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Visitor reviews for Castle Mountain Resort Ski Resort

Castle Mountain Resort Ratings

Overall: 3.3. Based on 102 votes and 100 reviews.

Snowsure: 3.8

  • 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
  • Castle Mountain Resort is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.4

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

Off-piste: 4.3

  • 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: 4.2

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

Access: 3.1

  • 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 Castle Mountain Resort

Public Transport: 2.1

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

Accommodation: 3.5

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

Cheap Rooms: 3.7

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

Luxury Hotels: 2.1

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

Ski in/Ski out: 4.3

  • 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: 3.1

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

Snowmaking: 1.9

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

Snow Grooming: 3.5

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

Shelter: 3.1

  • 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
  • Castle Mountain Resort is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 2.6

  • If snow conditions are poor at Castle Mountain Resort, 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: 4.1

  • Castle Mountain Resort 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: 4.3

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

Crowds/Queues: 3.7

  • 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: 3.6

  • 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: 4.0

  • 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: 3.3

  • 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: 3.9

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

Advanced: 4.7

  • 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: 3.0

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

Cross-country: 3.2

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

Luge/Toboggan: 1.2

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

Mountain Dining: 2.5

  • 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: 2.5

  • 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: 2.9

  • 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: 1.4

  • 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: 2.0

  • 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: 2.7

  • 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: 3.6

  • 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): 3.8

  • Overall, Castle Mountain Resort 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): 3.7

  • Overall, Castle Mountain Resort 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

March 06, 2022
Matthew Watson
Had a fantastic day, just missed the big powder dump but the hill was still amazing. It was also alpine demo days and the selection of gear to try was very good. The line ups were a bit long but that's to be expected for a weekend with a huge dump of snow, mild temps and no wind. Can't wait to go back again next season.
April 07, 2021
Joyce Bastien
I don't understand how a family of 4 can afford skiing at Castle. The prices are becoming so high. I understand you have to pay staff and running the equipments but omg its just getting out of control. We own our ski equipments and yet it is still not affordable. I got 2 teenagers, so they are pretty much full price, plus us 2 adults.
March 15, 2021
Matt.W
Just spent a day there. Thoroughly enjoyed myself. The snowfall hasn't been spectacular this year but most of the hill was completely fine. I had heard that some people don't like the chair lifts and said they were slow but I didn't find them bad at all. Will definitely go back next season when they have a big powder day. Definitely recommend this place.
January 20, 2021
Western Skier
Small hill with creaky old lifts. Spend enough days there and eventually you will catch right weather conditions. A good one. Can be good when it snows but the weather and wind of Chinook cycles can make a mess of it. Timing is everything, Many locals claim it is the longest steepest fall line in North America but I haven't found that to be accurate. I grew up skiing there and believed that hype but now that I have been all over North America I have found that is false. Every hill has its own selling points and Castle van provide a great day in the right conditions.
March 14, 2019
big pow
With a new paved valley road right to the resort, access is great. Looking forward to putting my road bike on it this summer. The place continues to be a bit of a hidden gem. I am a die-hard Castle skier and for many years didn't have any desire to ski anywhere else. This year I finally got out and skied Fernie, Kicking Horse, Schweitzer and Whitefish. Although the amenities at those resorts are great I found that the cost of a day's skiing is astronomical and the skiing wasn't all that good. It was nice to get back to Castle and really appreciate the long steep fall lines that you don't find anywhere else. There was nothing at the other resorts that can compare to runs like Drifter and the chutes. We southern Alberta skiers are spoiled.
January 16, 2019
jim
Had a blue bird day last weekend. The chutes were at their best. The amazing steep fall line with sifted snow and few other skiers is always a treat. I have never skied anywhere else in Canada or the US where you can get a perfect steep uninterrupted fall line of about 2500 vertical feet. The chutes are world class leg burners.
March 16, 2018
Murr
It appears that snow-forecast is deliberately attempting to emphasize one bad review from contributor pariah which is now several years old. Despite record snowfall this year and probably the best snow conditions in western Canada we still see this misleading negative review as the banner review on a regular basis as noted by other reviewers. Very disappointing snow-forecast [note from ed: nothing deliberate. The relevant post has now been removed and this post will remain for a short time.]
February 10, 2018
Brian
Get with the game snow-forecast 22 days straight with new snow. Best POW experience in western Canada. Get rid of the 3 year old report it doesn’t represent reality. [note from the editor: please do let me know the report/review in question by sending details of date and name to [email protected]}
May 20, 2017
Skibri
March 2015 still the headline of comments, you guys need to catch up. Epic season in 16/17 that's what should be displayed. Great hill and Year at Castle. [note from the editor : last post for this area was made January 2017. Some of this post will be edited after a short time.]
January 24, 2017
C Marriott
Castle provides a 5 star ski experience for those skiers who like good powder on steep runs. Yes, it has old lifts & few accommodations but the atmosphere of great lifties, happy skiers and a super pub make up for the lacks. Ask any local and they will point you to their favourite spots. Mid week you are in skiing bliss: no crowds! For the beginner/intermediate skier they have put in a new chair: Huckleberry that has easier terrain & a snow park. The lodge offers a good range from nice hotel rooms to shared rooms i.e hostel style.