3.5 rounding up to 4 stars... I have skied in New York, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho, so how does Mt Crescent (opened in 1961!!) compare you may ask? Not even close, LOL, but that's not the point here. We in and around Omaha live in the Great Plains. There simply is no skiing or snowboarding anywhere close by, and for years my snowboard was collecting dust. Last year we decided it was time for our daughter to take some skiing lessons and brought her out to Mt Crescent, which for us in North Omaha, means a quick drive into Iowa across the Mormon Bridge. So yes the place is incredibly small, with basically 2-3 runs and two lifts. They make and groom their own snow so don't expect a lot of fresh powder here. But I have to say, I actually have fun skiing here with my daughter, and because of this little place in Iowa, she has learned to ski and is really enjoying it. They offer lessons (with discounted/free season passes to go along with it), and you can rent all your gear there if you don't have your own. They also offer tubing and sledding (with b-day party options for those). They recently put in a really long zip-line as well. I haven't tried it, but it runs the entire length of the hill, so it looks like fun! The 'lodge' is one big two story building, with ticketing and food on the main floor, and the ski rental portion on the lower level. Real basic food options here, think basic fried bar food. They do offer beer as well, but your basic non-craft styles, along with limited wine and cocktails. Overall this place isn't the biggest, the best, or the cheapest, but it is definitely a fun place to go and get outside during the winter. Get some practice in here and have some fun, then plan your trips to Colorado! read more

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I had the best time during a weeknight of skiing at Mt Crescent! Even during a warm winter, they made the best of it with snow making and I had a delightful time. I definitely plan to come back! read more

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My husband and I really enjoy coming to crescent for their Midnight madness events. Fun crowd, warm lodge with pretty decent food. Rental lines can get long, but that's why you own your equipment! read more

Mt Crescent Ski Area - Ski Resorts Near Me - Honey Creek, Iowa

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They are barely open and no Christmas/Christmas eve riding. again... but when your able to make it alittle skiing is better then no skiing. The place has potential but all they care about is profits it seems read more

I'm only rating the food here as everyone's snow-sport experience varies on a lot of things. The staff seemed helpful and nice on the activity side and the food side. The food was well below leftover gas station quality. The flavors, when present, were very off putting and it takes an absurd amount of time to get the simplest things off the menu except a drink. read more

Surprising that nobody has reviewed Mt. Crescent yet... this infamous Iowa ski area looms about 15 minutes northwest of Omaha in the Loess Hills. I'm not sure what criteria you need to call yourself Mt, but as you can imagine it's no Colorado. That being said, for someone who's never skied or snowboarded before, it's about 300 ft of vertical elevation change, and that's plenty large to scare the pants off you when you're careening down the hills on a freshly waxed board on fresh snow. So, with that in mind, it's definitely a good place for beginners. Mornings are less crowded, though you'll have more of the 'regulars' and less of the bumbling learners... I'll let you decide which of those I was. There are two different lifts for access to a variety of slopes (check out the trail map here: http://www.skicrescent.com/Trail_Map.php). They also offer full rental services for whatever kind of setup you might want. Expect a lift ticket and rental to set you back around $65/person for adults. I managed to snag some groupons for the lift tickets to ease the pain a little, but if you're willing to commit to the price, make it worth your while and stay for half a day or more. More pricing info is avaiable on their website... make sure you bring quarters for the lockers as well. The 'lodge' isn't really anything special, and understandability they have some moisture issues what with all the snow that gets tracked in. The whole place had a dank, musty feel to it, despite the 'recently renovated' status toted on the Mt Crescent website. Still, for what it is, it's pretty impressive all things considered. read more

I'm a firm believer that some skiing is better than no skiing. This is a fun little place for affordable prices if you just wanna get your legs back how do you before the big trip? read more

We didn't ski. I went to zip line! Called ahead, booked one run and got more after we got there. I had never done it before and had a blast. Every single person working was a pleasant person. We even met the owner skiing our last run of the day. It was a fun day ride from Des Moines if you have never done it. The fall colors were lots of fun to see from the to of the hill. It was busy but they got our extra friends in too. Good job. Thanks for making my first time awesome. read more

Mt Crescent Ski Area - View from the top - Ski Resorts Near Me - Honey Creek, Iowa

Not a skiing review...My kids went zip lining at Mt. Crescent, what a fun experience! The instructors were great, I felt all the appropriate safety precautions were taken. The prices are reasonable compared with other ziplock e companies out of state, but watch for a groupon to make it more affordable. It was a great time - definitely recommend! read more

Mt Crescent Ski Area - Ski Resorts Near Me - Honey Creek, Iowa

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We were wanting a place to go snowboarding that was decently close to Des Moines and large enough to actually get our money's worth. We had heard about Mt. Crescent from a business contact who also snowboards and said it was decent. We decided to give it a try on a Saturday in February. There was 9 runs with two lifts, a tubing area, a small chateau with resonably priced food, a small fire pit area and a couple of small parking lots. For the southern Midwest area, it didn't seem too bad. The snow was on the icy side since the falling snow was fairly wet and the lift loading and unloading areas for the lifts became very slick as the day went on. Due to the ice at these two spots, it got rather dangerous. At one point, we were getting ready to exit the lift when we saw a small boy had fallen down in the middle of the unloading area. Instead of stopping the lift, the operator went out to get the boy. This caused us to have to act quickly and go around them. Well, that did not quite work and I ended up smacking the operator in the head with my board because of how slick it had gotten. Then the next lift came and it just got worse. We kept saying "stop the lift" but the operator seemed to not care. We finally got to spots to strap in and saw it all replay again. Again, a young child fell off the lift and the operator went to them instead of shutting off the lift. The lady in the next chair was forced to stay on the lift and this caused the lift to finally stop. We watched her struggle off the lift again while the operator did not seem to care. Other safety concerns here: -Sign the waver and basically, they do not care about your safety. A waiver shouldn't be an excuse to dismiss areas where safety could be of higher concern. -Some people were riding the rental boards down the hill like sleds, completely unstrapped (the rental boards didn't even have leashes intalled). Needless to say the riders fell off and boards continued down the runs uncontrolled. Where were the ski patrol to take action on this? -Where the lift lines are positioned are in a prime area to have people coming down the hill crash into them. Again, no ski patrol to be found that could possibly discipline the person for being totally out of control and taking out unsuspecting people waiting in line Overall, not a bad location but I am not willing to pay the money for a chance of being severly injured! read more

My expectations from the onset were low for this place......and yet they still weren't low enough. I will preface this review with the fact that I was not expecting amazing slopes. Let's be real here....we're in NEBRASKA. With that said, this place is still absolutely horrible. First, their terrain map is VERY misleading. Online (and at Mt. Crescent itself), the terrain maps advertise as having 6-7 runs. Both times we came only 2 were open, and it wasn't as though we came during the beginning or the end of the season. We came at the end of January and in the middle of February. Apparently the only times all of their runs are open are when there is a ton of snow on the ground. In addition to only having 2 runs open, the second time we came they only had one lift open (on a SUNDAY!). This lift might be the worst lift in the world on top if it all. It takes over 5 minutes to get from the bottom to the top and the hill ISN'T EVEN THAT BIG! Basically, you spend about 75% of your time on the lift and 25% of your time skiing, which is VERY frustrating. Given how terrible this place is, you would expect cheaper prices. With the Groupon, we still paid about $24 a lift ticket, which is extremely overpriced for a place that only has 1-2 lifts and 2 runs. That is the last time my desperate need to ski overpowers my reasoning abilities. The high reviews for this place seem to be related to sledding and zip lining so MAYBE this place is worth checking out for the sledding or zip lining. However, if you are looking to ski or snowboard, I highly recommend you STAY AWAY. read more

So so so disappointed! I NEVER write reviews for ski areas because it is the Midwest and your expectations should be low...but...shame on you guys! We traveled 5 hours with our whole family, paid full price , and only took 2 runs because you had 2 open- and they were almost the worst conditions we have ever skied ! It is mid- January and you have snow making- USE IT!!! There was more natural snow in the parking lot than on your hill! Over 1/2 the runs were closed - which we get- but at least focus your efforts on the 2 you have open. If you are going to charge us almost $200 to ski, then spend some of that money on pumping water out of your pond and making snow at night ( it has been cold enough). Sorry to be so negative in tough times , but at least make the main run skiable- the snow was so thin and we had dirt spots to go through for the lift- unacceptable! We have been to multiple little ski areas this year and if they are limited- they at least make one main run decent! read more

Definitely not a good place to go sledding!! For the two hour time span, we were able to go down three times. Their advertisement "best sledding run ever" only allows one person to go down at a time and was at least 30secs long. Going down was pretty fun, but waiting for that long and going down three times wasnt worth $50 for 2 people. read more

I was registered for a 5K that got merged with a Mount Crescent run. Despite moving the date by three weeks, they refused to refund participants that couldn't do the new date. Very unethical. Stay away from these cheats! read more

The artificial snow was just about as artificial as the wax you put on the snowboards. Only one of the ski lifts were open and the dumb people sledding took up half the ski lift. Then don't even get me started about the service outside "take your board off and walk down the hill". If I ever hear that shit again I'm taking it to the board. Have a nice winter. I recommend to take ur anger out on the sign at the entrance! read more

Do not fall for their annual Ski promotion. You can always find better saving on Groupon. I have fall for it once and the ticket have expired and now i am out 70 bucks. This company is a scam. Once you buy the ticket, you cannot return it. The management is a total scam. read more

People are good. Clubhouse and facilities are past being weathered. When the foods burn something, whole place stinks, walls and floors and lockers and ski racks and lifts are just need investment to make it more presentable and lijesble., read more

The parking lot is beyond treacherous. Numerous vehicle accidents and people falling like crazy trying to get across to the lodge. If you can take a a shuttle by all means but, I would lower my deductible if you plan to drive yourself. Last Sunday was 3-4 ' of unplowed snow on top of a solid sheet of ice. They were directing people to park on the side of a hill which, cause vehicles to slam into one another and/or get stuck- simply crazy and comply unnecessary. My $40 lift ticket turned into a $540 day! That plus long waits due to lift being broke, hassling to get a right and left boot that were the same size and a forever wait to get my grandson a lesson. Not sure what has happened to this place - years ago it wasn't this bad. They are definitely not putting any money back into the operation and don't seam to care about their customers. John L. from Nebraska Severely disappointed - read more

Had a great first time snowboarding. My initial snow board wasn't riding how it should so they waxed it for me and buffed it-still not sliding at all. They did eventually get me a new board and that worked perfectly! Bummer that you have to waste almost an hour for a decent board rental though. Runs were perfect for beginners and advanced boarders alike and the lodge was a nice place to relax and warm up! read more

For the size and location of the area, these folks sure know how to let us have a good time. It's nice to just ride right up to the door and go get a hot meal when is -15°F with the windchill. As the Terminator says, I'll be back. read more

Great family place. Ask for Katie. She is a snowboard instructor. Fabulous!!! read more

Awesome family friendly place to learn snow sports! Reasonably priced and close to the Omaha metro.

Today my friend and me ask a personal tutor here including the tax we need to pay more than $180 for two hours. This price could be accepted. BUT! The tutor named Jordan is very unprofessional!! The class the need to begin at 1:30, and he came at 1:45 and left and 3:25!!! Never the less during the practice time he took a 20 minutes break wiz us and ate his lunch. Last but not the least during the exercise time he not focus on teaching but like chat wiz other people nearby him! I really don't like people who are not punctual and slovenly! BAD EXPERIENCE! read more

Sooooo much fun!! We didn't ski, we sled!! It was so much fun! You latch on and it takes you up the hill. Soooo much run! And you fly down the hill!!! read more

All of the reviews are pretty accurate. It is obviously no colorado but if you want to practice before you drive 9 or more hours to real mountains, this is a great spot. Runs are short- lasting about 2 to 4 minutes max with about a 4 minute lift. The lodge could be nicer but nothing to complain about. Food prices are on the high end ($7-$10 to eat) but could be worse. Lift tickets are about $39 there and can be as low as $22 if purchased ahead of time. Sure equipment is somewhat expensive to rent, but it cannot be super cheap to produce the fake snow. The blue routes are probably closer to the greens at a true ski resort. This place is far from perfect but with a 20 minute drive from Hoemaha, there is not too much to complain about. read more

These guys were great for me they really came through I'd come to go skiing with some old skis that had sitting around for like 20 years I had no boots so I rented some I went down the hill probably five times and one of my skis had broke I went down to the lodge talk to them they could not help me with my ski but in return since I hadRented the boots they let me borrow some skis for free I had a great time for the rest of the day and did not have to waste the past that I had bought thank you very much Mt. Crescent you guys really came through I shall be back this weekend. The resort is what it is you have to realize that you are in the Midwest so if we do get a lot of snow get your butt out there and have a good time if it's cold out there making snow when it snows expect people to be out there tearing it up and expect the Lifes to be running don't expect miracles from this place but do you know that it is a great resort to go to to have fun and enjoy life right now especially during Covid read more

Came out for ziplining after having spent many winters skiing here. Instructors were polite yet thorough and made sure we understood what was expected for ziplining safely. Had lots of fun!! Was a long zipline compared to others I have done elsewhere. Highly recommend you try it. Get the multi zipline tix. Once you go the first time, your fears subside enough that you want to do it again. read more

I was visiting my sister pre-holiday season from California and we decided to head outdoors and play in the snow. She had heard of a ski area close to Omaha so we headed to Mt Crescent to try skiing for the first time, yikes.....For it being my first time on two small pieces of wood I was pleasantly surprised. The ski area had a rustic homey feel, the staff was friendly and our instructor Chris Brown made learning a new sport fun. It was a perfect place to start! Thanks!! read more

We visited relatives over the holiday and purchased Groupon for 3 people to ski Jan 1 2015. I was surprised to learn one run was open. The crowds picked up and the open run was choppy and not enjoyable due to various levels of ski/snowboarders. I complained to manager for safety reasons and was told the web site mentions "limited terrain". I asked what does this translate in regards to number of open runs. The manager said "this is Iowa and there is no other place to go." She would pass my comments to the owners. To be fair, I think if they have 1 out of 5 runs open, the lift ticket should be 1/5 the price instead of full price. They said a few other people made similar comments. Next, the food is overpriced and plan on spending 4 dollars for sodas. I asked for tap water but was told they could not fill the cup due to health reasons and had to walk downstairs with ski boots. The have kitchen sink with running water but was not willing to fill the cup and hand it back. I understand small business and making profit during a short season but let's be reasonable and inform customers properly. I would recommend calling ahead and explicitly ask number of runs open and conditions. Do no trust the web cam. read more

We had an awesome time! The staff was so friendly and helpful! It was the kids 9 and 11 first time downhill skiing and the ski lift was so easy to use. The speed trap was challenging and fun for all of us! read more

Fun time! Helpful staff - great for youth groups, beginners, anyone who wants to ski without traveling to the mountains!

Mt. Crescent is the best option around for Midwest Skiing. A great place to learn and family oriented. Owners are nice people and Ski Patrol is readily available and literally a minute away for injuries anywhere on the hill. Runs are groomed well and snow is made as often as possible all winter long as long as mother nature cooperates with temperature. Pricing is VERY affordable during the week. Weekends are more pricey, but for an all day event/ activity, it's worth it. Try Mt. Crescent out and support your local ski hill! read more

Had a great experience zip lining today. The staff was great and so helpful. Only complaint was not being able to do the online reservation for our Groupon. But, thankfully when we showed up they let us use our Groupon anyway. Can't wait to go again next year. read more

Mt Crescent is an awesome place to ski considering that you are in Iowa. Sure it's not a huge mountain like Colorado, but it's a quality establishment with great staff and fair prices. My kids learned to ski there this winter. They took a lesson with an instructor who was SUPER patient. Now my kids are going down the slopes with no problems. Next year I'll take them back to learn to snowboard. They have 2 lifts with a half dozen different paths to take down. Plus they do tubing and zbob which is some kind of sledding. The current ownership has done a great job with the place. Great for someone learning to ski, or brushing up on skills, or taking the family on a cheap fun ski outing. I highly recommend them. read more

Still wish I could give zero stars. It is now over a month later and they keep promising to give my $256 back, but I haven't seen it yet.

Did some research on snowboarding near omaha since i was going to be in town. Wish i did better research. I decided to fly my snowboard in this past weekend from california to omaha wasting $25 on check in baggage. their midnight madness turned out to be a disaster. I prepurchased my ski ticket, wish i hadnt because i would have left once i saw the 10 second long slope down a hill... i couldn't believe how short the slope was. I even had to wait in a long line even with presale in order to get a wristband. The other lift was closed and other small trails closed as well. Only 1 out of 2 lifts opened... overheard other patrons complaining about the other lift closed that was guaranteed to be open. I felt extremely ripped off. I left after 3 runs or so. Spent and hour there and majority of my time were in lines from ticket booth and on to the lift. Do not come here. You will regret it. Guess i should have done more research and stuck to boarding in more well known destinations. read more

this place is great! i loved sledding, and the cheese fries were supreme :)) plus the employees are nice too! definitely visiting again!

I cannot say enough about Mt. Crescent..Our 8 year old daughter started lessons out there 3 years ago and looks forward to winter each year so she can go back to the ski hill. Their staff is so professional, compassionate and extremely knowledgeable. They made sure safety came first. Our 5 year old daughter has done the Little Shredders Program which is AWESOME!!! After her first program that day my husband took her down the ski hill and she was able to ski it all by herself.. I took a private lesson myself and was thrilled with my instructor. He made sure I understood everything and made it his mission to get me comfortable in skis and skiing. Mt. Crescent makes winter bearable for us. We enjoy going out there as a family and having lots of fun..They have great food, the lodge is clean and the staff is always looking to help you.. Thanks to Mt. Crescent we get out and enjoy the winter season in the midwest! read more

Taught my kids to ski in a day. The long hours on Saturday allowed me to have my daughter off snow plowing by the time we left. Only 3 runs open but was perfect for the beginners. This was expected as it's march in Iowa. Going to be 70+ tomorrow. Now we can go to colorado, New Mexico or Wyoming next year and we won't have to waste money and time learning and can ski together right from the start. We will return next year for a refresher. My kids will also be back with a school group next year as well. It appears they have 7 or 8 runs so will probably come back when they are all open. There quick runs but also quick trips back up. You're skiing in Iowa so if you expect mountain skiing you really have no common sense. Had a great day with my kids and am really happy we have this option to ski locally. My only complaint with this place is the answering of their phone. Could do a much better job at that. read more

I went to Mt Crescent and was VERY SURPRISED at how cool this little ski area is. The Snow was in great shape, I have skied all over the world and I cant believe that something like this ski area is located in the middle of the USA. Yea it is not Colorado, Utah or Europe but it is IOWA, so you have to remember where you are. The snow conditions were excellent the day I was there and the food is very good for a ski area, actually it is really good. They had some fun runs and the kids that were skiing and snowboarding were having a blast, I did not see one kid without a smile on his/her face. I got there about noon and we all skied until 8pm, it was really fun skiing with the lights on. The kids and I chased each other around for hours. Only complaint I have is they did not have a race course set up, odd considering the owner is a Pro ski racer, and Olympian. We are getting season passes next year unless my company sends me to a new office again?? Cheers to Mt Crescent Ski Area. read more