Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on The Summit at Snoqualmie that rank the ski resort and mountain town on a scale of one to five stars for attributes such as terrain, nightlife and family friendliness. See how The Summit at Snoqualmie stacks up in the reviews, on and off the slopes, from skiing and family activities to the après scene. Read up on pros, cons and other comments in reviews left by fellow skiers and riders. Don't forget to submit your own The Summit at Snoqualmie review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.
Reviews for The Summit at Snoqualmie
Total (2.6)
A ski resort's overall star rating displayed here is not calculated based on a simple average but takes several factors, including the age of a review, into account.
We have had seasons passes here for the past few years. Parking has greatly improved after parking passes have been implemented (which are included in season passes). We have never had issues parking since the parking passes came into effect. Lines are reasonable, at least for the intermediate and advanced runs we go on. Typical wait lines are 5-10 min, although some weekends (fresh snow) lines can be a bit longer. Weather is never that cold, given the lower elevation, and snow is sufficient for enjoying skiing. The acquisition of Mountaineers is awesome, great terrain, and Alpental also has some remarkable runs. Summit East lifts are slow, but if you can stand those slow lifts, fun and varied terrain there. Overall, we feel the trees and terrain are solid, allowing us to grow as skiers and enjoy the winter. Lines the past two years have been mostly minimal (and we almost always go on weekends). We always find a table at a lodge to eat or sandwiches and snacks. Especially the lodge at Silver Fir is nice. It's worth pointing out that the xc-ski center (included in a season pass) is awesome with an extensive (very quiet and serene) trail system.
Chris B.
Similar to the other comments. I wish this resort could be better managed, it's such a great opportunity being so close to Seattle. I've been skiing in Washington for over 40 years and I encourage everyone to not waste their time here and travel the extra time to go to either Crystal, Stevens or even Baker. At these resorts, you'll get a better experience, way better value and definitely better snow. Cheers!
Jasen Samford
Although this year was not the best for snow in Seattle, I was at Snoqualmie every opportunity I got. Great lifts and runs, super friendly lifties, and decent lodges.
So Disappointed
Same as what everyone else says. They are the fast food of ski resorts and want you to be thankful anybody even shows up to work. Been coming here since 2018 with my family as season pass holders. I've slowly come to realize why everyone is willing to drive 2.5 hrs to Crystal or anywhere other than Summit.
Aconcerned Regionalskier
Tough to rate without bias. Skied for 35 years all over the continent, Summit is now my "home" mountain being only 30-minutes from my house. The reality is, I just don't ski on Friday-Sunday any longer. The amount (and quality) of people that flood every nook and cranny on this mountain is quite concerning for the overall outlook of humanity. As an expert level skier, there's just nothing to ski here - including Alpental. I know folks will say "ohhh what about International, it's got the best inbound double black on a pow day" ... yea bud, you and 56,000 Seattleites have the same idea. Everything with "pow" gets tracked out by 10am IF they even open the spots due to the extreme avy danger, which is often. For anyone other than an introductory skier, the runs at Central and West are SHORT. Seriously, when you get on the lift note the last person in line at the bottom - by the time you get back around to the line after your run you'll see the same jacket before they get on the lift. East needs to remain the "hidden gem" so no comment.
Vanessa Hudson
Used to love this mountain due to the proximity and ability to afford tickets. Also used to have a great ez ski to ride package. Now it just seems way overpriced for true beginners (wanted to take our son here) l, the amount of terrain, quality of the runs (length, terrain, fun), and vibe.
I've wanted to get back into it for a while with my partner and our son, but the value just really doesn't seem like it is there. Just seems way wrong. Too bad Stevens and other passes aren't closer. Given all the cons it's seems like we just need to let dreams of old Snoqualmie go and try the many other mountains.
Lang Rosen
This is a typically understaffed place. However the lifts that they close do to that are usually not vital to the mountain anyway. If you are a beginner go to summit west. And if you are an expert go to east or alpinetal. And intermediate at central. For a local mountain, that is only 45 minutes from the heart of Seattle this is a neat place with ok snow and good terrain if you know we’re to go. The night skiing is one of the most underrated things as well, it has almost everything open at night, and it’s only an 45 minutes from Seattle.
Jane Smith
We bought twilight passes that start at 2 pm, but most of the areas on almost all days are open till 3-4 pm. Alpental is closing at 2 or 4 pm, even during school break. Are we supposed to ski 1-2 hours only? What are we paying for? On Dec.26 in the Central, only one trail/slope was open even though other slopes were perfectly groomed, making long lines at the lift, collecting big crowds on the slope thus making it unsafe. The slopes on Silver fir are habitually ungroomed, except under-lift area, and it is done way not enough at the Central. Too often not all lifts are open making very long lines of nervous skiers. The only well groomed area is the West but it is closing impossibly early, that is why this beautiful area is not popular. A great job was done on the Central parking lot repair but in the wintertime it still needs cleaning of ice, big bumps and holes that make its use unsafe for both, vehicles and people. The only good thing is smooth ride of the lifts and very friendly stuff. Each year the cost of passes and tickets is increasing but the amount of service is steadily declining. The strategy of the resort became cutting everything to collect larger crowds. The greed is your logo, not the people's enjoyment! We are not returning next year and will never recommend it to anyone.
Not Available
A pretty good mountain, my home mountain, I am not going to be nice in this review because of this. They have a master plan set in place with snowmaking, much more high speed lifts, and other helpful assets, My ideas, if you want a nice easy run, or a blue, go to west, if you want something that will make everyone happy, go to central, if you want a different experience, meaning the mountain is a different type of setup, and has no beginner lift, go to east “Hyak” and if you want long steep hard runs, alpental is your go to place, be sure to go off the edelweiss chair if you want truly steep stuff! Everywhere has night skiing except summit east and edelweiss at alpental! Happy skiing, or snowboarding!
I primarily ski at Crystal, but I've been taking my daughters, who are new to skiing this year, to Summit occasionally. Of the times I have been there, on all but one occasion the only lift open serving green terrain has been Holiday. Just ONE lift serving green terrain. And that one lift is mobbed by people just like me - parents bringing their kids to learn to ski, as well as other beginners hoping to learn to ski. It's absolutely ridiculous.
Holiday is not even that great of a lift. It's not dual speed, and, for a beginner, it's difficult to get off of. Therefore, people are constantly falling and the lift has to stop. Attentive lifties would help with this, but that is not the norm. In addition, they have ticket scanners at the bottom, but usually no one is sorting skiers into groups of four, meaning that as often as not, the lift chairs are not full. As a result of all this, the waits are absurdly long - 20 minutes to get to the top easily. I end up freezing cold from doing so much standing and so little skiing.
There are 8 or 9 green runs at Summit, but typically Holiday will be the only one open except on high season weekends. My last visit was a Friday night and the place was packed, but still only one green run open.
We'll probably continue to go because sometimes we just don't have the 90 minutes to drive to Crystal or Stevens. But with the amount of money they must be raking in - lift tickets sometimes close to $200 for adults!! - I don't see why they can't staff most of the lifts like other local resorts do, and manage the ones that are actually open properly.
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