Joe P.
Yelp
One of North Carolina's most accessible ski destinations, App Ski Mountain is a great place for beginners to learn the sport, and a surprisingly decent spot for intermediate skiers to enjoy a few hours of fun on the slopes. Less than 2 hours from Charlotte, it's close enough for a day trip -- which is perfect, because it won't take most visitors very long to get bored on the hill and its handful of trails. But their French Swiss Ski College is outstanding, with friendly instructors and super-affordable lessons to help novice skiers of all ages learn the basics. My daughter saw significant improvement in her control and her turns after just a single one-hour lesson, and the mountain's wide intermediate hill gave her lots of room to improve as the day went on.
Lift tickets and rentals can be purchased in advance (and actually MUST be, in the Time of COVID), and I was extremely impressed with how quickly we were able to get our gear and hit the slopes. Their rental operation is fast and efficient -- the only downside is the locker rental, which required us to wait in the lift ticket line for 15 minutes at the end of the day to return the key and recover our deposit.
The 4 trails are accessed by 3 modern and efficient lifts, and the lines moved pretty fast on our visit. Strudel, the easiest trail, has a forgiving grade but is too narrow and overcrowded with novice snowboarders to create the right environment for beginners to practice. My daughter and I moved to the much wider Appel trail, which beginners will want to access from a midway point on the lift. Even the 'Black Diamond' Upper Appel is a great trail to learn on, and the nearby Orchard Run has some challenging turns. There's even a narrow, advanced trail with moguls for the more experienced skier.
Food in the restaurant is predictably poor, and tables are hard to come by at peak times. Parking, however, was close and convenient, so you may want to consider packing a cooler and tailgating it when you need to recharge. All said, App Ski Mountain is a terrific place for Charlotteans to get in some basic skiing without spending hours in the car. And if for those just getting into the sport, it provides a friendly (and extremely affordable) environment to get started.