Pretty sweet first visit to sky Tavern, during the summertime. Trails are pretty well taken care of, but damn is the soil loose here. Gotta be careful toward the top because some of it is soo loose and so deep that you get stuck like you're on the beach. Overall, still was pretty freaking sweet, especially for being free... can't beat that. Wife and I went on E bikes so the climb was really no problem, we ended up going up four times, and even took the trail all the way to Tamarack lake, which was super fun. There's lots of different options for terrain and size, some of which is a little nutty... I just wish when we went the lodge was open! Maybe it has special hours or it's only open certain days, not sure I would love to find out. If I find out, I'll update my review! read more

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Quality/Quantity - Small family friendly mountain. With two chair lifts and a "magic carpet." Winter - To use the mountain you have to be a member and volunteer (2 hours a day). See website. Atmosphere - Winter - Open weekends only, weather permitting. Kid friendly. Sky Tavern can also be rented year round. Safety, kid safety - Cut and pasted from their website, "EVERYONE HAS A BADGE AT SKY TAVERN. Wear your badge when at Sky Tavern, please! It is how we know who belongs. If you bring a visitor, please go to the front desk and get a visitor pass. If you forget your badge, go to the front desk and get a temporary one. Everyone on the hill MUST be registered. If you see someone that you don't think belongs, ask them or ask a ? person to ask them. It is all about kid safety." Service - Amazing affordable programs: Learn to ski and snowboard. Adaptive program - Copy and pasted from their website "Enabling all participants -- regardless of disability-- to get outside and enjoy the snow is our #1 goal." Freestyle ski and snowboard program. Ski race programs. Etc, see website. Summer Bike programs, see website. Price - See website. Affordable. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 1937 and opening Sky Tavern in 1944. 1953 - Sky Tavern becomes part of the City of Reno Recreation and Parks Department. 1968 - City of Reno buys Sky Tavern. 1993 - Non profit status, IRS 501(c)(3). 1994 - Sky Ridge chair lift. 2001 - America chair lift. read more

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Our friends recommended we check out "Sky Tavern" to get our 4 year old comfortable on skis. We signed up for the 2024 Ski Season and truly loved our experience. There are so many great things going for Sky Tavern! 1) Your child learns from other parents/teachers. They listen better that way. 2) You get weekly* lessons for 8 weeks. You can come Saturday or Sundays or both! *Weather dependent. 3) It is a perfect learning hill. Especially for kiddos who are really just getting their ski legs. Although, I will say we saw some kids who were very skilled and they made good use of the mountain too! 4) The community is unmatched. Everyone on the hill is local, attends each weekend (for the most part), and is invested in your child's growth and success in skiing/snowboarding. 5) It is much more affordable than lessons or a season pass at any other local hill. Keep in mind, parents need to volunteer 2 hours each day their child is in lessons. But honestly, that is how you get to know people and feel a part of the community. There are many ways to volunteer from teaching skills, cafeteria, parking lot, etc. If your kid is interested in skiing and will hang in there during lessons, they will grow a ton through this program. We are big fans. Kinda want to keep this secret to ourselves but that just wouldn't be fair. read more

There should never be a negative review about Sky Tavern. Ever. There's no where else in the world where you can experience skiing at this price and with this familial experience. Sky is a place kids can come learn the skills and magic of the mountain. Yes, things can be chaotic, many on the mountain have no clue what it going on and the runs are short and few but this program and hill has radically improved my family's lives. If someone is down on the mountain, everyone who passes by makes sure they are okay. Everyone is a teacher, student, and team player. Thank you so much ST for teaching my kids how to enjoy winter! read more

We love Sky Tavern! It has been a wonderfully affordable means of getting my kids on the mountain and learning a winter sport. My kids don't necessarily love getting up early on a Sunday, but they do love skiing! I love the community feel of the organization. My husband and I are happy to volunteer in order for us to be able to afford getting weekly lessons for our kids. read more

very rude staff. poor communication on rentals. instructors made my kid who was very excited to learn to ski decide he never wants to ski again. read more

We have been part of the Sky Kids program for 4 years now, all 3 of my kids have participated and have excelled in it. There is no other program like sky kids anywhere! I love the leveled cards that show me (as a parent) what they should be working on in order to get punched up to the next level. We already can't wait for next year! read more

We were just looking for a hill to sled down and came upon sky tavern. Just about 15-20 min from south Reno up my rose hwy, sits Sky Tavern, a not for profit organization that runs this small ski lift and shop on the weekend for local kids who want to learn how to snowboard and ski. I haven't experienced that, but on the week day we went, it's closed and many people just use the hill as a sledding hill. The snow was pretty packed and there is a tree line close to the bottom of the hill, but there were some good runs and if you don't mind hiking half way up the hill, you can catch some great speed on the way down. Seen as it isn't open (that I could tell) and the lift is running, there is no cost. You just have to be willing to hike up and down and get out of peoples way when they come barrelling down. From what I noticed, it was mostly families with younger kids, but us two adults and a teenager had a blast too! Bring your own sled and some water to stay hydrated and have a go at it! read more

Sky Tavern - One side of the hill - Recreation Centers Near Me - Reno, Nevada

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Our first season at Sky tavern. What a great program. In the beginning of the season you buy passes and are required to volunteer 2hours per day. Everyone is a volunteer that makes the program successful. Our tiny dancer had a tremendous time learning to ski and built so much confidence in one season. Already bought our passes for next year!! read more

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There's a lot to be said here so bear with me. Sky tavern is a non profit ski resort for kids. When I signed my partner's kids up as their xmas present this year we didn't know what to expect. I'll start with the bad part which is minimal. You have to volunteer as a parent since the resort is volunteer based. Volunteering itself is not so bad, but dealing with angry, late parents is bad. This is not however any fault of sky tavern but of people who are just downright rude and have no manners., Ok so the good parts! The cost we paid was $155 per kid for ski lessons for the kids every week for 10 weeks. Just in case you haven't seen ski prices lately this is more than a bargain price. You could not get group lessons for your children at a regular resort for anywhere near this great price and for so many weeks. You as the parent also have to buy a pass, but again where on earth can you get such a good deal!!! Not to mention there are also included adult lessons. I took an adult lesson and already my form has improved! If you can't afford that price, I have heard there are other forms of financial aid available to get into the lessons for those who qualify. So there are a million kids everywhere, at first it's chaotic but it seems to work somehow. Other additional bonus items include, if you can't drive your kids there, there is an option for them to take a bus. There is a hot lunch available on site. You can chose to go on Saturday or Sundays. And the ski/snow board instructors are great. We've already had to visit ski patrol and had 1 injury but the personnel were all wonderful while dealing with us and the unsmiling injured! The amount of people helping who don't have kids in the program is overwhelming. Need a helmet, boots, skis, forgot something, there is by some means a way to accommodate you. Personally I can ski but barely as someone who didn't learn until adulthood, I'm so glad there's this option for the kids to learn young when they are sponges. I've also always had a feeling of elitism when being around skiing before which made me uncomfortable and I've had such a positive experience at Sky Tavern I enjoy it more now and am so thankful this option exists for the kids. They both love it! Did I mention the views from the runs are stunning. It's a beautiful resort to top it all off. read more

If you're looking for an affordable and awesome program to teach your little one (or bigger ones) how to ski, this is absolutely top notch. We were excited that it's run entirely from volunteers and runs a bit like a co-op. Everyone who pays to be in the program also has to put in the time as an instructor, on the BBQ, emptying the trash, etc. With everyone helping out, everyone works as a team and gets the machine running and the kids skiing. My husband and son are part. My husband teaches other students to ski (in the Sky Kids program for ages 3-5) while my 5yo son is taught by another instructor (parent). They are motivated by special gold hot chocolate coins, lots of high fives and gummy fruit snacks. There are obstacles setup, areas for the kids to learn and checklists they must master to move up a level. They start on the level 1 hill and work their way up to the level 2 hill (tow rope), then the level 3 (j bar) and finally higher and higher to get on that chair lift. The runs are no joke! It's an 8-week program (based on funding). The primary goal is for kids to learn to ski, safely. While it's tricky when weather is a stinker, the program itself feels more like a family run show because we're all in it together. There's a DJ and affordable food for purchase and even a program for kids older than 5 that can take the bus on up the mountain for lessons. We're proud to be part of the program this year and if we weren't moving to the hot state of AZ, we'd be coming back year after year. We highly recommend this great place and are so pleased that we found the hidden gem in Reno (especially on the year they have more snow than ever!). read more

This was a wonderful place to sled for the kiddos except today a skier came through right where kids were sledding. He almost hit my 3-year-old head on jumping over me on the hill coming inches from my little one. If anyone knows of video cameras here, I'm interested to have that footage. If we find out who this was, we'd sue for endangerment. All of those precious lives on the hill and someone comes through and almost killed multiple children. Sky Tavern needs to head the skiers off at the top or they are really risking major head injuries for kids. To any skiers that think it's okay to ski right over little kids, you belong in jail. read more

Best place to get your kid ski or board lessons. Volunteer operated. Great hill. No lines when the lessons are over.