snoqualmie summit ski area

We were just lucky to have gone the third weekend of February to The Summit, Snoqualmie pass for Tubing. This season it hardly snowed so we could barely find patches of snow. Apparently for tubing, they brought snow and made the tubing slides. It was worth our visit and is on top of our list, next time it snows.Took us 1 hour by I-90. Food and restroomsThere were restaurants to have food there. We enjoyed good pizza and coffee at Red Mountain Coffee house. We found many other restuarants there. The restrooms were in the mall area as well as at the ticket house. There is a small cafe over the ticket house where you can get coffee and snacks.Best sessionsThe tubing experience was amazing and our 5-year old enjoyed every minute of the two hours we spent there. We had missed the 1:45 pm - 3:45 pm slot so we booked ourselves for the 3:45-5:45 pm session. 5-year old and under kids can sit on one parent and enjoy tubing.The 11:45 am - 1:45 pm and the 1:45 - 3:45 sessions are most popular because of the time of the day, considering the shortness of winter days. It is best to book these sessions online and then go there to avoid disappointments.GearIt gets windy there, so best have ears and throat covered. For seamless walking on snow or ice, keep snowboots. Snow gloves are always helpful. Protect your fingers. But after walking up 2 or 3 times, body heat increases! Snow pants prove useful while playing on the tubes so that clothes do not get wet. They even have cable tows for those who do not want to walk up the icy/snowy ramp!Once geared up, time to have fun for the next two hours!

Anyone want to open a snow tubing center in Western WA? One is desperately needed. There are very, very few, and the one we went to on Saturday was a real disappointment. First, I went online to find that they were having a discount day because they only had four lanes open and no tow/conveyor due to minimal snow. Fine. That's understandable (although probably not a great business move. That made it appear to look more crappy than it already was. If I were the owner, I would have waited for better snow levels.) I ordered our tickets online and printed them out so that we could get in quickly upon arrival. The instructions were to show up 15-30 min. early. We were there at 20 min. before our reserved time. We pulled into the parking lot in front of a small shed with two windows (one of which was closed). A long, long line went up to the ONE window that was open, and I was told I still had to get in back of the line (subsequently losing at least 15 min. of our already paid time) because one of their computers was down. Oh, and we had to stand there out in the freezing cold. There was nowhere to go inside. The icing on the cake was the line of port-a-potties (no indoor bathrooms, either) set up beside the ticket shack. Ghetto. By the time we got up to the window (already 15 min. into our reserved time), my husband asked if we could get a partial refund. We were promptly told no. After walking up the hill, we waited another 10-15 min. just to finally go down one of the four lanes for the first time. Our reservation time started at 11:15. We finally got our first ride down at 11:45. The first lane we rode was awful. My tube nearly came to a stop about 60% of the way down. The other three were pretty decent. Also, the dividers that they built up with the snow were definitely a liability hazard. They didn't bother to smooth it over, and there were these huge chunks of hard and jagged ice sticking out everywhere. All it would take would be for one person's head to hit the side at all for real injury to occur. Almost every time we got to the top, it was an average wait of about 10 min. The last two times I went snow tubing was once on a Saturday and once on Christmas Day (in Western PA). Even though there were a lot people, wait time was never that bad to ride. Perhaps had we waited to go toward the middle of the season, our experience might have been a bit different. It just seemed to be so, so poorly run, and the facilities were definitely sub-par. The problem is, the only other place in this area to go tubing (that I can tell) is in Leavenworth. Seriously: If you have money to play with and you want to open an attraction, open a tubing center. It wouldn't be that difficult to beat this place.

I was at West Summit around eight times this season and I have to say that it as far as Slopes it's the equivolent of a hole in the wall diner.Sometimes, I felt like the mountain was all mine. Sometimes, the blue diamond areas were a bit crowded, but Wild Side always seemed free. Also, there were free lessons and lift tickets for veterans on Fridays through the Wounded Warrior Program and Outdoors For All.The changing conditions never bothered me--I think a day off ice on small runs is good for any skier. The food was good to, and the bartender was friendly.This is a great place to get better, but this is not the place for powder chasers.

I have signed up a 2 hour snowboard private lesson for my 3 boys on Sat March 15 2014, I also paid for the 3 beginner lift tickets for my 3 boys. First, the instructor James never brought them up to the lift chair, did not even have them ride on the magic carpet and practice coming down. In a 2 hour session, you would expect the instructor would bring them up at the last hour. All he did was having my boys walking up hill and slide down. I have spent $250 for 3 hour private lesson and $114 for the lift tickets and the boys took nothing from the lesson. Very disappointed. I went to the lesson desk complaint and the lady said she would give me back the refund on the lift tickets. She never did. :-(

I went up to Snoqualmie Summit Ski area to go sledding on inner tubes at their tubing center with a group of boys. This is a separate area from the rest of the ski areas and a ticket is required to get in. The hill is quite steep at the top and gently flattens out over several hundred feet. There are 10 separate runs with a few slightly steeper ones at one end. The inner tubes have canvas jackets with straps to hang onto and a bottom to keep the snow out of the center. There is a rope tow along one side of the hill to haul you back up to the top if you are getting too tired to walk up. Your ticket is good for a two hour session with a set start and stop time. We were there at opening on a cold sunny day with layer of fresh snow. The first few runs were through a flurry of whipped up snow as we raced down the hill. After several runs, the snow was well packed and the runs were faster and we coasted farther. The boys liked to line up side by side in separate lanes and race to see who could get down first or go the furthest. There is a warming hut with restrooms and a snack bar if you need a break.The area is beautiful on a sunny day with snow covered rocky peaks and snow dusted trees all around. Its a great way to spend a couple hours enjoying the snow.

It you are in Seattle area or east side of Lake Washington Is a close place to ski, not the best to ski in WA, but good enough.Big parking lot, so no problem to park, and the park have 4 areas to ski, for me best place is Alpental area.

Short lift line and well maintained resort. The snow is variable by year, but could be great if you hit it right.

Well, part of the bad experience was the weather, which I know the ski company cannot control. However the other ski resorts I have experiences with were a lot better, in terms of rental equipment, lessons, runs, food. I think Snoqualmie is a good place to go when you're just beginning though, if the weather is good. It's not at the highest elevation, so it is normally pretty slushy and wet.

Skiing here is good, if the snow is good. It is especially good for teaching little ones to ski, with a tow ramp. It's a good stop while driving I-90 in the summer.

Having skied this location for well over 20 years, I have also come to appreciate the location for spring and summer hiking trails. It's an intermediate mountain for skiing, it's basic for night skiing, but enjoyable for spring/summer hiking.

The skiing is pretty basic with not a whole lot of variety, good for beginners. The last two years I have only gone up with the niece and nephews to do the tube ride which is pretty good.

The hill has a variety of runs for all abilities, but the runs are really short. We also found the services lacking from the rental equipment available to the food services. We would suggest packing a lunch and snacks. We've had the opportunity to ski/board other smaller mountains and found this location disappointing considering the length of runs and the price of a lift ticket.One positive note is they have a shuttle that runs between the various ski bases.

We stayed for the weekend in Seattle and were advised to take a look at Summit. We did on the Saturday and decided to go skiing the next day after buying some gear :-) we did go on Sunday and was a great experience, all goes gentle as it is a family area. Sloopes are nice for just a day. Yes i liked it a lot

Snowqualmie ski area covers a broad area in a breathtaking setting. There are plenty of black diamond and intermediate runs. Even on a busy Saturday the lines were not long. The lift operators were friendly and efficient. All runs were groomed. I would suggest that the owners teach ski etiquette to ski school students. There were too many skiers who skied too fast and too close when passing other skiers. This is so dangerous. All in all I had a wonderful day skiing with my son, his wife and my grandsons!

Not a great skiing place, with short runs although a wide variety of terrains. The pass is only 3000 ft. at the base, so slushy, wet snow is common, but for locals having an itch to ski suddenly, it's only an hour from Seattle. No grand village or much of anything except the slopes, so go to Whistler, BC for that- plus the high altitude powder, shopping and many choices of accommodation from ultra luxury to semi-expensive). Snoqualmie is more of a place for satisfying a spur of the moment skiing urge for Seattleites due to its 55 mi freeway drive convenience, and with the right conditions, can have some awesome powder, but it's not the norm.