Cataloochee Ski Area — Attraction in Maggie Valley

My husband and I went honeymooning to Maggie Valley. We planned a half day of skiing and snow tubing a few days after. Skiing was a horrific experience. The staff was super kind and gave us tips on going and stopping with skis. If we wanted more help we would need to pay an extra $40 to $200 for two ski lessons. This amount was on TOP of the almost $200 we spent on the two half day tickets and ski rentals. The staff was able to find boots that fit my husband quickly, but for me they apparently don't have shoes for people with larger calf muscles. After squishing my legs, and hurting my ankle, into like five different pairs of boots, the man trying to help said I needed to lose my layers to fit in. You mean the layers that were recommended you wear from their "How to Layer for Skiing Video" on the Cataloochee website? I had on skin tight leggings and skin tight jeans which did not add much girth to my legs. I was told to go rent a bib. So while my husband waited on me, I went upstairs, paid for the bib rental, about 10 dollars after tax, went into a tiny bathroom stall, removed my jeans and leggings and put the bib on. The only thing I had on was my underwear, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable, BUT I had nothing else to wear. We didn't Bri g extra clothes. Once downstairs we find out we have to pay 75 cents to use a locker. Like, who is just carrying quarters with them and if you open the locker again you have to pay the 75 cents AGAIN to lock it again. We learned the hard way. Even with the bib on only the guy still had to squish my legs in the boots at nearly the loosest clip. It felt like my bones were breaking from being crushed. And since my layers were gone now there was no protection for my legs and the boots constantly chaffed me until they were red and nearly bleeding. Walking was excruciating, but I felt the need to be strong and press on cause we already paid and there was an obvious no refund sign and it was our honeymoon and we really looked forward to it!. We stayed on the bunny slope to the left where, with just our luck, the magic carpet was broken. If we wanted to ski we had to walk up the hill, clip on the skis, and try to go down. This was difficult to do with my leg pain. So after an hour of getting dressed and the equipment, and about 45 minutes suffering on the hill, we decided to quit and leave. I wanted to cry, especially with all the pain I endured and the lost 200 dollars. A few days later we planned on going Tubing which is with the same people, but just in a different place than the ski area. On the morning of our 10am, 2hour tubing time, it was pouring rain, freezing, and gross. So we went to the tubing area, where there was not a single customer obviously, to inquire about getting a refund since there was no way we would tube in that weather. We were told to go to the top of the mountain where the skiing place was and talk to Tammy . When Tammy came out she said they gave no refunds and could give us tickets to use in the future instead. Let me remind you that we are not from the area and were on vacation. I told her we would not be returning to the area and that we would like our money back. I felt like we were pulling teeth just to get a refund, until she said she would go talk to her higher up. We sat down, cause my legs were still hurting from the ski shoes days before. She came out and said she would refund the money for tubing and we tried to explain our bad skiing experience as well and that some reimbursement would be appreciated for all the mess we went through, but she shut that down right away and said she couldn't help. We left glad about the tubing refund at least, but was so disappointed in our whole skiing experience. We will not be...

Two stars only because it's SE USA. Otherwise, 1 star. Granted it is a holiday week but many problems were not holiday related: poor signage, which is critical when you might stand in line for an hour before learning you are in the wrong place. Staff doesn't have easily recognizable uniforms or badges or anything. Mostly yelling at people to let more cars drive through pedestrian areas where people can't help overflowing into driving areas. One hour line for tickets with not all windows manned. Then one hour line for boot rentals. Then another hour line for ski rentals. Then another dripping porch area for poles if you prefer. Taking kids to ski was problematic since no maps were given with the ticket prices or offered elsewhere, the several different places had poorly visible signs suggesting they were for Beginners. Staff was hard to detect on slopes. Masks in crowded areas, for Covid precautions, were not enforced: not in lift lines, or lobbies, or very long lines. For my wife, who had to serve as go-getter for food and information, it was miserable. No seats in cafeteria area where she tried to buy a hot drink (everything has to be done via online app, but the wifi was sketchy and not well publicized and the app was buggy for her, which didn't matter because whether you specified "no bun" or not (gluten free), your $9.50 HB came with bread glued to the meat or cheese and with condiments an employee decided you needed, regardless of order). Ski instructors on the slope (some of whom had an indication on their outfit suggesting they were official instructors), blocked significant areas of the small beginner areas with their classes and from overhearing the tutoring, the instructors were not comparable with other resort instructors I've overheard. A lot of standing around, blocking other skiers. Parking lot signage was also poor, with few, if any Exit signs in many areas. To summarize, when compared to past trips to Sugar Mtn or Beech years ago, this was not a good experience other than the fact that after a recent snowfall, there was less ice and more snow than expected. Looking at the unsupported building slabs where slopes have eroded away, and long lines that were not intuitive or labeled at all, along roadways in muddy areas, it appears that the place has outrun itself, expanded "on the fly," and doesn't have the labor to support the number of tickets it sold. Rental desk stations, etc. were unmanned during a peak season, which led to ridiculously long lines that made peak season Disney World look good by comparison. To their credit, there didn't seem to be enforcement of 4 hr. lift ticket passes, which is good since we arrived at 10:15 am and didn't get to the slopes before roughly 2:30pm or so, with non-stop line-waiting. Someone in management needs to bring in outside consultants regarding the layout, the food situation, the miserable bathroom facilities, signage, etc. and spend some of the money back into infrastructure. More money could be made off food/drinks if it were readily available. Or if there were a place for folks to rest their legs and eat/drink something. Heard more than one skier comment on hunger pains or thirst. And, after one day of four of us buying lift tickets and rentals, we decided "never again" if we could help it, so that future revenue was lost. It's not 'good enough' to simply blame holiday crowds between Christmas and New Year's. Use your website to warn folks about line delays or to cap the crowds to a manageable number, if...

Older and quaint ski area(established in the 60s) with facilities that are in large need of updating. Early season is a bit rough as they only make snow on 3-4 trails so it gets really crowded and somewhat dangerous on the weekends. Despite a peak of 5200' you only have about a 600-700' vertical drop here and the runs are extremely short. Moving at any kind of pace you'll be down to the bottom in about 3 minutes and then have about a 10+ minute ride back up, depending on how many noobies are falling trying to get on the lift that goes to the top where they shouldn't be going yet.

Skied this past Saturday and it was downright dangerous at times with the crowds. Throngs of beginners going to the top and then stopping on all sections of the trail clogging it up for anyone trying to get through. Ski patrol had the entire right side of Omigosh tied up with training which made things even more difficult. Trails here are incredibly narrow, which adds to the danger when it's crowded. Saw at least 2-3 people get hurt and taken down off the mountain, and one spot near midstation where there was massive blood splatter all over the snow. If you want to go and you are a more advanced skier, hit it up during midweek so you don't have to deal with the crowds of new skiers on the most difficult trails.

Lift passes are a bit overpriced for what you get, $70 for a 4-hour pass with slow lifts. Cafeteria and gift shop are also overpriced, but typical for your average ski slopes. The drive in to this place is also on an unpaved road with some drastic changes in incline so if it's snowing/icy, you will need at least a FWD vehicle. They do have online passes available, where you can bring your QR code and just print your lift ticket at a kiosk instead of waiting in the long line in their small office, so that is one plus. The views off the top of the mountain and while riding the lifts are also pretty great if the weather is clear.

This would be a good midweek day trip if you live in GA, TN, NC, or anywhere within 2-3 hours, but just keep in mind if you come on the weekends it's going to be way overcrowded, especially if they don't have any terrain open. I will try to make it back midweek to see if things are any better without the crowds. They do also have some nice "learning" areas and the main green trail is wide and has enough of a slope to get the basics down. Good place for families with kids or new skiers, as long as they realize they shouldn't be heading up to the top of the mountain after 2-3 runs down the learning slope.

Edit: 3/11/2024

Hit up Cataloochee for a late season day trip and the mountain was in fantastic shape! Great job by the mountain ops team to keep snow on the slopes when it's 60 degrees out! Zero crowds(as I mentioned in prior review, it would probably make a much better midweek trip) on a Monday and overall it was an awesome last day out(for me) for the 2023-24' Mid...