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Ski USA - Washington

Mount Baker Resort Reviews


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Visitor reviews for Mount Baker Ski Resort

Mount Baker Ratings

Overall: 2.7. Based on 101 votes and 80 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.7

  • 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
  • Mount Baker is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 3.6

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

Off-piste: 3.5

  • 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: 3.8

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

Access: 2.9

  • 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 Mount Baker

Public Transport: 2.1

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

Accommodation: 2.1

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

Cheap Rooms: 1.9

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

Luxury Hotels: 1.6

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

Ski in/Ski out: 1.5

  • 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: 1.7

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

Snowmaking: 1.5

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

Snow Grooming: 3.0

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

Shelter: 3.2

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

Nearby options: 1.8

  • If snow conditions are poor at Mount Baker, 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: 3.9

  • Mount Baker 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: 3.5

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

Crowds/Queues: 3.4

  • 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: 2.7

  • 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: 3.4

  • 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: 2.7

  • 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: 3.2

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

Advanced: 3.7

  • 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: 2.1

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

Cross-country: 2.3

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Mount Baker
  • 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
  • Mount Baker has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 2.9

  • 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: 2.8

  • 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: 2.1

  • 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: 1.7

  • 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: 2.3

  • 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: 3.6

  • 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): 3.6

  • Overall, Mount Baker 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): 3.6

  • Overall, Mount Baker 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

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March 14, 2025
Rowrow from Ski USA - California USA - California
Love reading the bad reviews! lol. Which means, good news for me who like going there especially on mid week. They have this Wicked Wednesdays (I shdn't tell you!) where prices are a bit lower. I live in Seattle and can plan for better weather. Don't care about apres, food, I come here to snowboard and hike in the summer. Lucky to be living in the NW where we have 3-4 choices of resorts to go to. Baker is a hidden gem, like your resort in the 70s, no hotels and restaurants, just a resort in the wilderness. You come here to enjoy the outdoors without the urban buzz. Here's hoping they don't get snatched by big corporations out there.
February 16, 2023
Justin
I have ridden almost all of the major resorts in the PNW. Baker is not for everyone. If you are the type that likes to go to ski resorts for everything but the riding, go spend your money at Whistler or Revelstoke. If you are a serious, and capable skier or snowboarder, Mt. Baker is the Mecca of powder and big terrain. Don't listen to the clueless wannabe's in the comments. Most negative reviews are glitzy daddy's money types looking for expensive bars, fancy hotels etc. Mt Baker has amazing staff, great facilities, and the lions share of the best terrain in the world. Not to mention, Baker also holds the world record for the most snowfall in a skiing season. There is a reason Baker is featured in many Burton, and K2 films. It is a hidden gem, and frankly, I hope it stays that way.
January 29, 2023
KBinPNW from Ski USA - California USA - California
Baker is... Baker. There's nothing like it. That's good, and not so good. But you don't come here for the glitzy, corporate, mani-pedi, $20 apres drink, packed like sardines gondola, sleep in your king-sized goose down comforter bed. You come here to shred, without all the B.S. I've skied all over N. America and Europe for 50 years, and for me, Baker is heaven. Sure, Alta has better snow. Sure, Whistler has a cool village. But they also cost you $2,000 for a weekend and you're surrounded by thousands and thousands of people, Not all of whom you really want to mingle with. Yeah, I've made the (short) drive only to find rain and sleet. But I've also skied untouched powder out of bounds (legally) with not a soul around. That's winter sports. Mother nature is fickle, so deal with it. Some days you win, some days you lose. But it's always real.
January 17, 2023
Mike Hamel
I have skied Baker for about the last 50 years. I'm 71 years old and I do remember back in the day having my ID checked in order to access the bar. Baker is large enough to offer excellent facilities yet small enough to offer good old American hospitality to y'all including us Canadian guests. The property has very good lifts leading to a number of excellent runs. Baker has a good choice of very good dining facilities. Past principal operator Duncan Howett and now his family deserve a huge kudos for bringing a lot of joy to skiers and boarders who come from the Pacific North West, Canada and other parts of the world. Baker is the place you want to be this winter.
January 02, 2023
jim brooks from Ski USA - California USA - California
I have skied at Baker many times over many seasons in all conditions and I don't understand why I keep coming back. The terrain is mild and boring, there is never any good snow, only warm slush and its always completely tracked out after one run so you only have moguls. There's also a complete lack of groomed runs, its mostly crappy off piste. The employees are all terrible, they are rude and don't want to deal with you, the lifties suck and they hardly do their job. So every time that you get on the chair you are met with a hard whack on the back of your legs. The food is terrible and ridiculously expensive. I don't need to spend my kids college fund for a crappy burger. The only lodging there are rental houses that are super expensive and booked out months in advance and even then the closest are still a hour away from the mountain. There is no food or gas, the two restaurants there are in town are almost always closed and the nearest gas station is over an hour from the mountain. So make sure you don't run out gas. Even the ski patrol on the mountain sucks. I broke my collarbone at the mountain last season and they took over an hour to get to me and as they were transporting me they ended up injuring my collarbone more which put me off the slopes for 3 months. Terrible mountain, it is a terrible experience every single time.
February 11, 2022
Betty Rides from Ski USA - California USA - California
I wouldn't recommend Mt. Baker. Liftlines are long and runs are short. The visibility is usually horrible and the snow is like concrete. There is no lodging or any kind of apres skiing scene. The locals are rude and don't want you to ride at their ski area. Don't waste your time or money.
November 23, 2021
Zach from Ski USA - California USA - California
Real bad mountain, don't come here. Slow chairs, wet snow, mean locals, bad food, no lodging. Plus they get too much snow and it's too hard to ski.
April 07, 2021
Genghis Khan from Ski USA - California USA - California
Please don't come here. Nah, just kidding! Every time I drive up highway 542 into the upper parking lot, I feel like I'm traveling back in time. Back before everything sucked. My only real gripe about this place is the lack of any sort of park. Otherwise, it's pretty much exactly what I dream about riding. Lots of snow, drops and short hikes. No hotels or stores. If you are planning a visit, I must warn you it may be a very rainy / icy / horrible experience and you might end up regretting the long drive. If you are lucky, it could end up being the greatest session of your life.
March 31, 2021
Paco from Ski USA - California USA - California
The amount of hater-ade that flow from some of these reviews is incredible. This place is probably not for you, haters. This is the Mecca of snowboarding. You don't come to Mt. Baker because of its lodges, its food, its groomers, etc. You come to Mt. Baker because it's legendary. It's one of the last true locally owned mountains in the west. It's no secret that the PNW has wildly variable weather (so stop whining). Baker sits in the convergence zone, so you may get something like 23 inches overnight, or you may get a little bit of rain, but at the end of the year, you've gotten the most snow out of any resort in the lower 48. Facts. Yeah, there is no cell service and the winding highway can be treacherous in the stormy weather. Don't bring your 2-wheel drive BMW up, you will have trouble. This is a mountain, in the wild. There are no hotels but you can overnight camp in the lot for a small fee, because, again, this is the Mecca, not a resort. You come here if you're a hardcore skier or snowboarder and you want to experience the legend. You want to ride snow deep enough to swallow you whole, near tree wells that'll bury you for good, by cliffs that'll chew you up like a blender dropped from a high rise and you shred it all within the glacier-faced glare of Mt. Shuksan that's quietly towering over you. Read these reviews, this mountain is probably not for you, snowflake (pun intended!). There are plenty of overly crowded Vail & Ikon corporate mountains in Washington state that'll probably be more your speed.
February 11, 2021
Kate H. from Ski USA - California USA - California
Horrible/rude staff. They made my 18yr old daughter pay a $250 fine for an expired lift ticket instead of just having her purchase a lift ticket (which she offered to do). And they were very rude about it.