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Nakiska Resort Reviews

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Visitor reviews for Nakiska Ski Resort

Nakiska Ratings

Overall: 3.3. Based on 10 votes and 8 reviews. Vote

Snowsure: 4.0

(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) Nakiska is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.

Variety of pistes: 3.6

(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Nakiska has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.

Off-piste: 3.1

(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.

Scenery: 3.9

(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.

Access: 4.7

(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 Nakiska.

Public Transport: 1.2

(1) There are no buses or taxis to Nakiska, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.

Accommodation: 2.9

(1) No places to stay in/near Nakiska, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.

Cheap Rooms: 2.1

(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.

Luxury Hotels: 3.1

(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Nakiska.

Ski in/Ski out: 1.7

(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: 3.6

(1) There are no child care facilities at Nakiska, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.

Snowmaking: 4.8

(1) Nakiska relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.

Snow Grooming: 4.6

(1) There are no snow groomers at Nakiska, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Nakiska are groomed daily.

Shelter: 3.8

(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) Nakiska is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.

Nearby options: 3.2

(1) If snow conditions are poor at Nakiska, 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: 2.9

(1) Nakiska 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: 3.9

(1) The staff at Nakiska are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Nakiska are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.

Crowds/Queues: 3.5

(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: 4.1

(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: 3.9

(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.

Beginners: 4.5

(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: 4.4

(1) No intermediate terrain at Nakiska, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.

Advanced: 3.9

(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: 3.2

(1) Not even a kicker at Nakiska, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.

Cross-country: 3.8

(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Nakiska, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.

Luge/Toboggan: 3.0

(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Nakiska has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.

Mountain Dining: 2.5

(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: 2.2

(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: 2.0

(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: 1.1

(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: 1.9

(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: 1.8

(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: 3.8

(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): 4.0

(1) Overall, Nakiska 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): 4.3

(1) Overall, Nakiska 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.

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December 31, 2019
Janice Barre from Ski Canada Canada
We went as two families On Dec 30/19 and were very disappointed at the parking, Ticket procurement (30 min +) and most disappointing was the Mid Mountain Lodge at 1330. Service in this lodge took 1 hour of our ski time. We pay 300$ + for tickets and 1 hour in line for a coffee and fries. After this they ran out of fries and decided to still charge full price for 15 fries. Stumped at the only checkout, the worker was unable to handle the register by himself making mistakes and unable to complete transactions. It was the worst waste of money for a quick lunch. Rethinking what used to be a good ski mountain.
December 14, 2016
PwdrHnd from Ski Canada Canada
Snow conditions pretty bleak but with the cold weather the snow making machines are at full capacity. The main Gold chair is down due to the lift cable being replaced (why wasn't this done in the summer you may ask?) The runs that are open are decent and no rocks. This place doesn't get much natural snowfall. Grass and shrubs still showing right up to the top where there is no snow making. Steepest terrain is closed due to Gold chair being down. We have had a ski pass here for three years only because of the kids being in the racing program. Otherwise, anyone with some skiing ability will want more challenge further west. Very cheap family pass rates can make the lower mountain green/blue terrain packed on weekends but Gold chair is usually quick to load. The glades off Gold chair are fantastic if you have a natural powder dump (pretty rare for this hill).
February 21, 2015
Jdog from Ski Canada Canada
Nakiska is a legacy resort as the home of the 1988 Calgary Olympics alpine events and thus it has some great infrastructure in place. It is a great family resort with a dedicated beginner area (bronze chair), long winding cruisers and steep groomers (silver chair) and boasts some nice terrain for upper intermediate/low expert skiers (gold chair). The groomed cruisers are perfect for learning and the Monster Glades are awesome when it snows. The resort suffers from lack of fresh snow for weeks at a time but is amazing when a storm hits. Weekends can get very busy with it's close proximity to Calgary and this season's rock bottom early season pass rates. The double blacks are almost never open so if you want a serious challenge head elsewhere but if you want a great day of skiing for you and the family then Nakiska is right up your alley.
September 29, 2014
Beth from Ski Canada Canada
Have skied at this hill for the last few years; at least twice a month during the winter. Kind of busy on the weekends; fabulous skiing during the week. Never lift lines, fantastic grooming and in March and April piles of snow because everyone drives by thinking the skiing is better in Banff. Need I say more ...
January 19, 2012
Kelly from Ski Cameroon Cameroon
I had a horrible experience at Nakiska. I was highly disappointed as we were charged higher rates because of the holiday to have them close the Olympic lift at 2:00. It was the only lift you could go up without the freezing cold wind in your face. When I went to find out why it was being closed I was told it was because there wasn’t enough people. However, as I was leaving the lift (Olympic) there was a line up of people that were switching from the Silver chair to get out of the wind. When I spoke to the customer service they said it was because they weren’t at capacity and that is how RCR is run. I can understand when they break down and need repairs but as an avid skier I have never been to a resort that closes a lift because they were not at capacity but still had a line of people to get on. After speaking with the customer service department and RCR I received a lack of response and was disregarded.
October 01, 2010
Jim from Ski Canada Canada
On your way to Banff is Nakiska. No lift lines, beautiful scenery and 56 runs, the most snow making in the Rockies and when it snows because of the snow making even the glades are fab. It also has some funky double black stuff, not a lot but what they have is a workout. It is the Rockies so a day skiing here will do the leg burn thing just as good as any hill in the area.
February 19, 2009
jeff from Ski Canada Canada
I ski at Nakiska with my kids (in elementary school) each week. Nakiska is all about families, lessons, race training and wide-open groomed runs. If you're looking for a place to learn or to take the kids near Calgary, Nakiska can't be beat. If you want 'steep & deep' keep driving west to Sunshine, Louise, Kicking Horse or Fernie.
November 01, 2006
Harry Harrison from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
Arrived here on a day drip from Banff (less than an hour by car) and thought it was shut. This resort redefines the phrase deserted pistes, it is a deserted resort. Really good for beginners/intermediates who like cruising prepared pistes all day, there is little or no off-piste powder runs, at least not when we were there. A Hidden Gem.

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