Kirkwood Mountain Resort Review

Staff was friendly and helpful. Kids enjoyed the ski school and made good progress learning how to ski. The quality of rentals has improved from 6 years ago.

Kirkwood regulars post negative reviews to keep people from invading their paradise, but there's no need for that. No one that doesn't know about Kirkwood will waste the time driving a half hour up winding, icy mountain roads to Kirkwood when they can catch a tram to heavenly 20 yards from their hotel (which they probably booked with a lift ticket package to heavenly anyway).

Kirkwood gets the most snow, has the most challenging terrain, and is one of the least crowded resorts in Tahoe. If you spend a week in Tahoe, hit Kirkwood, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, and then hike Mt. Tallac. Skip Heavenly altogether, it's crowded and flat. . .but if you do go, make sure to find out where firebreak is :-)

Best riding I have experienced in Tahoe, and out does anything I have done in New England.

Fantastic mountain with varied types of terrain. Easily the best skiing in all of the Tahoe area

Two stars because they have gone completely corporate, no longer serving locals as they have in the past

Resort had the least lines during the winter storm but not as organized as the other resorts. Trail signs were harder to find during runs.

Not always the easiest mountain to get to, hardly any express chairs, and if you want to stay nearby you're going to spend a lot of $ - but a great day at Kirkwood is still one of the best days skiing / riding you can have.

I'm giving Kirkwood such a low rating because it really wasn't my cup of tea. Kirkwood is for you if you're an advanced/expert skier/boarder and only if you've been on it a few times. There are some really pretty views and it was very peaceful when we went but it isn't very visitor friendly. My husband and I have the epic pass and have been to vail, park city, and northstar before coming here. Kirkwood is my least favorite by far it didn't even seem like a vail resort! It was very hard to navigate there are hardly any signs or maps or staff to help direct you. Even with the map from the epicmix app we ended up in a few hard spots and just guessing where we should go. I took my first really hard fall here in years because of the confusion. We stopped at lunch and just left. Hoping Heavenly is better!

I went to Kirkwood for the first time today, and my experience was great. My buddy and I got a bit lost on the way there so we arrived later than anticipated. We quickly got out of the car and asked the nearest employee where the ticket office and best lifts were. I had to write his name out because not only was he very helpful and friendly, he even gave us 50% off lift tickets for being first timers. Tim Slike is the man and we really appreciate that guy! Good slopes, great customer service!

The room was nice but left uncleaned from the last guests. Literally no staff in the building to fix the problem. Any random person can probably come here at night and find a open room sleep in. There is nothing stopping it from happening anyway.

Excellent slopes to ski and a lot of variety and amplitude, only that the lifts go a little fast

Hit Kirkwood, heavenly, and northstar on this ski trip. Kirkwood was by far the best skiing. Great snow conditions and not too busy. Will spend more time here next trip. Free hot chocolate at village was nice touch as well, it cost 6 bucks at northstar.

We we're camping nearby at Woods Lake and stopped in here for some supplies. Nice selection for being fairly isolated. Staff were friendly and helpful!

Excellent resort. Have been riding here over 25 years.

One of my favorite resorts in the Tahoe area. Definitely more advanced terrain and a bit more of a trek to get to. But that means it is often a bit less crowded.
It also is one of the resorts to get the most snow due to it's location on the Sierra ridge.

Kirkwood is easily one of my favorite ski resorts in California. It's rarely crowded and they often have a lot of snow.

One of my favorite resorts. Great for skiers and boarders. Plenty of groomed runs with lines that are not as long as the bigger resorts around. Plus, the ticket prices are cheaper than the larger resorts.

This resort is at the highest altitude of all the Northern California resorts so it typically has snow later into the season (2nd to Mammoth Lakes in CA). Which is great! Just check out the picture from February 12, 2017! The sign is half covered and more storms are on the way! Can't wait!

The restaurants around (Off The Wall) are pretty expensive. But I suppose that's expected with this type of sport (it's a pretty expensive sport). And the runs are typically more difficult than other resorts, from what I've heard. So a blue square here is borderline black at other resorts.

My only gripe is that I wish more of the lifts were detachable ones. Most seem fixed and pretty slow.

Nice difficult slopes...the down side (pun intended) is the lack of parking close to the hill...I didn't see a shuttle but I did see the stops

Varied Ski Runs. Amazing Off Piste opportunities. Will be amazing on Powder days. Midweek had deserted pistes and not a lift queue in sight.

Off season (early-mid November), had the place to ourselves. Nice family getaway. Just enough snow for the kids to play in then warm up with hot cocoa, coffee in the room. Rooms were clean and comfortable. Full kitchen, fireplace, plenty of space and a parking garage with an elevator. Beautiful mountain views. General Store with essentials, including prepared foods like pizza & sandwiches.

Good resort. Lots of blacks and relatively not as packed as the other sites nearby.

Amazing mountain, passes close for avalanche controls so check road status for sure. And bring a solid emergency kit, cel. service can be spotty on the drive in.
Love the terrain, especially when Mother Nature provides. Friendly staff, never had a bad time here.

My first time at Kirkwood after 20+ years boarding at the typical resorts. I must say say that I was slightly confused with the parking and staging areas and how they were set up. I went on a slow Friday and I can't imagine how the parking situation would be on a busy weekend. It wasn't very intuitive for a first time visitor.

Really great for skiing powder and trees. Not as many low skill runs.

Great slopes, a bit busy, but once you get on the slopes there is little wait to get up the lifts.

I go to kirkwood whenever i can with my family and friends. I love it there, they have short lines, fast lifts, and great snow

Smaller resort with an abundance of great slopes for beginners as well as experts.

Great runs for skier and riders of any ability. Gorgeous views as well.

Kirkwood is one of the smaller ski resorts in Tahoe but the terrain is one of the best! Think of Kirkwood like your favorite hole on the wall restaurant or dive bar, dependable and friendly. People who come here once or twice don't get it and want to go back to the bougie resorts. The ones that are regular visitors know that there is much more to this mountain then you think. There are hidden trails are everywhere. The terrain will challenge even the most seasoned riders. The adventurous will not be disappointed when they accidentally discover that amazing hidden fun trail not so far away from the groomed runs. Take the time to explore. I guarantee it will be worth it!

My favorite ski resort. Great hip atmosphere and awesome trails.

Love coming over here, Kirkwood is never boring or too busy standing in line is not an issue. It will always chalange you if you looking for that. Plenty blues and plenty diamonds and terrain where it's just fun and scary but awesome!

Given Kirkwood's geography, the resort receives and traps the best snow in Tahoe. Powder hounds want to keep this place a secret but the secret is too good not to share. So when the storm dumps, the most passionate riders and skiers hit up this resort. For a day trip from Bay Area, you'll have to come through Carson Spur on 88, which is can be closed due to avalanche control. Otherwise go around on 50. It takes a while to get to this awesome destination, but it's worth it! My favorite runs are off of lift 2 for blues because you have to choice of wide groomed run to skier's left and then the powder and trees on the skier's right. Further skier's right is Whiskey, which is the easiest way down, unless you trail further in the powder where the blacks out. Not the most technical runs off of chair 2, but you can find the technical stuff from the Wall, Sentinel Bowl, and the Back side. In the past, the marketing team like any other resort marketing exaggerated the snow fall. This year (2010-2011) however, Coop, the face of Kirkwood wised up and all he has been good about being up-front about the amount of snow that Kirkwood receives. He's won us hard core powder hounds over with enthusiasm!

I ve been skiing all over the world and this is one of the best off the beaten path resorts in the sierras. Slightly isolated from heavy tourism with great terrain and snow conditions A+

Friendly service! Great mountain and out of the way from big crowds.

Kirkwood is the best! Worth the extra commute, trust me!

Has gone downhill since being purchased by Vail resorts, but still one of their better properties in the area. If you go on the weekend be ready for long lines as they only have one high speed chair.

I am an amateur snowboarder and I took lessons. The trainers are really friendly. My trainer was Miles Auclair, awesome guy, teaches well. For beginners, the lessons are on the Funny Bunny slope (via chair lift) which is not too small and good for beginners. The staff is also friendly and helpful.

Awesome place even though the snow was terrible everywhere

Ski site, including options for snowshoeing and cross country skiing

I can't say enough good things about her instructor Timothy. He was absolutely fantastic, really helped build her confidence, even let me take a few runs with her group.

It s a beautiful place. Very peaceful and quiet at night.

Snow and terrain is pretty good. Enough variety and challenge to keep you interested. Nice, medium sized terrain park features.

Wish the mountain had more tree coverage seems like they ve thinned it out over the last couple years. Housing is hard to get and pricier than other areas, but that keeps the mountain less crowded. They should have more hot tubs available, at least one in each housing complex.

Onsite repair and tuning shop is super convenient, fast and helpful. They totally saved my trip when my binding strap broke. In and out in 5 minutes and ready to ride. Came back for a tuneup and wax, reasonably priced for a resort and well done.

Grocery store is pretty basic and microwave friendly, so I typically bring up meal kits and cook.

Best resort in Tahoe. Empty but plenriful slopes, few lines and it's usually all running.

Only went to the general store and it had everything I needed

Great snow and fewer people. Nice mountain for boarding. Rarely any lines.

For the most powder on a winter day in the Lake Tahoe area, this is the spot. Amazing resort for the upper level skier/boarder!

This resort is smaller than others, but it's much less crowded and the runs are highly varied. I would definitely suggest going here once during the ski season if you've never been!

Steep terrain and easy access to the mountain. Not very commercialized like other big resorts which is a huge plus

Great bunny slopes, and a cheaper, limited access ticket which u have to buy at the counter. They saw us struggling and got a free lesson too! Only downside is theres nothing in that vicinity, so if you're a beginner like me, make sure you find out where to rent gear before you go. I ended up having to buy ski pants from the store which set me back >$100.

My grandson's 11th birthday was supposed to be fun. Thanks Kirkwood for having ONE staff member fitting and ONE for taking your money in the rental building for the first hour before only ONE other employee showed up. OVER TWO HOURS TO GET FITTED! Everyone was angry! Bad management! Bad memory for our little guy. This was the worst experience!!! Go somewhere else where they have managers who know how to staff and have customer service skills or that can roll up there sleeves and help out. Don't go to Kirkwood!!!!

Great terrain, good people, strong skiers, don't change anything.

Best resort for intermediate and expert level skiing.

Went right as the storm was coming through. What a great time. We left just in time to not get stuck.

Friendly, great place to ski with plenty of restaurant choices. Has an intimate, down to earth feel, and easy to access trails. It's a little resort community of its own, and you might feel a little closed off since real civilization is over 30 min. away.

Best place to get that true skier backwoods style resort.. Still feels like a small resort despite being owned by Vail. Love riding there in my wolf suit

Great resort with amazing trails and awesome powder. The runs are not well labeled so we barely know which runs we did and which ones we missed. But that is a small price to pay to get to carve this local hidden gem!

I love you Kirkwood, but please fix up the flat spots and upgrade your lifts. You are an amazing mountain that deserves modern resort technology.

My brother and I skied Kirkwood yesterday in more fresh powder during Miracle March as it is becoming known. We are originally from Minnesota and this place was honesty a dream come true. Lifts were quick, lifties were awesome, and conditions were perfect. Nice groomers kept us comfortable but plenty of off-trail and un-groomed fresh powder let us practice some off-piste skiing as well. I ll be back for sure!

The mountain is awesome. But accommodations are expensive considering what you get. It's a bit funky, rooms kind of old and dirty. But the ski resort is what you come for.

My favorite resort in Cali. If you enjoy well kept long runs without an 89% chance of being taken out by a 12 year old, do yourself a favor and skip the long gondola lines at Heavenly and visit Kirkwood!