Kirkwood Mountain Resort Reviews

Without a doubt- best snow and resort in the Sierra! Highest base altitude, most accumulation of all the resorts and if you are a snowboarder- best natural terrain. Don't tell anyone though.

I was charged for my gear twice, and never got a refund, service was the run around, bunny slopes were good enough for me, a beginner, and lessons from instructors were great, food, drinks, expensive, overall, very pricey

Kirkwood is where it's at if you're an intermediate or above, and love backcountry riding.

Currently, the snow is pretty bad, but the place is fine.

Great mountain to ride, takes work getting there, but worth it. Nothing fancy like Northstar, but facilities were acceptable

Still a wonderful place to ski....after all these 25 years

First time here after skiing so many years in the Tahoe area. For 2 decades I had been hearing a lot of positive reviews from others about this place and finally decided to venture out and see what was all the fuss. It is, indeed, the hidden gem of Tahoe, easily made it into my top 3 resorts of the area. A bit of a drive but well worth it.

It was good! There was plenty to ski and the weather was a ton of fun. The food was good but a little on the slow end. Overall the food was worth the wait. The staff were friendly.

Great customer service. Spent day mountain bike riding with family. Great little mountain but few trails open on last day of the season.

Great skiing! Out of the way enough to keep the crowds manageable

Nice little resort. Lifts and infrastructure straight from the 80-s :(

Great mountain beginners to experts theres something for everyone

We reserved a two queen bed room and was only given a room with a normal bed and a sofabed, and the lodge call it an "upgrade". We are very disappointed for this $200 room.

The lift is good. So I would not give 1 star.

Will never return. Kirkwood had the least efficient lift ticket and rental process ever. Things took so long that we never made it onto the mountain and had to ask for a refund.

Summary of experiences:

1 hour wait in line to pick up lift tickets purchased online in advance. Line of 60 people was moving at a rate of 10 ft per half hour. It is mind boggling how this was possible.

Spent 1 hour waiting for rentals with the line only moving a few dozen feet over that time period. Eventually gave up and asked for a refund instead of waiting another 2 hours to get gear. Refund took 20 minutes even though there wasn't (amazingly) a line at the counter.

The resort was not particularly crowded and this was on a Monday. The processes and staff were utterly incompetent. Kirkwood you should be embarrassed. Dozens of other people also gave up after standing in lines going nowhere for hours. Kirkwood have some self respect and get your house in order.

The last frontier. Kirkwood always proves itself as one of the best ski resorts in the Tahoe area, especially with all the places under the Vail umbrella now. Crowds are smaller, runs are long and more technical, backside is the bomb

+ Great runs, excellent snow
- Hard to get to, not enough parking spots

Great mountain with lots of different and dynamic slopes. The base mountain is great with lots of meal choices and drinks. My favorite ski resort around Lake Tahoe

For awesome terrain and a Jerry free environment, Kirkwood is the place to go!

Went at a good time. Friendly staff, good conditions

My dog and I went cross country skiing and did the loop and the terrain next to the cabin. It is gorgeous and super fun, there isn t too many people so you can enjoy and take your time, and your pup can run around off leash with you. Classes start at 10 but call them if you have doubts about the weather, the website is not always updated when they are closed due to weather.

Love the drive and the destination. Low key resort.

Awesome place to ride. However Vail owns it and has cut back services so badly you better be self sufficient. Place needs a market open later than 5 pm and restaurants that don't shut down at will.

Great old school vibe, some of the best skiing around.

When there is powder go to Kirkwood to play. Chill place with friendly laid back staff. When it's warm weather though be careful as the flat bottoms become glue traps for snowboarders.

Easy access from Bay Area, but infrastructure kind a bit old. Lifts could be faster.

It is a Great mountain with double diamond slopes for ski lovers as well as snow boarders.
It is highly recommended .

Best snow in the area at this time.
Great variety of slopes. Beautiful views.

Good ski resort. They have a number of different level trails, including groomed and ungroomed for lovers. The snow is good, parking is OK. This resort is quite close to Bay area and acceptable for one day trip.

First time skiing Kirkwood. Loved it, so much all mountain terrain. Just need to plan accordingly with the next snow fall.

Always something to let you down when you go to Kirkwood. Now they have closed the Kirkwood Inn. Are you kidding me !!! Part of the Kirwood experience is a visit to the most historical building on highway 88. A pony express station build in the 1860's. Vail closed it - are you kidding me !!! If I could post NO STARS I would.

Ski resort in winter, but great hiking/lodge in summer as well!

It's more or less but to walk with the family is well ...

I don't want to give 5 stars so I can keep this local secret to myself

Awesome place to ski. Nice runs, great staff and so beautiful !!

Best mountain in Tahoe, most powder, solid terrain.

Fantastic extremely difficult skiing. If you're an expert skier, you'll love this place.

Love working here. Even better skiing and boarding!

Mountain was great, stayed at the lodge, it was hot, noisy and the bed had a plastic liner. Stay somewhere else.

I would give it a 5 if they had higher speed lifts.

I took my brother up there for a ride in the mountains and to see the ski resort yesterday, as he's here from Arizona. We walked around and visited the shops and lodge. It's a great place to see! We enjoyed talking with the gentleman from guest services, especially John H. From Panama, Panama. He was very interesting and informative about everything about the resort! My brother had a great time!

Best mountain in Tahoe but the worst ownership. Vail Corp is destroying the ski community.

Kirkwood is a great mountain despite it's smaller size when compared with resorts such as Heavenly. If you're early enough, you can generally get untracked powder even on a weekend after a storm. Unfortunately it can get really packed on sunny holiday weekends with long waits since they don't have express lifts as they do at Heavenly and Northstar.

Great place to ski! Powder was amazing and the staff was nice as well.

Lovely place, friendly people
Wish there was more to do for people like me who don't ski

Always a great experience! We found fresh powder and the staff was friendly as always.

Awesome ski mountain! Great beginner trails as well as expert terrian!!

Excellent ski conditions, most runs are fir experts only, great amenities.

Limited parking but fantastic layout. Nice and spread out. Minimal lift line wait times.

Very well ventilated area, felt more toasty instead of humid indoors. Water was warm the entire time and had a great view of the mountain. Limited parking spaces however

What a gem. Worth the short drive from Tahoe. Some of the best powder I have ever ridden. Do yourself a favor and take the path less traveled.

Killer mountain vibe, even after Vail Resorts purchased them.

Early season skiing made easy this year. Great customer service at the rentals counter after accidentally leaving gear at home.

The runs were great! Lift lines were pretty quick for a Saturday! I wish the runs were longer as it does seem that you spent a lot of time on lifts. I'll definitely be back again though!

Kirkwood is a great resort. It's not as crowded as the main Lake Tahoe resorts and normally has more snow. It's my favorite mountain in NorCal.

Old fashioned ski resort, short lift lines, best skiing around.