Big Sky Resort, Montana, United States

5Allan R 5:00 PM Feb 22, 2020

Great President's Weekend in Big Sky
We had a great experience visiting Big Sky Resort with our family of four (parents + 2 two older teens). The skiing was outrageously good while we are there.. We did as many runs as we could, but honestly after 4 full days of skiing there was a lot more we could have tried. Everyone we met there was very nice. We stayed in a Beaverhead Condo, which we booked through the Resort (got a very good price by booking early during a sale in October). The Condo was great.. it was dated, but clean and spacious. Everything worked, there was plenty of room, and was basically ski on/ski off with a very short walk. We rented a car (Turo) from the airport, and did a bunch of food shopping on the way (Albertsons) to the mountain, so we were stocked. The lodge area also has a small grocery store, that we ended up shopping at multiple times (plus, they have beer and wine :-) ). The renovated base lodge area was also very nice.. food was very good, good choices, and of course pricey as it is at every ski resort. We definitely think Big Sky underbuilt the new lodge area.. for the size of the skiing they have, they could have went much bigger.. the Madison lodge also is quite quaint and small given the potential size of the resort/ski population. As others have mentioned, mid mountain food/rest options for the general public are very limited. For us, it was all fine as we usually stopped at our condo for lunch and only went to the lodge areas for breaks/snacks. As good as the new lodge is, it seems a missed opportunity. We heard some concerns about the lift lines while we were there.. but from our experience with mostly east coast skiing, the complaints were almost laughable.. we really did not have to wait very long ever, even on what was probably the busiest weekend of the season. Agree with others that the Swift lift replacement is a needed/significant update that the mountain is planning for next year. It will make an awesome ski place even more awesome. Overall, we created some great memories with our kids, and definitely plan to return. What Big Sky may lack in polish, they make up for with an absolute badass ski experience.

4Celia B 5:00 PM Jan 21, 2023

Big Sky = big skiing…but not much else
The skiing at Big Sky is great. And huuuge. Our faves were the Madison/moonlight area aka “the dark side” and southern comfort lift on the south side. The ramcharger and swift 6 lifts are the most advanced we’ve ever seen with protective bubbles, heated seats, automated ski pass readers/gates and a delivery system that rolls you to the exact loading spot. The entire mountain would be more accessible with a gondola connecting the 2 distinctly different areas. From what we’ve observed in a week here you shouldn’t put much faith in the “snow report.” It’s mostly about the weather and grossly understates the conditions. It seems to us their objective is to discourage anyone from getting out there. It’s snowed off and on all week here yet the report reads as though they’re in dire need of snow. We stayed in mountain village at Village Center which is small but quite nice. We stayed in a studio and quite frankly don’t understand why the Murphy bed is a feature… because the room could easily house a regular and likely more configurable queen sized bed. However, sitting slope-side by our fire place was amazing and the few ski valet service that comes with a stay here is fantastic. Jawayne from housekeeping made us feel immediately more comfortable when I mentioned the dry air and altitude bothering my nasal passages, he brought a humidifier to the room. He was a bright spot in our stay. Dinner at Everett 8800 was the best meal of the week with incredible food, beverages, ambiance and service. Mountain village is small for such a huge resort and town center isn’t any better. Limited options for dining and shopping. If you like history, are a foodie and/or cool town experiences this isn’t the place for you. All that said, we had a great time and will definitely be back!