Vernon’s Joe Hession and Mark Dobrowolski Celebrate More than Reopening of Big SNOW!

Skiers and riders celebrated their favorite sport with the reopening of America’s only indoor ski area, Big SNOW on Friday, May 27th. The ski area, the sister ski facility to the popular Mountain Creek Ski Resort in Vernon, New Jersey, owned and operated under the leadership of Vernon native Joe Hession, who got his start in the ski industry as a student at Vernon High School.

Big SNOW was closed when a fire was reported at 4:15 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. The popular facility remained closed until Friday May 27th.

Big SNOW is located at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, best known as the location of Met Life Stadium, the home of the NY Giants and Jets football teams. Mark Dobrowolski, also a Vernon Township resident, runs the facility. That is not the only thing Dobrowolski and owners Joe Hession have in common.

Hession owns the Mountain Creek Ski Resort and Dobrowolski is the co-owner of the popular Vernon café, the Daily Bean, located on Route 515 in Vernon. May 27th was not only the re-opening of Big SNOW, but was also the five-year anniversary of the opening of the Daily Bean eatery. But the really amazing coincidence between these two local businessmen is that Dobrowolski is the father of two sets of twins and Joe and Halley Hession recently announced they are expecting the arrival twins in September. There was a lot for all to celebrate on Friday, in addition to the re-opening.

Visitors in attendance at Friday’s reopening enjoyed ideal conditions to ski and ride in a 180,00- square-foot ski and snowboard park that is kept at 28 degrees year-round. After their time on the slopes, visitors can enjoy the many additional attractions at the American Dream 3.3-million-square-foot retail and entertainment complex located off of the New Jersey Turnpike that opened in late 2019.

To learn more about Big SNOW, visit bigsnowamericandream.com. To learn more about the summer recreational offerings and winter skiing and riding at the Mountain Creek Ski Resort, visit mountaincreek.com.