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Visitor reviews for Boreal Mountain Ski Resort

Boreal Mountain Ratings

Overall: 3.4. Based on 2 votes and 4 reviews.

Snowsure: 4.5

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Boreal Mountain is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.5

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Boreal Mountain has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 2.0

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 3.5

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 4.5

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Boreal Mountain

Public Transport: 3.5

  • There are no buses or taxis to Boreal Mountain
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 3.0

  • No places to stay in/near Boreal Mountain
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.0

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 1.0

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Boreal Mountain

Ski in/Ski out: 3.5

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 2.0

  • There are no child care facilities at Boreal Mountain
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 5.0

  • Boreal Mountain relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 4.0

  • There are no snow groomers at Boreal Mountain
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Boreal Mountain are groomed daily

Shelter: 3.5

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Boreal Mountain is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 2.5

  • If snow conditions are poor at Boreal Mountain, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 4.0

  • Boreal Mountain usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 4.0

  • The staff at Boreal Mountain are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Boreal Mountain are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 4.0

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 4.5

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 3.5

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 5.0

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 3.5

  • No intermediate terrain at Boreal Mountain
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 2.0

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 4.5

  • Not even a kicker at Boreal Mountain
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 2.5

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Boreal Mountain
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 1.5

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Boreal Mountain has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.0

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 3.0

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 1.0

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 3.5

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 4.0

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 3.0

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 4.5

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 4.5

  • Overall, Boreal Mountain is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 4.5

  • Overall, Boreal Mountain is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

January 12, 2015
Mike Legay from Ski USA - California USA - California
An amazing litle resort, especially if you freestyle or are a beginner. Fun terrain park with small to mid-size kickers and lots of well placed jibs. For the beginner there are nice groomed runs, some in the trees. Best snowmaking in Lake Tahoe. Easy on/off from Hwy 80. Woodwards on site offers additional thrills on professional trampolines and foam pits. To top it off, lift prices are one of lowest in the country.
May 09, 2011
peacockdreams
Boreal is awesome! I travel there every winter from Australia to spend 3 months riding Boreal. It has the best terrain parks around the lake and is always one of the first mountains to open at the start of the season and one of the last to close! The passes are cheap and the night riding is off the hook! With the addition of a Big Air Bag this season, Boreal is park riders dream come true!
January 21, 2009
TJ from Ski USA - California USA - California
Boreal Mountain is definitely a lower-key mountain that's for sure, but not a waste of time for everybody. It's got one of the best selection of terrain parks for all levels (including a super-pipe). Combine that with night skiing, decent prices & student discounts and you've got yourself a nice little resort.
November 02, 2004
thibaut colar from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Ok, this is a tourist trap piece of crap. After driving from the bay area for hours because of traffic / snow storm, you see that 'resort' off of highway 80 and you think, let's just go there and it's cheap too look at the sign. Ok the trick is this is justb a small hill, the vertical is something like 500 feet (and it feels even less), the lift are very slow and stopping all the time, plus they are setup so that you have to hike from the bottom of the trail to the lift kost of the time. In other words you spend 2/3 of the time in the lift or walking to it. So resist the urge and continue for a few milles to other ral resorts.