro called for a $15 million increase in funding for tourism in his 2024-25 budget proposal. Kline says since Covid-19, he has noticed people booking within shorter timeframes.

“Instead of committing months out, they might be committing weeks out,” Kline said. “A lot of people are leery of traveling far, so they choose to stay more local, and then they [book] closer to the date than in the past.”

The Pennsylvania Tourism Office reported that the state tourism industry generated $76.7 billion in economic impact, supported 486,871 jobs and welcomed 192.4 million visitors in 2022.

At Bear Creek Mountain Resort, Kline said, the goal is to appeal to people in major cities along the East Coast, offering a mountain resort within hours of where they live. When asked how he would encourage hospitality organizations to innovate around the challenge of filling rooms in the summer, Kline encouraged tourism organizations to “play to their strengths.”

“Our strengths [are] that we’re in a nice, quiet little knoll [that is] not far from Philly, not far from Allentown [and] Reading,” Kline said. “Once you’re here, you feel like you’re in [a] mountain resort away from the hustle and bustle of city, and we definitely play into that.”

Kylie Stoltzfus is a freelance writer