Don't come here. Don't tell anyone this place exists. True skiers and lovers of epic mountain experience minus the douchebros and faux snow people.. unless you ski alpine and respect a low key purist ski experience do NOT come here! Stay awayyyyyy!!!!
As a snowboarder, this place made me an an expert at skating and riding down the mountain one footed. Source: was a lifty for the 08-09 season. Pro tip: don't straight line the chutes on Norm's Nose and hit the 90 degree vertical hip at the end. You'll get a compression fracture in your knee. However, you will look like a badass while damaging your walking ability. Sooooo, there's that.
Great Staff. Broke my leg last year and they were amazing at helping and getting me to the clinic and hospital
The best terrain for experienced snowsport enthusiasts. NOT A BEGGINER RESORT!!!!!
Good vacation stay. Calm and relaxing place. Plan for cooking at the vacation home and utilize time doing nothing to recharge your mind and body
Between the 3 I rode (heavenly, Northstar, and here), Kirkwood was the best.
The best mountain and best snow in Tahoe. Not a lot of dining and drinking apres options however.
Nice resort, nice slopes but too expensive and small.
Heres the thing: KWood is a dope mtn. Terrain is ill af, lift access is above average, and ive never waited in a lift line other than first chair. Id give it 5 stars, but its owned & operated by Vail Inc, which is the Trump of the ski industry. Huge hucks off lifts 4,6&10. I mean, truly massive cornices and cliffs. The runs are steep n short, but whos on those anyways? The best resort in the Vail portfolio, cause its the only resort they havent "Vail-ized" yet. The village is a ghost town after lifts close. If you want to party, go down to South Lake and get schwasted with the other tourists who are trying too hard. Id recommend booking a condo here for 3 days right before a storm (its called a weather report, google it) and enjoy the spoils while the rest of Tahoe and the Bay are waiting in chain control frustrated af trying to get up to the mtn. The BIGGEST DUMPS IN TAHOE. No joke. Snowed 10 ft in 2 days when i was there in 2016. Be prepared for one of the best pow days of your sad miserable life...
Roadwork on Highway 88. Stopped by for a break and beverage. It was of season and some people were working on the doorway we passed through. Very polite and interrupted their job to accommodate us. Thanks for being so patient and understanding.
Needs some snow, but they have done a great job grooming what the do have!
It's great if you know how to ski, great hotel services, always plan ahead though for the weather
Excellent terrain. If they only had some lift capacity, this would be a great mountain. Be prepared to traverse, hike, and sit on lifts for a long long time. A Stella costs a ridiculous $14, more than at a Raider game. Bring your own beer and pack lots of patience.
That being said, all of the above keeps the riff raff away.
Kirkwood has lots of more challenging runs for advanced skiiers. Biggest downside is the old lift sunrise - it's a great run but a really slow long lift. Also nowhere to sit inside to eat/drink on the back side of the mountain.
My favorite for steep and advanced terrain. Lots of hidden background. Could use another high speed lift
The staff were great, very professional and helpful.
We stayed at meadow stone lodge. It's so convenient to the slopes, very comfortable, and had all the amenities we needed
Kirkwood is my favorite resort in Tahoe. The best terrain, staff, and it's usually the least crowded. I'll keep coming back.
It's a great place to go skiing with kids and without. They only have 2 express chair lifts, Timber Creek Express and Cornice Express. Solitude chair lift 5, is very bumpy so be careful getting on. Everytime we've gone there are great conditions. Kirkwood is a great place to go skiing.
Great locals place. Don't come here if your looking for a resort infested with gappers and fashion models. Head to Heavenly or Northstar.
There was plenty of snow and sliders but I couldn't find a place to eat lunch and I had to park and walk a long way to find out that the restaurant wasn't open.
Large variety of lifts, perfect for all skill levels
My favorite mountain in California with the least amount of traffic and the least amount of people on the mountain 7 days a week, come visit!
Skiing was great this week! Beautiful day! Lines were short.
Difficult runs for a newer snowboarder. Would be a great mountain for experienced riders who like a challenge.
Great ski. Huge mountain too. A lot of different terrain/difficulty. Fun for the whole family
I visited with my little brother, fiance, and our friend. None of us had ever been here before and I'd only ever been to Boreal once. I was really impressed by this resort. I was under the weather, but the staff made my experience enjoyable and helped me when I had no idea what I was doing lol. My brother and I are noobs and we took a snowboarding class. The instructor, whose name is escaping me right now, was super nice and made learning the basics of snowboarding simple and easy to understand. We had a lot of fun and finally felt confident going down some small slopes. Our visit was shorter than we had hoped, but we're definitely going to head back when we get another chance.
A couple weeks ago, my friends and I skiied Kirkwood. We had the pleasure of meeting lift operator Dani RA from Playa Del Rey. Her smile and enthusiasm was great! Each time we'd pass through her line she'd offer a trail map, sunblock or advise on the terrain. Sometimes we'd thank her by throwing her some chocolate. I've skiied many days at several resorts and she's a stand out.
Not enough information for first timers on site, not enough public access to bathrooms.
Unique & beautiful scenery, terrain for every skier/rider in the family, resort facilities & personnel as good as any I've visited (except for the old, slow lifts remaining - but that's part of the Kirkwood charm). And no lift lines on a snowy Monday! Not something we can afford often... but it was a family day to remember, topped off with dinner in a 158-yr-old cabin (the Kirkwood Inn).
Great runs, not as crowded as the other big ones. Really fun atmosphere at the bottom of the lodge.
There was a snowstorm the night before so the conditions were amazing! The drive up was a through a canyon made of snow. Don't forget your snow tires or snow chains! The security checkpoints in the area won't let pass without them.
It's a great place to ski and sleep. Very clean. Good experience
More of a local spot so not quite as crowded. Head to the 7800 club for drinks on lunch and apres.
The terrain is amazing and I saw the very rare ski carrying technique The Boyfriend Decapitator in which the gentleman carries his girlfriends skis in a manner which will sever his head if he trips.
Five stars all the way!!!!!!
Stopped in for a snack from the general store, got prompt Service.
Great mountain. $91 for a half day with no fresh pow, pretty weak.
They have enough snow to be fun! Yes! I love that at Kirkwood they expect you to hold your own or stay on the bunny hills. No one's crying for rescue because they got in over their head. They know better
Excellent terrain that is fairly expansive, diverse, and well-kept on the groomed runs. The chair lifts are in good condition with one that is very quick to the top (Cornice Express). The snow coverage is usually as good, if not better on average, than nearby mountains in Tahoe. The service and amenities are good, but not quite top-notch when comparing the lift ticket prices to other high-end resorts. Overall, mellow crowds and tons of fun for the family with varying levels of ability, the solo expert or beginner, or a group of advanced riders and skiers.
Great ski hill off the main drag. Snow was a little crusty but for what they had they did a great job.
Probably the best mountain around Tahoe Area. The lifts are slow though!
Mountain staff was very nice and helpful. I had an issue with a lift ticket and the staff at the ticket office were quick to fix the problem.
Medium size park which starts at 7000 feet and the highest is 9000 feet. You could get to the highest point with only one Lyft. There are great powder skiing options and limited groomed trails! Downside is that the variety of trails is limited, either blacks, double diamonds or super easy (even blues are as easy as green I believe). There weren t signs at all! So you could easily get lost! There were Lots of parkings available and the no lyft lines which was super nice!
Kirkwood was pretty expensive. The altitude is high. I had a hard time maneuvering around because I am a beginner. I don't think I will go back. However the customer service was friendly.
Kind of hard to get to especially after a storm, so far Vail hasn't seemed to ruin this place too much.
We had a really good day on the snow. I like how the resort is laid out.
Excellent Ski and Snowboard Resort. Excellent customer service staff. All the trails were awesome and great for any skill level. I ventured up here on a day trip and was absolutely amazed. I highly recommend Kirkwood if you want to bring anyone on a day ski or snowboard trip and bring the family members too. I also highly recommend grabbing a slice or two of pizza half way up the mountain at the Sunrise Grill.
Amazing, mostly advanced, terrain. The canyons, chutes, and steeps are some of the best I've ever skied. The little village is great too. They had a band and the crowd was having a great time. Food prices in the lodge are a little higher than average for a resort, but good food. One star off for an abysmal rental experience. I didn't have my skis with me (but will next time!), despite registering ahead of time it took 45 minutes to get through and they weren't even busy. Regardless of things that can be improved, I love Kirkwood!
Kirkwood the mountain is amazing. It's my favorite of the Tahoe Vail resorts. Kirkwood the resort is a mixed bag.
The good: The mountain! Lots of great runs. Well groomed and a variety of levels of expertise. I was really impressed that pretty much every lift and run was open this last weekend even with the dearth of snowfall this year. Great work on that, guys! Ski patrol - these guys are awesome. Frequently checking to see if people are ok and generally quick to respond to and take care of emergencies.
The mixed:
Staff - Usually lots of them and generally willing to help but, because of the seasonal nature, they are often confused or unable to help because of lack of institutional knowledge. Kirkwood specifically, and Vail in general, needs to do more to carry staff over to keep the knowledge, practices and procedures flowing smoothly.
Food - Some dishes are fantastic and some are worse than school cafeteria garbage. You expect to pay a little more for resort food, naturally, but 6 measly, tasteless potato skins for 15-16 bucks? No way! Then again, 14-15 dollars for a massive plate of nachos, easily shareable by six people? Heck yeah! Burgers, great! Hot dogs, garbage! The whole menu at all food locations at Kirkwood, and again, Vail in general, is like this. Also, why does Kirkwood Inn have the same food as the food court? Make something a little nicer there, guys!
The lodging: You can get some sweet deals early or pre-season but be careful! We got ripped off. I made three reservations for lodging at Kirkwood, two at The Mountain Club and one at Sun Meadows, and yet we were placed in Sun Meadows for all three. Make sure you screen shot your reservations because the confirmation e-mails don't have the building on them (Gee, I wonder why?) and demand to be put in the building you actually reserved.
The bad: No wifi in most places! This is just an absolutely idiotic business practice. Wifi is cheap. People want to share their experiences on social media which is FREE ADVERTISING! Plus, you have the Vail EpicMix app which no one can use because cell service is spotty and there's no wifi.
Kirkwood has the best snow in the Lake Tahoe region!
Great place, well groomed runs, not very crowded especially on week days.
I visited offseason. I got a very good price. I'm not sure I would have wanted to pay full price for this Lodge. however if you're coming here just for the skiing, you can't beat this place for convenience. It just needs a bit of a remodel.
Room was spacious and comfortable. Small balcony. Nice outdoor hot tub. The building is a bit old, circa 1980s.
Late April 2019, the only place to eat on property is there a little general store. Extremely expensive, but they make a darn good turkey sandwich. 100%, fresh, sliced, roasted turkey.
Anyone who says negative things about this place likely wasn't good enough to handle the best terrain & snow in california.
Probably one of the best resort in the north west sierras. Great snow and steep off-piste.
Great place to hang out. Staff were extremely courteous.
kirkwood.com