Overall:
3.4.
Based on
77
votes
and
89
reviews.
Vote
Access: 4.4
(1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Cypress Mountain.
Public Transport: 3.5
(1) There are no buses or taxis to Cypress Mountain, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
Scenery: 4.3
(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.
Accommodation: 2.0
(1) No places to stay in/near Cypress Mountain, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
Cheap Rooms: 2.2
(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.
Luxury Hotels: 2.3
(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Cypress Mountain.
Ski in/Ski out: 1.8
(1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.
Childcare: 2.4
(1) There are no child care facilities at Cypress Mountain, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
Snowsure: 3.8
(1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Cypress Mountain is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.
Snowmaking: 3.8
(1) Cypress Mountain relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
Snow Grooming: 4.1
(1) There are no snow groomers at Cypress Mountain, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Cypress Mountain are groomed daily.
Shelter: 3.9
(1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Cypress Mountain is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
Nearby options: 2.9
(1) If snow conditions are poor at Cypress Mountain, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.
Regional rating: 3.7
(1) Cypress Mountain usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.
Lift Staff: 4.2
(1) The staff at Cypress Mountain are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Cypress Mountain are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.
Crowds/Queues: 3.2
(1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.
Ski Schools: 3.9
(1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.
Hire and Repairs: 4.0
(1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.
Variety of pistes: 3.9
(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Cypress Mountain has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.
Beginners: 3.9
(1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.
Intermediates: 4.2
(1) No intermediate terrain at Cypress Mountain, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.
Advanced: 3.8
(1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.
Snow Park: 3.7
(1) Not even a kicker at Cypress Mountain, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.
Off-piste: 3.2
(1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.
Cross-country: 4.4
(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Cypress Mountain, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.
Luge/Toboggan: 3.3
(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Cypress Mountain has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
Mountain Dining: 3.4
(1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.
Eating: 3.3
(1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.
Apres-Ski: 3.2
(1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.
Other Sports: 2.0
(1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.
Entertainment: 2.4
(1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.
Winter Walks: 3.6
(1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.
Ski Pass Value: 3.7
(1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.
Value (National): 3.7
(1) Overall, Cypress Mountain is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.
Value (Global): 3.5
(1) Overall, Cypress Mountain is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.
Cypress has been my local mountain for the past three years. Two great snow years followed by one significantly less so. All three have been great fun, however, and plenty enough snow to ride from early December through to mid-April.
The majority of terrain at Cypress is for beginners and intermediates. Good variety also: groomers, glades, cat tracks etc. However, for those looking for big mountain riding - unless the steep stuff has got fresh snow, you'll have to go a bit further afield.
Night riding is brilliant if you're local, as getting in laps after work can really boost the amount of days you get on the hill.
The terrain parks are pretty decent, usually at least one on both peaks. They get refreshed periodically, and the shaping is normally very good.
Highly recommend.
Some really misleading reviews here. No, you don't need an overnight stay. Yes, there are a lot of places to stay nearby - the North Shore has endless accommodation. Yes, there are buses that take you up in the day. At night you can rent evo/car2go or use rideshare groups - people are always offering.
I have been snowboarding up In Cypress for the last 3 seasons and there are the good and bad points. The good: scenery/terrain, lodge and lifts are considerably awesome for a local hill. The previous 2 seasons the snow was awesome but this season has been a letdown. No one to blame except mother nature.
Now the bad: Cypress has oversold the season pass holder as they are respectably affordable especially for the kids who are 12 yrs old and younger. The lineups are huge and overcrowded. There are times my family and I went up for 2-3 runs because the lineups were unbearable. I understand Cypress is there to make money, but it's going to deter season pass holders on purchasing future passes.
New years day gets so crowded! I just went and the crowds were huge! Raven chair is the worst because the terrain is lousy and small. The Eagle and Lions are the only okay parts of Cypress but they are still pretty lame. Go to Grouse or Seymour or if you can, Whistler. I would highly recommend that you do not go to this mountain!
Love this mountain. Switched last year to Grouse just for the change and it was a big mistake. Back to Cypress for 2017-18 and forever. Even on a crowded Saturday, you'll never wait more than 5 minutes for Sky Chair or Raven Chair (which is a good reason to save yourself the drive up to Whistler). There's a great variety of terrain, the groomers do a good job, the cafeteria is fairly priced and pretty yummy, the staff and the locals are really friendly (except for that one grumpy old guy who works the parking lot, he's hilarious). My only beef is that they close too early in the season, but I guess they start losing money as soon as sunny spring days arrive.
It's important to know this is not a resort, and not a big mountain. But it is a great local ski hill. Unfortunately, the investors who own this operation are selling it up with their crazy claims which are misleading.
Staff are not as professional as at Grouse Mountain. That's the only thing that bugs me really.
As a local ski hill it's really great, it's the best locally in Vancouver. Most terrain, incredible views, reasonably priced food for a ski hill. Yes, the line-ups are awful, but if you have a pass and your own equipment you avoid all that.
Jesus, you guys are fricking vicious. Piles of snow by the cannons. Sure! Why doesn't that make sense? They aren't going to come by in a snowcat and smooth it over when people are riding! This isn't a fricking world-class resort. It isn't Europe or Whistler! The steep slopes can get icy! Why wouldn't they? So I think everybody just needs to chill!
If anybody complains about going to Cypress, they should realize that conditions are not always perfect. Is it Whistler? No. It wasn't designed to be. It was meant to be a local ski mountain close to Vancouver. Sure, the food is expensive, it is at most ski resorts. So, if you really think that it is that expensive bring your own lunch! I do agree that on days with good conditions it does get crowded. But a lot of ski days can be fun if you know where to ski and have a positive mindset. I think that some of the views that you get from the Sky chair are amazing. I can't think of a place that has a view quite like it. I think that out of all the local mountains it definitely has the most terrain. I have noticed that they are a bit understaffed. In April-May of 2017, they closed and Grouse was still open, I think that this is an example of them being understaffed. They either didn't have the money for it or not enough interest. I went once in late December and it was hovering around the 0-degree mark. It started to rain at the lodge but midway through the Lions Express, it started to snow. We did a couple of laps because Sky chair was on standby. It wasn't awesome skiing but I made the most of it. I then proceeded to go and wait in line for the Sky chair because it was pretty much full snow up there. I soon realized that I could be standing here for a while so I went over to the Raven. The snow was quite heavy but I still quite liked it. I did laps on First Sun even though it was technically closed but I had asked the lifty and he said that it was fine. Please always check with a staff before ducking a rope! I went in to have lunch then went back to the Raven and did more laps. Finally, I went over to Strachan to go to Sky chair. The conditions were ok up there. There was some fresh snow but I was quite cold because I was wet. In the end, I am glad I went even though it wasn't great conditions. Overall, I really enjoy every day I get at Cypress Mountain!
