Nakiska Ski Resort, Canada Review

Great for people who are starting to snowboard or ski!

My new preferred resort if I'm heading out for a day trip from Cowtown. Prices are good, snow is usually good, crowds are small, and it's so close!

Gladed runs on the far side are my favourite. Park is pretty boring. I really wish they'd put the jumps back.

They groom the runs with such precision and they are nice and wide so you can bomb them at ridiculous speeds.

We are from Wisconsin and love this ski area! Great terrain and the snow was really fun. Easy to drive to from Canmore. All the people we met were nice and knowledgeable.

It's a nice hill that's easily accessible and closer to Calgary than the other big ski hills. It's smaller and can be pretty busy, which can make it icey, but most years conditions are generally good. The lodge and related facilities are all pretty nice, albeit crowded. My only gripe is that the prices have went up yet again. $90 plus tax is pretty crazy. I usually rather go to a bigger hill with more snow and more run options, but this is still a good option, especially for families as it's easier to find each other.

3 stars for close to Calgary.

1 star for
1) condition of the runs - seems like they cut back on grooming in 14/15 season. Hard to believe runs can be that icy...
2) off Gold chair, there are only 3 or 4 runs max, and almost every weekend one is closed for races.
3) too many people with $199 passes; dangerous skiing; parking lots full at 9 am, lodge packed

Great place to teach kids and have family time on the slopes. Hard to beat their prices and is nice and close to Calgary. Certainly not the best snow, or skiing/snowboarding, but more than good enough for beginners.

Fun, family oriented economical seasons ski passes. Close to Calgary in the beautiful Kananaskis Park.

Little bit chili but very sunny and not much crowded

Great place to ski for beginners. Close to YYC which is a bonus. Sometimes hard to ski because of the slippery conditions.

Great spot for midweek powder as it isn't very busy. Lots of groomed runs, would be better if they left powder on the sides of the runs.

Good place to snowboard. Thought it's quite icy near the top of the mountain, but for the price of an early bird season pass, it's worth it. 45 mins from Calgary and a good place to just practice or to kill time in the day

Great hill, awesome staff. Not busy at all during the weekdays

Snow makers are running hard but the hill needs two or three good dumps of snow to open most of the upper runs.

Lovely ski resort that is closer to Calgary than the other big ones in Banff! Well maintained and friendly staff!

Great Ski area !!! The rentals were quite expensive. We had fun .

Closest ski resort to Calgary, very convenient for skiers with small kids!

I like Nakiska, has great trails for snowboarding

Was a bit windy and busy on Saturday but had some good runs none the less.

Hill is great for many levels of skiers. Tubing is fun as well. Staff are friendly and happy to give a hand.
Expensive food. Tubing is $20 without a lift ticket. The part I really hate about this place is that people store ALL of their belongings at the food tables all day so they take up all the space and only sit down for a lunch break. This doesn't happen at kicking horse.

Only 40 mins away from calgary but not that big of a ski hill

Of the best!!! The dream place for beginners or advanced, food, drink and services in general very good.
The staff very attentive at all times and the medical service and 1st aid pending any emergency.

Best ski resort for beginners. Near Calgary so you don't need to drive far.

Its okay, the best thing it has going is that it is nice and close to Calgary. It seems like most times I go that it is really windy. The couple times ive went that it hasnt been windy its made a world of difference.

The ski hill is great but other than a few runs it's not suited for beginner skiers. Rental process is really streamlined. Fast lifts.

This place is just an upsized COP.
Lake louise has some fun tracks like twist and turns in the trees

This place has steep icy hills that just go straight down and 70mph winds. No cap

Beautiful landscape, amazing service, and well groomed runs!! Definitely or families favorite place!

Good hill for newbies. If youre looking for assistance at the rentals as a beginner, theyre not much help.

Magic carpet area is quite small vs lake Louise but it's totally free!

Great hill. Seems understaffed in the main lodge. Prices in the lodge are stupid for what you get. Skiing is good, hill is well maintained.

It was a great sking, nice runs and varying degrees of difficulty

Great ski hill, lots of fun terrain and great value for the lift tickets.

There wasn't much snow at the time but the groomed runs were still good.

Great place to spend the day or weekend. Friendly staff and always lots to do.

This is where the locals go to avoid the tourist line-ups at Louise n Sunshine. Highest peaks? No. Best terrain? No. The slopes can be corduroy or powder depending on the day. The Glades is a fun, treed area, esp when the snow is right. There is a tube slide fr the kids; it looks awesome. The liftees are always friendly n whip-smart. Try 1 of the poutines if yr eatin there. On the patio, if you please. This is yr best option fr a 1-day family ski trip from Calgary. Absolutely...

Pricy for the size of the hill and amount of runs. Staff are friendly

The terrain is limited but the proximity to Calgary makes it worth it. Pack a lunch though because like any skill hill food onsite will cost a fortune.

Pretty good hill, but beware that using the Terrain Park will cost you an extra $5. Food is also expensive, but that's to be expected in the mountains.

I still had a great time though - nice, wide runs and I will definitely be back!

We paid for full price lift tickets that should have included park access - I'd totally understand if we had Costco vouchers, but we didn't.

Friendly staff. Ample parking. Pricey food for mediocre quality.

Was very warm out the day before so it was a bit icy. Otherwise the mountain is in great condition

Troll falls trail is short and easy. Children ready. The waterfall is beautiful.

Day lodge way to small for weekend traffic. Hill doesn't get a ton of snow but the runs are fast. They always have 1 or 2 runs closed for racing teams but its not really an issue. Park is fun , mostly rails. Glades after a dump are awesome. Great for kids. If you love the groomers this is a hill for you.

Great value, close commute from calgary, fast quad chair lifts, Always well groomed and operated.

Great terrain for all abilities. It caters more to intermediate skiers but the beginner area, with all the green runs, is good for those learning. Nakiska is a great place for families top go skiing. The staff are very friendly and do their best to keep everything flowing efficiently.

Great instructors for teaching your level and great ski hill all around for a starter

Mixed review: skiing can be pretty good, but management leaves a lot to be desired.

The Pros: Last Sunday, I was able to ski 6000m of vertical in 3 hrs, which benefits from short lines and wide fast runs. I did 11 laps of the Gold lift and 2 laps of the Olympic lift from 1pm to 4pm. The snow is weather dependent, but was not bad for early season.

The cons: I've pretty much given up trying to get hot food at the end of a day of skiing. For the last 3 years at least, it's like pulling teeth to get the kitchen to make food at 4:30pm. Like everywhere on the hill, closing early is the norm, so don't expect to be able to hang out and relax with a nice meal at the end of the day. Finish Line lounge should be renamed Mid-day lounge because they're already closing by the time you're at the finish line!

Summary: buying the season pass at the early bird price makes the skiing affordable, but don't expect anything extra!

Not as big as Sunshine or Lake Louise, and some of the runs looked like they weren't maintained very well. Overall it was decent for the price, and staff were nice and friendly. The drive up to the hill can get sketchy in winter.

Great ski instructors for the kids. Cold but good snow.

We did a trek to see the Troll Falls are to the side, easy and short

This place gets extremely busy with new skiers who don't understand sharing the hill or shoulder checking before they criss cross the entire width of the run. I am surprised more people don't get hurt. A little case of road rage comes upon me after the fiftieth close mf'n call.

Very enjoyable, but the trails are a little short. Definitely would advise to go on the gold chair as it's less crowded and smaller wait times for the chairlift.

For being the closest 'real' mountain ski hill from Calgary it does an alright job. Groomers are well maintained and the glades are available if playing in the bumps and trees are more your style. Weekends get excessively busy but the lifties do an alright job moving people through the lines efficiently. Inside the lodge can get crowded, but if your not trying to have a packed lunch it's easier to just go upstairs and have a seated restaurant lunch.

Great family hill. We had a great season. Jr to intermediate.

Overcrowded with bunch of skiers with no ski etiquette, ever since they started selling cheap season passes it's quite dangerous to ski there, also good luck finding a place for lunch, totally not worthy the money, stay on main hwy and go to Norquay.

Bought skiis there for a lower price and bought a skii winter pass for 2017-2018 for a low price to. The mountains are nice to skii on. Very nice view. Beautiful.

Loved it! There's so much to do on this mountain and it has lots of good runs for all skill levels. The glades were awesome and we were boarding so we checked out the trick park which had lots of variety too.

Good place to learn but a pretty small ski hill. Also the food is expensive and they do not have microwaves or utensils.

Well... Nakiska is an average little ski area. good for beginners and little kids. it was a trainwreck the day i went. lifts not open, not prepared for all the people, and staffing issues. probably will not be back. 120$? way too much.

I took my kids to Nakiska late in the season. the snow was a bit icey, but that was more to do with timing of the year and weather conditions. Staff were friendly. Convenient to get to from Calgary.

My family of four went there to go on their tube run and after paying $80 we went to the gate and were told that we could only go for two hours. If I had purchased a lift ticket it would be good for the whole day! After spending 25 minutes in the lineup to get a tube you then spend a whole 20 seconds sliding down the very short run. Me and my family were very disappointed and after complaining at guest services their only response was that is the way it is. We will not go to nakiska ever again and will dissuade anyone from going there.

Is small, crowded and not great snow. Go 30 mins more and go to louise

For beginner skiers like us we like the Bronze run! It is fun, easier, however still have tricky turns so that we can practice our skills.

It is the closest ski resort to people living in Calgary. If you live in the northwest of the city, it is so convenient to get there.

My family does like this hill for how close it is and that ends there. The staff here at the Ski School are probably the most unprofessional group of individuals I've ever come across. I am a certified snowboard instructor and also an exski patrol at Big White. I watched my 2 girls get private 1 on 1 lessons with individual instructors that was more of a couple young kids that wanted to hang out more than anything. Both girls were taken up the bunny hill without any sort of evaluation and were left to walk down. This consumed the entire hour. I have never seen someone give up so easy. Is it not their job to teach young kids? After the lesson I had both my girls skiing down on my own and when I complained to the ski school I was told my kids were uncooperative and had no interest of going outside, even though the day care workers said they were awesome and I had no problems getting them out. I watched the entire lesson and saw 2 individuals that had zero capabilities of teaching or even trying. I even witnessed other kids in lessons while their instructors were busy doing tricks and goofing off while the kids sat and struggled on the hill. I guess those kids were also uncooperative. Would never never let my worst enemy get a lesson here.

There's lots of runs to go on and a variety of different difficulty levels but compared to bigger places like Lake Louise or sunshine, the wait times to get onto one of the two lifts from the bottom is ridiculous because of how packed it gets. Not much options for food choices either. Lift tickets are pricey for what they offer.

Nakiska is Calgary's closest mountain resort. While this can be great, it can also mean that Nakiska is CRAZY BUSY on weekends. I usually try to go on weekdays, so it doesn't affect me much. However, not having the Olympic Chair on weekdays sometimes gets annoying. Due to the mountain's location, the runs can get icy, but still, are fun ("Eye Opener" and "Maverick" are my favourites). If you have an RCR season pass, you get deals at Kimberly, Fernie, and Kicking Horse. And of course, since the Epic Pass made it's way to Nakiska, you can also get those kinds of deals here. So, if you are coming here, try to avoid weekends. If you can't, just get up super early on weekends, and come first thing. You will get about 2 hours of good skiing, before the crowds come.

Could do with more seating /kitting up space and facilities. Snow this year was excellent. Chairlift management was good and efficient. Staff friendly and helpful.