Snow Valley Review: A Family Friendly Resort on 30 mins up Hwy 330
Snow Valley Review
We always drive past Snow Valley on Highway 330 on the way to our cabin in Big Bear where we normally ski and snowboard at Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. Last year Alterra Mountain Company purchased Snow Valley and added it into the Ikon Pass! My initial thoughts at looking at the Snow Valley trail map was that it should be fun with all the blue and black diamond runs. My thoughts were the opposite of Snow Valley for Beginners.
Snow Valley Quick Facts
- 230 skiiable areas
- 12 Chair lifts
- 28 runs
- 150 inches of average snowfall
- Base elevation 6800’
- Peak Elevation 7841’
The drive to Snow Valley was short, only 30 minutes from the bottom of the hill at Highway 330 to the parking lot. Parking was free, not sure it’s because we have Ikon Pass and they had pre-paid premium parking spots available.
Initial Impression of Snow Valley
Since it was our first run of the year we decided to ease into it taking Chair 13 up to Graduation which is labeled as a Blue. With only 6” of snow fall this season, there were many brown spots and it looks like they tried to push all the snow into the trails. Graduation was definitely more like a green run / bunny slope. We tried Chair 6 next which is adjacent to Chair 2. We found out later that Chair 6 is usually for the smaller kids as the lift height is low. This was an easy Green run down Thunder Mountain.
Exploring Snow Valley
We decided to take Chair 1 – Snow Valley Express up to see where it lead. At the top there’s a ski patrol outpost along with a place to take pictures of the valley. We took the Blue – Upper Wine Rock to Lower Wine Rock and then down Mambo Alley. This was a nice long sweeping run that felt more like a Green. Nevertheless it was the best run we’ve been on and it was less crowded.
Afternoon Runs
After a few more runs we breaked for a picnic lunch. There was BBQ hamburgers, fries and other items you could order from the restaurant. In the afternoon, we decided to try taking Chair 1 to The Edge where the terrain park was and down Little Bowl (black run) and East Bowl. These were great for kids to practice their S turns.
Concluding Snow Valley Review
Overall Snow Valley is a great snow resort just 90 minutes from Los Angeles, making day trips possible. This is an excellent mountain to learn how to ski and snow board and perfect for families. It lacks big terrain park features so you won’t have to worry about people crashing into you. The runs should probably be reclassified down a level and as you progress from bunny to easy to intermediate, there’s something for all levels.
