Holiday Mountain

A three-hours drive from Toronto and 64km south of Buffalo; Holiday Valley has 52 trails spread across 1,100 acres. Ninety five per cent of the pistes have snow-making facilities, which is just as well, since the slopes can be unbelievably crowded and, as a result, well-worn. With a vertical drop of 750ft, Holiday has 12 lifts with an uphill capacity of 20,000 skiers an hour.

Three base lodges offer a good mix of restaurants, shops, rental equipment, day care and ski school facilities. There is some slopeside accommodation, but the majority of beds are based in the nearby village of Ellicottville.