This is a fun place for the kids to try out skiing for the first time…read more
I brought my family to Terry Peak to learn how to ski. I grew up skiing, but my Florida babies hadn't seen snow until this vacation.
There's a sweet little ski school that introduces kids to skiing. They get a two hour lesson with other kids, and by the end of it, most kids can safely ski down the bunny slope for the rest of the day. Sometimes they do take the kids on the chairlifts within those two hours, but on the day my kids took the class, they stuck to the magic carpet. Not a problem. Both kids enjoyed their lesson enough that they were up to trying the chairlift with me, and we hopped on, and the staff was kind enough to slow down the chairs to let us get on awkwardly and then to stop the lift when my son fell off when he dismounted.
Everyone is super friendly. The instructors were really nice and great at communicating with the parents. The people running the rental area were very understanding when my daughter lost her ski in the powder.
The resort is small enough that I was comfortable letting my kids go off with their ski school friends to ski the rest of the afternoon.
The kids' green ski lesson package included a beginner's pass that allowed them access to the Stewart lift, so they could go down a couple green circle runs, which was enough for my daughter.
The next day, I signed my son up for the Blue ski lesson package. On that day, it was just him and another kid who had also been in the beginner class the day before. The instructor took them to the top of the mountain, and by the end of the 2 hours, my son felt comfortable going down the easier blue squares. Both of my kids are now excited to plan more ski vacations. Terry Peak is probably too small for more experienced skiers to stay amused for long, but for a two day intro to skiing for my kids, it was perfect.
We were there for spring break, and it happened to snow for the three days before we arrived, so the mountain was "busy." The lines to buy tickets and get fitted for rental gear were long and slow. But once you are all set up, the resort itself was fantastic. The lines for the chairlifts moved quickly, none of the 30=60 minute waits that I remember from skiing in Tahoe as a kid. The Stewart Lodge Cafe was a very fast place to grab a quick meal. They just serve pizza, hot dogs, burgers, chicken tenders, corn dogs, and chili. There's also a bar on one side that allows kids to sit at the tables but does not allow outside food. I heard that the other lodge has a better menu, but we never made it down there.
There's a decent amount of free parking. We took a taxi from Deadwood (cost $35-40 each way) rather than try the icy and unfamiliar roads in a rental.