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Kicking Horse resort snow
Lat Long: 51.30° N 117.05° W
Ski Canada - BC

Kicking Horse Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Kicking Horse at 1848m altitude

Issued: 11 am 14 May 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Kicking Horse: 1.8cm on Fri 15th  (after 9 PM)

Visitor reviews for Kicking Horse Ski Resort

Kicking Horse Ratings

Overall: 3.7. Based on 87 votes and 68 reviews.

Snowsure: 4.2

  • 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
  • Kicking Horse is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.6

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

Off-piste: 4.6

  • 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: 4.6

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

Access: 3.4

  • 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 Kicking Horse

Public Transport: 2.9

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

Accommodation: 4.1

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

Cheap Rooms: 3.4

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

Luxury Hotels: 3.8

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

Ski in/Ski out: 4.5

  • 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: 3.6

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

Snowmaking: 2.7

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

Snow Grooming: 3.4

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

Shelter: 3.7

  • 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
  • Kicking Horse is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 3.1

  • If snow conditions are poor at Kicking Horse, 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: 4.2

  • Kicking Horse 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 Kicking Horse are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Kicking Horse are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 3.6

  • 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: 3.9

  • 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: 4.4

  • 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: 3.1

  • 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: 3.7

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

Advanced: 4.9

  • 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: 1.8

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

Cross-country: 4.5

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

Luge/Toboggan: 2.2

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

Mountain Dining: 3.9

  • 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: 3.7

  • 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: 3.4

  • 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: 2.2

  • 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: 2.8

  • 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: 3.3

  • 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: 3.5

  • 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): 3.8

  • Overall, Kicking Horse 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): 4.0

  • Overall, Kicking Horse 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 15, 2014
Calgary Boarder
So KHMR is a great hill, and it's the one I have my season pass for. It's a long way from Calgary but I still make the drive because the hill is worth it. But there seems to be a problem. There is only one way to the top of the hill: the gondola. People used to complain that it was slow before, but guess what, it's even slower now! There's some problem with the doors, where they won't lock into position properly. It's literally impossible to get to the top without the gondola tripping out, and it's getting worse. I was annoyed last year, but just assumed they would fix it over the summer. They haven't, and it's really starting to slow the lift lines down. How hard can it be, they have basically 1 piece of equipment to maintain to keep the hill running and they seem to have failed. Please fix the gondola! Other than that, a great hill for advanced riders.
December 28, 2013
Jane
No childcare organized again for Christmas holidays which is deplorable and no idea when it will open. I am not sure who at rcr manages Kicking Horse but they clearly do not understand that they are throwing money away and turning people off from a truly wonderful hill with amazing terrain. A 10 day vacation and not being able to ski with my husband once is not ok. At least last year they had a list of people to call to babysit. This year nothing and no apology. Good old rcr.
March 19, 2013
Daveyboy
I skied KH for the first time on March .10. It was a glorious sunny day. I was absolutely blown away by the stunning views of the Purcells & Rocky mtns. The double black terrain was unbelievable, truly Warren Miller stuff. And the Purcell powder, simply outstanding. I will return for sure.
January 22, 2013
BCDon
Being from Calgary I'm close enough (3 hours door to slope) to do KH (Kicking Horse) as a day trip but I generally make it a 2 day trip. Accomodations can be had for under $60 per person with double accomodations and if you want to pay under $50 you can do that as well. Having skied a lot at Fernie, Nakiska and "the Lake", I had to get new skis to handle the more difficult terrain at KH. In other words, as an advanced skier, it was easier to get into more advanced terrain at KH than the other resorts and there is more of it. The powder skis I used at Louise needed to be upgraded to handle the steeps and trees at KH. Not that Louise is a bad hill and I have to admit, the new skis work great at Louise as well but my skiing and equipment needed upgrading for KH. The groomers at KH are, well, groomers. If you like them, similar to groomers at other areas. Difficulty levels are similar to Louise or Fernie (that'd be "more" difficult than Nakiska). Taking the Grand Kids (who can ski blacks at Nakiska) to KH is fun, there is some nice intermediate terrain for them. The blacks and double blacks are beyond them at this point (although in a couple of years it'll be reversed, I'm sure). Making a weekend of KH is fun, driving up after work on Friday, staying overnight in Golden, up and at the hill for 9:00 AM on Saturday, then again staying overnight and skiing the next day till 4:00, give or take and driving back to Calgary is certainly a full weekend but a ton of fun. Something I have noticed, at all resorts in the Canadian Rockies (and KH perhaps more so), is that Saturday is the busy day. 2 weeks ago there was a 20 minute wait on the gondola on Saturday yet only a 2 (yes, 2 minutes at most) wait on Sunday. So, wait times are dependent upon when you ski. It will be nice if they decide to open up more terrain (by putting in some kind of lift, perhaps to Rudy's peak).
January 16, 2013
Nash
Kicking Horse offers advanced ski runs for the avid skier and a new beginner ski area that rivals most big mountain resorts for the ski school and what it offers to the family with young children. This lower mountain and chair lift have great groomed and ungroomed blue runs that should suit all skiing levels. The gondola quickly takes you to the top of a great mountain, restaurant and some of the best views and ski areas in North America. The resort offers a very intimate experience and a great place for kids to learn the true love of skiing. After skiing in most major North American ski resorts I can think of no better place to take my family.
December 28, 2012
Mark from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Kicking Horse is a great hill. Definitely for the more advanced skier; the bowls, glades and chutes are awesome. The snow stays soft even days after a dump and you can still find lines in the trees untracked. The lift system is not the best, only 2 of use and the chair is slow and pretty short. The gondola is good and not bad for lines but skiing the bottom half of the mountain is a bit tedious at times. T1 & T2 are a hike but the terrain is awesome. The resort is a bit dead at night with only a couple of places to get a beer after dark. Great skiers hill, tough but fun!
October 31, 2012
KH Junkie
KH (Kicking Horse) is a fantastic mountain, and has the potential to stay that way with considerable lift expansion. Now the RCR owns the resort the locals pass disappears, there is no lift expansion (this year anyways) and the lift lines will be way longer than last year. On a powder day it was not uncommon to have lifts lines in the morning taking longer than 30mins and 20min+ for the rest of the day. That was last year! 2012-2013 will likely see 40% (guess) more skiers which means longer lift lines. To pay $90 for a lift ticket and wait half you day in the lift line, no matter the terrain, it's just not worth it. RCR needs to put in two lifts to get the traffic spread out, and then KH will be the best mountain out there.
March 27, 2012
Dave
I have done a few ski trips to Kicking these past two years and I've fallen in love with the place. There is just so much amazing terrain here. For those used to Louise, think for the chutes off the summit platter, but steeper, more snow, gnarlier drops, and way, way more of them. This is an expert hill, no question. About half of the runs on the mountain are double black. There are two peaks, T1 and T2, that you can hike to, which gives you access to awesome chutes and glades, making it well worth the effort. Kicking on a powder day is beyond words. Steep and deep. Just traverse down one of the ridgelines and drop in for some incredible tail surfing. Then cruise the black runs down the bottom half of the mountain. From what I hear the last two years have been exceptional for snow, so I guess I've started exploring this mountain at just the right time. Regardless, Kicking has some of the best terrain around, and when it gets snow, it's unreal.
February 08, 2012
Rob from Calgary
Unparalleled, epic, amazing. Use any of these words to describe KHR. If you really want to challenge your limits and your legs KHR is your best bet. You could try a different chute every hour for 10 days straight and still not have skied or ridden them all. Not for the faint of heart.
January 26, 2012
Glyn
There's not a lot to say that hasn't already been said, but KHMR has by far the best, steepest & most accessible advanced terrain to be found in western Canada. Living in Calgary it's a long trek out there, but Lake Louise & Sunshine simply can't compete. There is very little traversing, so I'm not exactly sure what some of the other comments are talking about. From the gondola simply ride along CPR ridge and I'm sure you'll find something tricky enough to be a challenge. From the Crystal Bowl heading up Stairway and over into Feuz bowl there's always fresh powder and some amazingly technical terrain. Heading the other direction there's bowl over & super bowl to choose from, with Terminator ridge offering expert terrain beyond any hill I can think of. I think most of the negative comments are due to the difficulty of the terrain, the interesting parts are not easy, way beyond the capabilities of a beginner/intermediate rider who would end up riding cat tracks all day. If you're a good rider though, and up for a challenge, KHMR is the best around.