Snowbowl

Snowbowl is an absolute gem. If you are expecting Big Sky, then just stay home. This is a local, classic Montana ski hill with massive steep runs, and well maintained snow. I ski all the time at Showdown, and this reminds me a lot of there. The people were super friendly and helpful for tickets and rentals. The pizza was spectacular as well. There were some negative reviews that I saw prior to coming here, but I think many of them were unfounded, and wrong. I would say that you should at least be an intermediate skier, but they do have a lot of variety runs and you'll find something you like. I'll definitely be back again soon

I had a great time snowboarding, for being this early in the year conditions were fantastic. The chair lifts were a bit sketchy but at least the pizza was great. The reason I gave it a 4 star is because when trying to get back to the lodge we had to go up hill I had to strap out three times.

First time here and I had a blast shredding the rainbow! Even found some secret stashes several days after a storm. Will definitely be coming back. 🤟🦄

Montana Snowbowl is a great local ski area. You won't find too many people coming from too far away. But for the seasoned skier or rider, Snowbowl is a great, easy access ski resort for those in Missoula. If the bowl is crusty you can find some good soft snow on Lavelle, and the south facing bowl is a lot of fun in spring corn. I've skied all over the west coast and Snowbowl has some of my favorite tree skiing in the world.

The place you love to hate. Very unique mountain with great hidden stashes and some of the best tree skiing you will find. Their lack of slope care in the off-season and considerable fallen trees coupled with limited snowfall makes off run skiing dicey. I have hit many fallen trees and stumps on what appeared to be a great tree run. Lifts are what they are, expect slow rides and frequent delays. Cool bar vibe, limited food and long lines on a busy day. No way this place could handle tourists, it's not built for that. Set your mind to be disappointed and you can have a decent day. If you think your going to get a ski resort experience, you'll leave scratching your head wondering how this place survives. I love a good local ski mountain, especially in Montana but this place just doesn't give a rip about what you think or what you experience. Other places like Lookout, Lost Trail and Discovery put forth a much better experience because they try harder.

We got a few inches of powder snow when we were here. Great condition and good 2000-ish ft vertical drop. The trails might be challenging for beginners. Infrastructure is a bit outdated with 3 slow double chairlifts. (There is one more lift, Transporter, which was not open when we were there.)

Leo, Megan and Trevor were awesome guides for our Zip Line tour! I can't say enough things about them. They were fun, friendly, and also took their job seriously enough to provide great education.

If you’re complaining about the skiing quality here—whether it’s downed trees, lack of grooming, or the lifts—you might want to consider skiing elsewhere. No need to bash the mountain, staff, or owners. Someone even left a review about the lack of snow—seriously? That’s on Mother Nature! SMH. This is an awesome place if you actually know how to ski or ride!

my two boys and I went on Saturday of Labor Day weekend! we had a great group! we LOVED this experience and can't wait to come back next year! Nora, Noah, and Clark I believe- were great guides! my sons are 8 & 14! we all had a BLAST! definitely worth it - this was a great 1.5 hour advenature, to end summer and head into school! thanks snow bowl for welcoming these 3 Washingtonians to Montana this way! it was epic!

One of the worst ski resorts in the area. Management is horrible. They give no updates to their customers. There's a reason why locals prefer disco or LT. Snowbowl lost my business this year.

Snowbowl sits just outside Missoula, a 20 minute drive and offers 2700 vertical feet of steep, ungroomed terrain. With the recent addition of the SnowPark expansion in 2018 (?), Snowbowl amounts to about 2,000 acres of skiable terrain. Rocks, cliff drops, gullies, trees, and even a natural form of halfpipe can all be found here. The only thing you can't find is a fully staffed terrain park with man made features. Snowbowl has been operated by the same owners for a long time and have seen business increase with each passing season. If your skills are up to par with black diamond terrain, Snowbowl could be one of the most fun resorts you go to around the Missoula area. Nature crafted a fine mountain, there's just one major glaring problem, the culture. To the ordinary Missoulian, Snowbowl is the "love to hate" kind of place. The parking is atrocious, the crowds are insane on a Saturday, and if there is no new snow, the groomers are a sheet of ice, due to the lack of maintenance. The ungroomed terrain won't fair you much better either. Without any new snow and any temperatures above freezing, Snowbowl turns into Mudbowl, or Rockbowl, or "lose your ski in a willow bush and look for three hours-Bowl". This brings me to the management, maintenance, and Season Pass holders. Snowbowl is renowned for being "cheap". They charge 68 dollars for a day pass and maintain their mountain like it's still under 600 acres. They groom once a week and make no snow even when they have every chance to. Management will make little to no effort to communicate to the public in the age of social media and when they do communicate, they lie. On Friday, January 27th, Snowbowl lost power. They reported the outage to the electric company and as soon as the lodge got power, they announced on Social Media, "we are open" and started selling tickets to customers at the resort. All the while, not a single chair was moving. People waited from 9am-1pm before Snowbowl finally said that they won't be opening. Customers rushed to the ticket booth to ask for a refund, but they refused to give out any. Instead, they gave people vouchers to come Saturday. If you couldn't make it that day, then your pass was void. Saturday comes and Snowbowl announces that 100% of their mountain is open and the mad dash of both Friday and Saturday's crowds begin. Meanwhile, winds up at Snowbowl gusted up to 40 miles per hour, too fast to open their mountain-top chairlift, LaVelle Creek chair. Snowbowl had lied, twice. As a resort, they have the capabilities of knowing when their mountain will be able to operate and when weather will prevent them from operating. They chose to lie and take people's money, then refuse to refund that money when they were unable to fulfill their promise to their customers. While all of this anti-consumer behavior is appalling, what's worse is the reaction of their Season Pass holders. The average Season Pass holder will go to Snowbowl any day of the week if the snow is good. They are either retired or have a job they can leave at any time. When Snowbowl pulls any of their anti-consumer antics, the most they do is shrug it off and claim "That's Snowbowl for ya." When confronted with the question, "Isn't Snowbowl taking advantage of their customers?", the answer I got back was this: "The real problem is the crowds. All these people buying tickets today are plugging up the lifts and making it impossible to have fun. We'll probably only get 5 or 6 runs in today. You just have to come up on a weekday, when all these normies aren't around, trying to act cool while they fall on their faces halfway down the mountain. They're the problem." Instead of calling out the company that willingly deceived the community and purposefully made problem worse, they blame the people who have busy lives and can only commit to one or two days of the week to actually taking themselves or their families to the mountain that is publicly owned by the Forest Service. Instead of being a community, the Pass holders decided to be elitist, and while most Pass holders are not this stuck up, the culture surrounding Snowbowl accepts and encourages the mentality of "That's just Snowbowl". They accept that they are slaves to the mountain and no matter how ugly the management may be, they will always give them their money, because "what other mountain with sick terrain is 20 minutes away?" Missoula is a place where you can walk into a person downtown and have a conversation about anything. You can bump into them at the bar by accident and become lifelong friends in a month. Missoula has a wonderful culture full of vibrancy and an abundance of outdoor activities, but the culture of Snowbowl is by far the most toxic part of that community. It is truly a shame that such a greedy family owns such a beautiful mountain, one that is always in view from the front door, and one that is marred by such deplorable people in a community full of kindness and generosity.

Took the 4:30 tour today with my running boos and had a great experience. There are 4 lines all different levels. After the first line we hiked about a mile to the next one. Lines 3 and 4 were easy walks. Three instructors were absolutely fantastic. I personally think they all deserve raises! Anyway, I had a great time and will definitely recommend this place to my other running friends before the weekends over!

Zip-line : The staff were awesome. If I remember correctly it was Hannah & Garret.. I am not sure honestly. They were amazing and definitely deserve a raise. When we first began our adventure, a member of someone's group was removed because they were highly intoxicated. I was thankful for it because the man made my group uncomfortable. I had zip-lined before from tree top to tree top so I expected it to be that way. It was NOT. I repeat it was NOT. I should first warn you that if you do not like roller coaster that have drops in them, this zip-lining is not for you. I myself do not like roller coaster like that so I was in for a rude awakening. So, the very first zip line was a short hike away from the entrance but it very steep. My only complaint about this hike is there was no time to catch your breath before getting on the zip line. Also, there was no water or drinks given. It was in the high 80s on the day we went. Anyhow, once you are on the line, they make you show them the moves you learned for flying. I liked the idea of it but I did not like that you had kinda hang over the side (you are harnessed in but it was still scary). The first line was pretty short so I did not really decide if I liked it or not. After your whole group goes you hike up to the second line. It's not a bad hike but it is kind of long. Once I got to the second zip-line, I knew that this zip-lining was not for me. Once they got me all hooked in, I could not make myself lift my legs to begin my descent down the line. I should have turned back then because once you get that far there is no turning back. So, I did the second line and HATED it. I hated to feel like I was falling and could not slow myself down. Well, I could not turn back. So, I did the last two lines and hated them just as much as the first two because of the drop feeling you get when coming down the line. Ski lift: After zip-lining we did the ski lift. I would like to give it 4 stars because the operator who was supposed to slow the lift down and give some kind of direction did not. When we walked up, we asked to get a squirt of his hand sanitizer bottle and he acted like an asshole about it. Then, when we went to get on the lift he didn't tell us nothing after showing him the ticket. He went back to reading his book. So, the process of getting on the lift was funny because it scooped us up at full speed and then we were laughing trying to figure how to get situated while we were getting lifted through the pulley system and bouncing around. The lift itself was a little questionable because there was a lot of creaking and squeaking noises throughout our journey around it. But, it was really long & relaxing. I would definitely say it was worth the money to ride. Also, the same man who was an asshole during the getting on process did not slow the lift or direct us on how to get off. We made a quick dash off while still going fast and almost fell because we were trying to use a wooden step thing & not get hit by the next chair. But, overall it was a great trip.

They don't even refund your money once you've been rescued from their broken chairlift

July 2018 did the zip line tour on all 4 zip lines. Short hike at the start and had a great time zip lining. Guides were very nice. Ended the tour with pizza which was the best. Dusty gravel drive up to Snowbowl.

I've got the Snowbowl Love, and here's why: * this the real deal: the frequent/addicted/passionate skiers' hill * rustic and comfortable * wide variety of runs, something for all skiers -intermediate to expert (beginners will probably be happier at Discovery, but learn more quickly at Snowbowl) * friendly lifties, staff and instructors * excellent food- they are known for their variety of great food and microbrews, Bloody Marys and wood-fired pizza. * reasonably-priced lift tickets * excellent ski programs * "Make friends, not lift lines." (Jon-Jon) is the attitude * great community- fun, friendly and courteous * professional, responsive and friendly ski patrol * 15 minutes from Missoula UPDATE 3/2016: we stayed at the hotel last night and can't wait to do it again! The rooms were modest but very clean and comfortable; the beds and linens are new and cozy. The kitchen is super convenient, although the restaurant was accommodating so we didn't need to cook. The hot tub was clean and hot; everything worked as expected; the bathrooms were clean; and the games and condiments in the kitchen were a nice touch. Everyone was super friendly and helpful...overall a very positive experience!

A group of 5 had made plans to try the zip lines at Sowbowl. Based on our group size and the time of day, as their recording said to leave a message. We left no less than 4 messages over the span of 3 days. Not once did a single employee bother to call us back to confirm that our requested time was okay. We did show up and they were wonderful to us. The experience was fun but a tad slow due to the group of nearly 20. Nothing special that I have to go back for more. Appreciate the staffs friendliness and safety.

My favorite ski place great terrain and the bar is awesome! Snow can sometimes be iffy but that's the challenge! Lifts definitely a combo downside and upside....limited uphill capacity means more powder turns all day! Unfortunately they seem pretty unreliable and break down more than the average bear....

Great Skiing, Terrible Customer Service in the Bar Go to school in Utah, but my family lives in Missoula. After skiing Snowbird, Brighton, Alta, and the like, Snowbowl is a great getaway from the crowds. Great terrain, nice views, and the temps weren't too bad either. The customer service at the bar, however, almost ruined our day. The Snowbowl Bar has some really tasty food, especially the pizza. You can't beat it. So, my friend (who brought some snacks in a cooler) and I got a pizza to split, and a pitcher of root beer. One of the employees passed by us eating some crackers and cheese while waiting for our pizza, politely mentioned that we weren't allowed to bring our own lunches. We told him that we ordered a pizza and some drinks and were just snacking. He gave us a little look, but told us to finish up quick. Frustrating, but it's the rules, so it was understandable. The woman who brought us our pizza, however, was a different story. First, she looks at our cooler, and tells my friend that he can't bring his own lunch. He understands, puts the box of crackers into his cooler. Doesn't touch the cooler or any of the food we brought for the rest of the time. After this, the woman, on multiple occasions while passing by, glared at us, looked at the cooler, and muttered under her breath "It's still accessible", "I can see that", and the like. Basically our entire lunch this woman was hovering over us while we were eating, waiting for us to open that cooler. The worst part is, though, when we left the bar, right as we walked out the door, the woman snarkily yells out to her co-worker "Hey, look, there goes Picnic Basket!". My friend was pissed. He goes to Snowbowl probably 10-15 times a year, maybe more. He told me he was so ticked off he might get a season pass to Lost Trail next year instead of Snwobowl. And I certainly will make sure to bring my own bag lunch and eat in the lodge instead of the bar next time I go, no matter how good the pizza.

I don't ski or snowboard but I did get married at Snowbowl a couple of summers ago and had a blast. My friends and I relaxed the next day with cocktails in hand, professional chairlifting through the late summer afternoon. I am writing this review because Snowbowl has the BEST Bloody Marys and brick-oven pizza in the Zoo...furthermore, the food at our wedding was exceptional. I highly recommend Snowbowl for ultimate summer enjoyment just minutes from downtown Missoula. One thing: I would stay away from the wings...they just aren't crispy enough; maybe if the cooks made them more crispy they would be delicious.

We went up to ride the summer lift and zipline and had the worst experience. We will never go back. After parking, there's no clear signs telling you where to go. We asked a nice looking girl where to go and she snidely pointed at a tiny faded sign. The man in the zipline office (which I believe is the owner) was incredibly impatient and rude. The only polite person on the zipline tour was one instructor, Hannah. The zipline was semi fun, but once is enough. Next we went on the lift, which seemed like forever to reach the top. My wife tripped and fell on the uneven ground and rocks getting off at the top. Incredibly unsafe. The guy running the lift at the top was very sympathetic and gave my wife a chair and water, even though it wasn't his fault. He and I talked about easy solutions to the uneven ground. Wood, concrete, hell even dig up the rocks and even it out. Anything! And finally, the restaurant and bar. The pizza man was charming and made us feel better with his pizza. Although the bartender was the rude young man from the zipline office. He delivered a pitcher of Bud light instead of blue moon. We told him the mistake, and he acted like it was a problem! We couldn't believe how incredibly conceited and rude he was. We paid for the pizza and left. Snowbowl has some potential because of its convenient location, but whatever management it's run under is terrible. We will never return, unless of course they get a new, ACTUAL manager in to train employees and fix that shipwreck. 1 star because 0 stars isn't an option.

I took my 8 year old son up for his first snowboarding lesson. The instructor "Stephon" was super impatient mean and totally unprofessional. He talked to him like he was an idiot and did not use any kind positive reinforcement. Never removing his goggles and making any kind of eye contact. He needed help with his bindings "Stephon" saw him trying and lost his cool and slapped his hand away. I was horrified. I spoke with the people in charge and got a refund but what I really wanted was him to be fired. Beware of Stephon and if he's still there it says something for the whole establishment.

Great place to ski, the access road was improved this year so it's a little bit less death defying to get up on powder days. most of snowbowl is not for new skiers though, but if you like challenging expert terrain snowbowl is a great ski area. only two lifts so if you want to get to some of the further our terrain make sure you've got a fresh coat of wax on your skis, otherwise it can be a bit of work.

I wasn't allowed on the zipline tour because of my weight. That's fine, but my group should have been refunded. The weight requirement is barely featured on the website, and not at all featured on the waiver--the employees at Snowbowl even admitted they've been trying to convince their boss to make it more prominent. (I can promise you that their policy of not giving refunds is a lot more prominently featured.) The best the boss (I think it was Nick?) could say was that they couldn't up the weight maximum without increasing the minimum too, which I guess would interfere with all the 60-pounders trying to ride. So thanks for ruining our Friday afternoon, and I especially enjoy being called out for being a fatass in front of all your customers.

This is a review for the zip line tour which has only been in operation for three years. We've only been on a zip line at big sky so not a lot to compare it to, but we definitely had a great time at Snowbowl. Andy who runs the zip line program is very professional, friendly and definitely enjoys his work. Reservations are easy to make online and email confirmation provided easy directions from Missoula to the mountain. The guides definitely enjoy their work as well and were professional, encouraging and got us going quickly. The zip line allows you to go two at a time, so it is a lot of fun to go with a friend or a party. The landing platforms are also nicely designed with counterbalance spring stops which make coming into the landing smoother and more comfortable than the lines at Big Sky. One of the neat things about snowbowl is that you only have to hike up one short quarter of a mile hike and you get three long rides with one short introductory line. Definitely a great time and well worth the $39 for cost. Also definitely recommend stopping in at the bar afterwords as the deck is beautiful, relaxing, and the drinks are affordable. Definitely a great way to spend the day with the family in Montana.

At the end of a long and winding dirt road (usually covered in snow) lies one of most authentic (rustic) and fun ski areas I have ever been too. The mountain consists of 2 lifts, one to the 3/4 way mark and then one to the top. The weather up here can get ridiculous when a storm moves in and is not recommend in extreme cold. The view of the Valley is amazing as is the view of the Bitteroot Range, Mission Range and other less know Rockies Mountain Peak. If you want to get a little extra in, ski off the back and hike up to the "Death Star" for super fresh tracks. The lodge at the bottom is semi-new and serves great food. Careful on the way home as "Bartenders Bend" has claimed more than a few cars in its day.

Love this place. Can't beat a 25 minute drive from south Missoula. Nice tree runs. Only downside for some folks is the poor facilities, but I don't mind. My whole family loves it there

My husband really enjoys their mountain biking trails in the summer and the skiing trails in the winter. Their chair lifts commonly break down, leaving riders stuck for long periods of time. They need to be upgraded. Their food is delicious. I'm a big fan of their pizza and hummus. Full bar is available. I have had several friends do their zipline and all had a great experience. The road can be sketchy to drive but a shuttle service is available.

This review is for the new zip lines. for comparison I have been on a number of these throughout the western hemisphere. I think whoever taught the workers may have been overly cautious, but while the lines where fun and nice and long and high, you can not enjoy the ride. on all others we've been on, the instructions were similar in going fast or slowing down, you were able to what you wished. on these you had to watch the landing crew and go into high drag mode when the signaled you hence not being able to enjoy the views or speed at your leisure. the stopping system was identical to others we have experienced but could land at any speed. also the hike to the second line is grueling. other places have had some kind of transport up the hill like a surplus military transport or the like. the price point is correct for what you get with the exception of the lack of transport. the pizza was good but needs more sauce.