There is No “Off-Season” in EVL
There is No “Off-Season” in EVL
You Can Find Fun and Adventure All Year Round
For years, Ellicottville has made its mark as a premier ski location in the northeastern United States. Ellicottville hosts the largest private ski club in North America - HoliMont, and Holiday Valley is a leader in the industry and consistently ranks among the favorites of skiers in the East. Ellicottville’s average 180 inches of snow maintains a ski season from November through mid-April. But here’s a news flash! Ellicottville is so much more than a ski town!
Some years, ski season and golf season intersect, making the separation from the snowy hills at Holiday Valley less painful. Spring through fall, guests have ample opportunity to perfect their swing at Holiday Valley’s 18-hole Double Black Diamond golf course, with 6,500 yards of very challenging golf. Golf outings are a great way to keep in touch with your ski club friends, co-workers or customers during the hazy days of summer.
Mountain biking has come into its own in Ellicottville. Holiday Valley has been a mecca for mountain biking ever since the Western New York Mountain Biking Association (WNYMBA) built 35 miles of singletrack in the state forest land adjoining Holiday Valley property.
HoliMont has 16 mountain bike trails (7 cross country and 9 downhill) with both technical terrain and freeride terrain from beginner to expert levels. These machine built trails offer a great riding experience for the whole family!
Cruisers and e-bikes can be rented at Holiday Valley or purchased at Bike and Bean or Loud Underground in the village of Ellicottville. In summer it’s common to see bikers cruising our roads and hills. Ask Dennis at Bike and Bean or the good folks at Holiday Valley for route suggestions.
The Sky High Aerial Adventure Park at Holiday Valley is the largest in New York State and third largest in the U.S. You can’t believe it until you see it and go through the course yourself! You have 13 to choose from, 143 obstacles and 43 zip lines. There is a Climbing Forest with a 3-D climbing wall and 9 trees to climb. For an extra thrill, check out the True Blue auto belay system which lowers a climber at 6 feet per second. There is even something for the littlest of adventurers at the Mr. Happy Gem Mining Company located next to Sky High.
Before you leave Holiday Valley, there are several pools open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. One is for the toddlers, a lap pool for the more disciplined swimmers, and one with diving board and slide. Naturally, poolside food and beverage service are available so you can just relax, close your eyes and dream of shushing down the hills early mornings on brand new powder snow.
If it’s water sports you like, you can enjoy paddleboarding and kayaking at Spruce Lake at the top of the mountain, with rentals and lessons available through Adventure Bound on the fly in Ellicottville.
HoliMont offers dry camping at the base of Sunset, paddleboarding and kayaking at Saddle Pond (available for rent), disc golf and more! Just a few other fun ideas to add to your downhill MTB experience!
Fly fishing is on the menu with Adventure Bound, and the famed Cattaraugus Creek is only 25 minutes away! Book a fishing trip with them; they’ll get you on the water after your morning coffee and get you back in time for lunch!
Ellicottville offers several venues for weddings, celebrations, girls’ or guys’ weekends at the Ellicottville Arboretum, Holiday Valley, HoliMont, the Gazebo and many of the restaurants. For a fun overnight or weekend adventure, rent a tiny house at Base Camp near HoliMont. The first tiny home village in Western New York provides 11 tiny cabins for an intimate stay for couples to larger groups like corporate retreats or family reunions.
Every summer from the end of June to the first week in August, Ellicottville presents the Gazebo Series. Mostly live music, but they have offered short plays to entertain you while you relax in the Village Square. Bring your lawn chairs, picnic baskets, coolers and pets. All are welcome. Speaking of pets, they are always welcome in Ellicottville, properly restrained, when need be, and free to romp and run at the dog park, located next to the athletic fields and playground at the Village Park.
The hidden jewel of Ellicottville is the Nannen Arboretum with its walking trails and restful ambiance. Don’t leave Ellicottville without spending some soul calming, restful moments at the Japanese sand garden, breathing deeply and thinking calming thoughts. Ahhh!
The Village Park is a wonderful spot to let the kids play on the equipment while moms and dads sit back and relax, perhaps have a cold drink and a picnic. The park now features a brand new concrete skatepark, opened this year, where families and friends can skateboard, roller skate, scooter or BMX together - for FREE! It’s an amazingly wholesome outlet for young and old alike. If you like to skateboard but hate the inclement weather, Ellicottville now has an indoor facility called Daily City Train, located next to Tim and Bonnie’s Pizzeria. Both a retail store and skatepark, it is available to folks of all ages and skill levels to skate, learn and gather in the lounge area. Admission is $10 all day!
The hilly terrain and layout of Ellicottville and the surrounding area is perfect for runners. On May 11, 2024, the Happy Half Marathon and 5k run will start and end at Holiday Valley Resort. You can register at https://happyhalfrun.com/register/.
The annual Mudslide Obstacle Trail Run in June at Holiday Valley is an obstacle race that’s really FUN! Runners can choose the mostly downhill 3.5-mile course or the more challenging 5.4-mile course. You can choose to just watch, or prepare to get very muddy and laugh a lot!
Every fourth of July weekend, Ellicottville plays host to the Summer Music Festival complete with a pet parade and live music, of course! The weekend kicks off with an assortment of bands and entertainment in many of the restaurants around the village. On Saturday, guests are entertained right on the slopes of Holiday Valley by an international well known act (yet to be announced for 2024). And on Sunday night, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra entertains guests with their beautiful sound enjoyed against the backdrop of the hills culminating with the traditional 1812 Overture and an amazing, over-the-top fireworks display.
Fireworks can also be enjoyed at The Ellicottville Distillery, known for its fine spirits made from local raw materials, and for their entertainment and events throughout the year. Check their website (ellicottvilledistillery.com) to find out what they have planned throughout the year. The Distillery is also known for hosting pig roasts, cornhole tournaments, bonfires, music concerts, Punkin’ Chunkin (coming up on Nov. 4th) and more.
The Independence Day weekend brings horses and rodeo performers by the numbers to Ellicottville’s Sommerville Valley Road Championship Rodeo. This is the same location for the fall hay wagon rides and the infamous Nightmare Hayrides - “the scariest haunted attraction in WNY!”
A scary haunting may require you to unwind, and you can find several opportunities for a relaxing massage and spa experience in Ellicottville. Try the Ellicottville Salt Cave, Anew Beginning Massage & Spa or The Oasis located inside the Tamarack Club at Holiday Valley.
Spiritualist Suzy Woo operates Good for the Spirit Gifts where one can buy healing crystals, energy tools, aromatherapy, and experience spiritual healing. Or perhaps you find the comfort of an elegant smoking lounge more to your liking. Ellicottville has a cigar bar called Cygaro, where patrons can sit back and enjoy a favorite cigar and unwind.
August brings the annual Taste of Ellicottville, where visitors get a chance to try all the specialties our restaurants offer.
October comes too quickly but the assortment of wares, foods, gifts and jewelry makes us anticipate the event as we luxuriate in the lavish colors this corner of the world produces thanks to the large number of hardwoods we have in our local forests. There is simply no prettier time to come to Ellicottville than leaf-peeping season.
The hills in our beloved corner of the county (we are actually at the center, the heart of Cattaraugus County on a map) are magical at nighttime when the stars emerge and we drive the dark roads through our hills. The equinoxes are especially mystical at the top of our hills when all we can see around us is the beauty of the night sky. You won’t find night skies in the city; you need to come to Ellicottville in any season to enjoy many of nature’s wonders. Speaking of sky watching, Ellicottville and the entire Western New York area will be prime eclipse watching on April 8, 2024. Check online closer to the date for possible events scheduled in Ellicottville around that event. After all, we won’t have another until 2144!
For years, the informal kickoff of the coming ski season has been the Fall Festival, the first or second weekend in October. Years past, ski homeowners did not use their homes in the summer. It was this festival, paired with Canadian Thanksgiving (which is the second Monday in October) when our Canadian friends came to Ellicottville for the long weekend and opened their homes in preparation for the winter ski season.
And we’ve come full circle, with a calendar of fun events and things to do in Ellicottville for the entire year. And remember to shop our amazing retail shops and enjoy delicious meals at our many top-of-the-line restaurants open twelve months a year for our friends and visitors.
Welcome to Ellicottville. Doesn’t this place feel great?