Butternut Ski Area and Tubing Center — Attraction in Great Barrington

I hadn't skied in decades, and was looking for a nice place on the way from NY to Boston to try again, with teen in tow who wanted to learn snowboarding. This ski area was still open, and got good reviews, so we tried it.

I have to say: this was a weekday morning -- I'm sure it would be much more crowded, and thus maybe a bit less pleasant, on a weekend.

Very nice! The snow (machine-made, I'm sure) was a little crusty due to the warm weather, but good enough for beginners. They have a nice bunny slope with a magic carpet AND a mini-chair lift for (re)learning. And everything is VERY organized and friendly. Group lessons 2 or 3 times a day. We got in on the morning one, and I ended up with a private lesson because there were so few people. 1 hour with Roger who was very patient and clear. Good $75 deal for group lesson + lift ticket + skis and boots rental. Helmet (definitely take one!) was a few bucks extra. As a kid I only got as far as snowplowing, but here, with a nice instructor, a short lift and slope, and 140 cm (short) skis, I was parallel turning already!

Then I asked the snowboard instructor to describe the easiest (blue) trail on the main hill, he did, and I took the real chairlift up, and skied down once. The last part -- "cruiser" was actually pretty steep, and very windy, but the control I learned in 1 hour of lessons was enough to get me down safely.

Meanwhile, my athletic teen, who had never skiied, was able to stay up on snowboard after an hour's lesson. That was also a group lesson that ended up being just 2 people.

Again, that was a weekday.

Oh -- and the old guy running the short hill chairlift -- also VERY helpful with newbies. My first time he even stopped the lift for a moment so I could learn to get on right the first time. And guided me a few times more until I got the hang of it.

All in all, while I doubt this hill is any challenge for experienced skiers, it's great for beginners...

Now that I've been in the area and actively ski (or rather snowboard) most winter weekends for the last three years, I can easily recommend Ski Butternut as a great local ski area. Their ski school is excellent; they're a Burton Learning Center, but the steal is the afternoon Saturday 7 week learning program. As of 2020, it cost only $260 for 7 week, 2 hour long group lessons on Saturday afternoons. It took me from zero to doing blues the first time I completed the multi week program. I learned to ride as an adult and didn't want to keep falling and learning on my own. It was really easy with them showing me what to do. I liked it so much I took it again (after skipping a year to practice) to learn more advanced stuff like carves and getting enough speed and control to enjoy black diamonds. Season passes are only $299 with advanced purchase. Weekday passes are as low as $25!! Keep your expectations reasonable as they're only a 1000 feet vertical drop. They're not Vale and don't pretend to be more than they are. However, they are friendly, courteous and eager to have you enjoy your time on the snow. No night skiing, they do have several lanes for snow tubing and the grooming is excellent. They have snow making on almost all their trails. Their website is well kept up with condition reports. Their lodge is reasonable and provides limited locker, food, snow gear. Close enough to NYC and CT for a day trip to enjoy the snow. Let me finish by stating that when I was the only one at the group lesson for adult Saturday program, they didn't put me in with kids or try to lump me in with people who are very different skill level. Rather, they had me one on one (probably not the most profitable solution for them) and they did what was best for me to learn. I was so impressed with my progress, I told my friends who all loved the program when they did it and we are all season...

In our experience Ski Butternut is a great place for families. The season passes are very affordable and the lift lines are rarely or of control. They generally have someone working at the main lift to ensure skiers in each line feeding the lift move asking equally. Occasionally some folks are not paying attention or are outright rude about the lines but most people we have encountered are polite and we haven't had issues.

Ski Butternut has a variety of slopes and most fall into the "green" and "blue" varieties. Most of the black diamond slopes are only that level for a short distance. Getting here early is ideal, which is typically the case. We went on December 22nd and I expected there to be a crowd but the parking lot to the lower lodge was only half full and the lot for the upper lodge was nearly vacant. They have added a drop - off/pick - up zone near the upper lodge which makes parking in the upper lot all the more convenient.

Arrive early and you get well groomed slopes and many runs before you are no longer skiing on ungroomed trails. Around 1pm or 2pm (depending on how much natural snow they have) the trails that get most use will have icy areas right where it is most inconvenient so like most smaller ski hills in the northeast, arrive early and leave around noon.

The trails are not lit so there is no night skiing and most days you will be packing it in by 3:30pm or 4pm.

A hint that I have given folks is to head directly to the upper parking lot / lodge, drop the gear off at the drop-off area, park and hit the slopes. The upper lodge will be less busy early in the morning and that will be the quickest path to hitting the slopes. From the upper lodge it is a bit of a push to get to the main lift but another lift that gets you to the top of trail named Main Street is right near the upper lodge and from there you can get to quads...