Snow Valley Reviews

Great high speed chair addition for the 2017-18 season!!! Too bad mother nature is not cooperating with us this year...pray for real snow....

This is closer and less crowded than Bear or Summit. Super chill atmosphere and friendly staff. This place is not set up for large crowds however, but you get what you pay for.

This is the place for very beginners! #6 lift is for the bunny slope and it is the perfect one for beginners. I went with a few of very beginners and they were able to practice there no problem. We had 4 packs anyday for $99 and it was awesome! Wish they have the deals all the time! #1 lift takes you up to all the way up with blue and maybe a bit of black. They were okay but a bit icy when I went. For advanced riders should go in further to Summit and other ski areas. For beginners and families with kids, this is the place to go in Big Bear area.

Pretty good place but make sure to check the weather and snow conditions beforehand.

The lift tickets here are way cheaper than up at bear mountain/snow summit. BUT.... there are not nearly as many runs/lifts to take because it is a snake resort. Also since it is lower on the mountain the snow was not the greatest and by mid-day it was getting really slushy.

Price was meh. Staff was a hit or miss. We had one guy when we first got there that was very rude. Just was screaming and yelling at us for entering the wrong side. He kept following us even as we were leaving the area. My kids were having a hard time walking on the snow and this guy just kept yelling at us to leave the area. Give people a little power and it just gets to their head's sometimes. After the incident we met a girl that worked there, she on the other hand was nice and friendly. The lift for the sliding side was off because they didn't have enough employees to operate it so it was a bit tiring walking up with my kids to go sliding. We only ended up doing it a few times.

This mountain is my first mountain where I learned how to snowboard. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable on helping people to progress and enhance their skills. It's a very good place to start out on and for the most part it doesn't get too crowded.

My daughter learned to snowboard here at the age of 5. We have been coming ever since. Close enough to be a day trip. Never to long of a wait in line. Plenty of parking. Most of the employees are chill, helpful and friendly (not all).

We went on a presidents day holiday weekend, with not much of real snow.
the place was super crowded, yet the vendors still were attending for new customers, which in my opinion is not a great idea because my wife and I could not get equipment to take the lessons which was already paid, and it was a pain to get the refunds.
Plan to visit in a non - holiday season.
Also, the snow clothing rentals is separate, so you must take into consideration renting a snow suit in the village, some minutes before getting to the resort.

The staffs are very nice and friendly. I'm a beginner snowboarder, I was so scared of the lift but the staffs calm me down. They show me what I should/shouldn't do when riding the lift. I fell when I got off the lift and the staff stopped it immediately and help/show me to get out.
I bought a package of 4 tickets for $99.99. You should check their website and Facebook for latest discount at the beginning of the season. There are some websites that sale one day ticket for about $28-35. Just google it.
On my first day, I redeemed my tickets, it was rain and I was given a voucher for another ticket. Yay!!!
If you're a beginner and you wanna save money, go for Snow Valley Mountain Resort

I don't like it because people get to take it out every so often and they give you cars

It's super cold and snowey but super fun to just play and have fun

Stopped for closer look on way home from Big Bear. Snow is holding up well & looked good for skiing.

Nice runs. Be advised that if it's windy, they close the lifts to the more advanced runs leaving only two runs open: bunny slope and beginner slope.

Waited in line 2.5 hours for rentals. We should have been told about the wait when purchasing the whole day lift tickets, I would have purchased 1/2 day ticket instead of all day ticket. Not a very friendly staff either.

This is a fun place to ski, shop, eat or just sit on the deck with a cocktail and watch everyone else.

My all-time favorite place to ski. It's great for beginners and experts alike. Everyone is very friendly and courteous. I look forward to coming back next season!

Great place to snowboard. Friendly, knowledgeable instructors. Especially John Hescox, John Mezner, Chris Tafoya and McKenzie, the snowboard instructors.

The group i was with didn't want to pay the fees to get in parking rentals and tickets it looked like a NICE place for whatever snow activity you would do

Great little ski resort...went with my family this past weekend for the snow play section (Sled riding). Was a bit expensive but the lift and sled were included. It was very busy so it took us 45 minutes to ride down the hill once....but this is why I rated them 5 stars...my daughters are 7, 3, and 3 and they HATED it. It was steep, fast and awesome (for me) but that was the reason they disliked it. Snow came up in their face and my 7 year old flipped over and scrapped her face a little. They were all crying, refused to ride again, and wanted to leave haha. Being a $150+ invested for 45 minutes (1 ride) we went to guest services to see if there was any way at all they could at least refund 1 of the girls or anything (not normally "those people" but thats a lot of money for nothing). The manager was unbelievably kind and refunded our entire amount and then apologized for our "poor" time even though it wasn't their fault at all. Overall this made an amazing impression on me and I will certainly be going back....when the girls get a little older haha.

We came to Snow valley to enjoy the snow park. We got there fairly early and parked close. We stood in line for almost an hour. Every line was long and extremely slow because Snow Valley has equipment renters, ski schoolers, skiers, snow park people, and everybody else in the same line. Even those that ordered tickets ahead of time online had to wait in the line! Why bother planning ahead?! We got so fed up that we decided to eat the $10 parking and left. So unorganized!

The people are fantastic, and they keep the resort in really good operating order. Don't forget the best part......it's fun.

Not overcrowded, staff is pretty cool, park is good for beginning to novice, snow isn't bad for being man-made. Overall a nice place to come to if you don't want all of the commotion up at bear.

I love this place. Yes, it's not as large and as advanced as some other places and yes it isn't surrounded by a resort town but is all offset for me by other positives. First, the prices are great and the deals/discounts available are great. Second, everyone there is there for the snow activites. Third, it's closer to the LA basin than other resorts. And lastly, the crowds are always less here than other places, especially on the back mountain which has some legit steeps if you get there. No, it's not Mammoth but what you get for the time and cost savings is worth it for my family to make this or primary place to go.

Has it all. Great for all skill levels. Hidden gem. Leagues above the surrounding resorts.

October 21, 2019 - This is an updated review for the summer operations. Snow Valley has now closed for the summer and will be re-opening for winter operations as Mother Nature allows.

Original Review - 2018 was a special year as we welcomed the addition of a detachable 6-person high speed chairlift. The new chair allowed Snow Valley to expand summer activities. Hiking, scenic chairlift rides and bike park access are now available. I recommend you contact Snow Valley before making your visit to verify they are open. For 2019 Snow Valley was only open between 2 to 3 days per week.

The number of bike trails was expanded during the summer of 2019 and based on my experience I would classify the trails as beginning intermediate to advanced intermediate riding. A first time mountain biker may be a little intimidated as they make their way from the top of the chair down to the access for the Sundance and Fools Gold trails. Advanced riders won't find the current trails to be too much of a challenge but chair serviced riding is still a lot of fun at Snow Valley. The Bike Park staff worked extremely hard this summer. The addition of new trails and the updates performed on existing trails really improved the experience.

There isn't much in the way of food service during the summer. If you can plan ahead I recommend you bring your own food and then enjoy it at the top of Chair 1 or on any number of hiking trails that wind their way through the resort. Cold drinks (including Beer!) are available at the base area where you purchase your tickets.

Ticket Prices get a solid 5 stars! Snow Valley ran ticket price promotions all summer that got a full day Bike Park ticket down to $21.00 for an adult when purchased 1 calendar day before arrival. That's a fantastic value for Chair serviced trails. While other nearby resorts may offer a more expansive trail network it's impossible to beat the value that Snow Valley offers. Check their Instagram and Facebook accounts for discounts.

The snow was a bit icy, but it was a Tuesday so whatever

Good place to pull over and enjoy your partner on your way up to Big Bear

Nice local spot good location fun runs overall well pleased for a family resort

Snow was nice and like the different routes available. Not sure why some of the sections got closed but coming back to ride them out this season .

Friendly staff on a small park. Great deal if you buy the 4 tickets for $100. Never too crowded and the park is really well maintained. Love coming here.

Not bad at all for the price and being a holiday weekend. Deer Meadow Grille just ran out of fiod though. Fortunately I'm in line already. Something about the smells of burgers made me stop to grab a bite to eat. Ran into some Orange County guy's that offered me a beer. So good times.

Special note... Veterans and active duty military get 50% off tickets and rentals!

They charge to much and so crowded. No service and rude customers service by the staff on the snow

Open runs. Not too crowded. Head to Slide Peak for some expert runs. Don't forget to try the chili for lunch. Best SoCal as to offer.

Signed up my my kids for ski lesson. Horrible, I haven't seen such enneficiency in the last 30years. Save your self the headache and your kids stress. Go somewhere else.

My favorite local mountain to snowboard. I got a pass this season and it's totally been worth it! :)

Service and facility has greatly improved from 2016, line for tickets tend to be long so buy ahead or at the ski shop down the street.

Be sure to travel early early to avoid the hours of traffic that can build up to get to snow valley. But other than that, it's a great, fun place with lots of options, some brand new lifts & hills, knowledgeable instructors, helpful staff, & nice warm food when you've had enough of the cold :)

This provides a MUCH better value than Big Bear/Snow Summit. It is still worth going to big bear for night life, restaurants and lodging though. Snow valley isn't quite as good at keeping runs open by blowing snow, but they do ok. However I will say that no SoCal mountain is worth spending too much money on when there isn't any natural snow on the ground and above 30 degree temps. If there is no natural snow, both mountains are going to be icy and thin. On the flip side, when the snow storms DO come, it is great skiing at both mountains, so you might as well save 60% and go to snow valley. Big bear has more runs, but also more people so it isn't any more open than snow valley most of the time. Big Bear DOES have the best terrain park features if you're into mostly freestyle, but if not, the value just isn't there I think. As for the snow valley base camp, it is almost big and maintained as big bear/snow summit, and has all the amenities, so it should have anything you need. If you like lots of run options, more people, and lots of freestyle features, Big Bear is for you. If you don't mind doing the same run twice, like to freeride, or you are a beginner needing easy runs as well, then you can save a lot of money going to snow valley. Just wait for snow to come before you go up there to either place.

Was really really fun and a great first place to try skiing for the first time. It wasn't crowded at first but as 3pm rolled around it was packed. My only complaint is with the actual patrons and not the resort itself but I found it very scary and dangerous that people would hang about the bottom of the intermediate slope. The way it's set up, there is one last hill and you catch a lot of speed. I think it's very frustrating as a beginner who's still learning the mechanics because these people are blocking the bottom of the slope and it's like... Do you want to get mowed over....? I'm still learning to turn and to stop without falling over and I know I'm not the only one. Plus, even if you're great at skiing it's just super unsafe to be blocking that area so please, if you go there, don't be that person who blocks the bottom of the slope.

I like it, alot of fun, great rates, close. But, needs more snow.

We had a great time!!! Loved the runs here! Saw a fancy little bird in the parking lot!

Great day out with the family. Get there early. Traffic builds up fast, so do the lines

Fun family friendly. Not as crowded as Submit and Big Bear. Getting out of the parking lot can be a pain.

Great instructors,staff was very helpful. Overall very nice place.

My family and I went here during winter time around Christmas. It's very crowded and hard to find parking. The actual slopes were very busy but since we have little kids with us we decided not to go up but it looked fun. Lots of families bring their children here and other people who enjoy skiing. The location is on top of near the top of a mountain so the drive to get here is a bit lengthy and traffic does build up a certain times of the day.

Nice mountain, but the proximity of Big Bear makes this slope second rate. It's possible to avoid the crowd at Big Bear by going to Snow Valley, sometimes, though.

They always do the best with what they got. Had a fun 2 days of skiing.

I wish they had a place for kids to just play in the snow.

An incredible place, you have a super exciting time with the family and especially that in the cafeteria the food is good.

Lots of fun. They have a small "park" with a number of jumps and boxes. Very few long (>10min on a snowboard) runs.

Great place. Better than I thought and different enough from the other two bike parks to be unique. Looks like the guys at Snow Valley are looking to expand the trails and the overall experience also which is a good sign for all of us MTB people. I would say its definitely worth checking out.

my children and I love to visit this place every year for this season. it's a lot of fun for the whole family