Iowa, Mt. Crescent

Reviews for Mt. Crescent Ski Area

Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Mt. Crescent Ski Area that rank the ski resort and mountain town on a scale of one to five stars for attributes such as terrain, nightlife and family friendliness. See how Mt. Crescent Ski Area stacks up in the reviews, on and off the slopes, from skiing and family activities to the après scene. Read up on pros, cons and other comments in reviews left by fellow skiers and riders. Don't forget to submit your own Mt. Crescent Ski Area review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.

Reviews for Mt. Crescent Ski Area

Total (2.7)
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A ski resort's overall star rating displayed here is not calculated based on a simple average but takes several factors, including the age of a review, into account.
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Xiao Dan
good
good
nothing
Monica Hull
I hate this place. We don’t go there anymore. It used to be a decent place for kids to learn to ski and snowboard and their instructors were fantastic. Those people are all gone. The last year we went there, our oldest son wanted to snowboard and was in the development program for that. His “instructor” left him every week for the protracted season, and taught him nothing. I paid THEM for me to have to teach him myself. Their customer service stinks, their lifts broke down seriously, and they consistently lie about the conditions to get people to come out. Their rentals are junk, and you never know if they will go or not. I saw so many people getting stuck with skis and snowboards that would not go. I’ve never seen that at any other resort. Just save your money and go somewhere good.
Expensive for what they offer, no snow, poor instruction
TABITHA HOLLE
I bought a day at mount crescent for 5...I tried to call since ive never been. No one answered their phone. We arrive with our online order just to find out they dont have skis left. They told us we need to come back a different day to use our tickets. $240 and gas money wasted. We planned this and drove from Lincoln. I wish they would have answered their phone and let us know how busy they were and that they didnt have skis to rent.
Super busy/ ran out of skis
Dave Petersen
I’ve been skiing Mt. Crescent for nearly a lifetime and it’s sad to see it go backwards a little every season. Snow used to be made on every run – now they open with snow on half the width of their beginner run and on their sledding hill (even if it’s cold enough to make more snow). If we are lucky enough to get some natural snow, they say they are 100 percent open even though there is no base underneath and some of the runs have brush and deep ruts. And on those runs there is no grooming because there isn’t even enough snow to groom. When all of the other small ski areas within a 3 hour radius of Mt. Crescent say they are 100 percent open, they truly are 100 percent open. This includes the ski area near Kansas City which has warmer weather than Mt. Crescent. One year ago this January, one of Mt. Crescent's two chairlifts broke. This fall on Mt. Crescent's Facebook page when they were selling season passes they were telling people that "100% both lifts will be working". Having only one chairlift (the beginner chairlift) at a two chairlift ski area creates quite the line. What also is concerning is they didn't tell the general public last season that they only had one working chairlift until about a month later when they made a Facebook announcement. I would be riding with people on the beginner lift last season, and I would have them ask me if I knew when they would be opening the other chairlift. I would answer that it was broken. They would respond "nobody told us that when we bought our tickets." I halfway expected to get some sort of partial refund last season for the area having only one chairlift, but no. The chairlift was finally repaired after being inoperable for over a year, and then their other chairlift broke and is still broken. Another concerning issue is Mt. Crescent’s hours. I understood that they have to close on days when weather is bad, but lately they often close midweek even on a beautiful winter day! They advertise the schedule of 5 days a week when they sell their season passes, but then when it comes down to it they will close on a whim. I was removed from commenting on Mt. Crescent's Facebook page last winter when I said "I'm getting frustrated with Mt. Crescent closing midweek even though they promote 5 days a week when you buy your pass in the fall." And in late December 2019 my season pass was refunded and I was basically told I was not welcome at Mt. Crescent for questioning some of these policies.
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Dave undefined
This place runs on only 1 ski lift and only has 2 trails open. Last year one lift was closed for the whole season. This year the other chairlift too broke. So they shut down for a couple of week....and then again they only got one lift running again. I was told they will open the fix the other one for next year! These are the oldest chair lifts I have even seen. They probably bought them used in the late 80's from some former soviet republic. The trails are not maintained at all..I have never seen anything like this. There are areas of trails with no snow ....and the are no signs about it. I have seen many beginner skiers fall just because they end up in the mud where there is no snow. There can be also huge ice sheets. This place is plain dangerous. Management/owner doesn't care about keeping skiers safety. Very pricey for the experience that you get, especially if the fire department needs to come and rescue you from the broken lifts.
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tim undefined
I have been skiing there as a child since 1969 & as a ski instructor from 2012 to 2019, so it has been difficult to watch the current ownership run it into the ground. The owners care less about the customer service & safety and the overall business maintenance & operation, which puts everyone at risk. The two man chairlift hasn't worked all 2020 season, and it had several operation issues last season with customers having to be rescued off it then. With 1 chairlift down for the entire season, the only remaining 4 man chairlift seized up & 82 people had to be rescued off it last Friday night 1/24/20. It is really to bad that Mt. Crescent’s ownership doesn’t have 8 or 9 months to maintain their equipment. Also, the ownership bullies and doesn't respect their customers and employees.
Run into the ground by current owners.
Don undefined
I’ve gone there several times this year and now multiple times I’ve gone the hill was not maintain at even an acceptable level. It’s a total sheet of ice in most areas including the lift on and exit areas. A HUGE are right in the center of the hill with icy spots throughout the rest of the hill. I’ve messaged them several times about this issue to no avail in anything actually improving before leaving this review. The truly pathetic thing about it is the fact they only have one lift and 2 runs going and STILL DO NOT MAINTAIN THEM! They’re supposed to have 10 runs and two lifts going. I understand the weather being warmer for not having those going, but the least they could do is ensure the runs they do have available are kept in pristine condition. It’s inexcusable the shape that place is in. Every other man made snow resort in a two hour drive from Omaha has all their lifts and runs open and they’re experiencing the SAME WEATHER. Obviously the owners of those places is more interested in providing a quality ski/snowboarding experience than the one at Crescent.
Staff is friendly and helpful
The hill is VERY poorly maintained
Cliff undefined
Main lift closed and according to locals has been since early 2018/2019. Majority of terrain, even that accessible from lower lift, did not have snow. Two runs had snow, and one of them has half of it blocked off reserved for sledding. Only working lift is shared with sledders, making it busy and causing it to frequently stop when loading or unloading. Basically 2 20-40 ft wide tracks down bunny hills. Would not recommend to anyone unless you live in the area and want to learn how to ski or teach your kids.
Ski near Omaha
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Cliff undefined
Main lift closed and according to locals has been since early 2018/2019. Majority of terrain, even that accessible from lower lift, did not have snow. Two runs had snow, and one of them has half of it blocked off reserved for sledding. Only working lift is shared with sledders, making it busy and causing it to frequently stop when loading or unloading. Basically 2 20-40 ft wide tracks down bunny hills. Would not recommend to anyone unless you live in the area and want to learn how to ski or teach your kids.
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Cliff undefined
I came to try this place out while visiting Omaha and was thoroughly disappointed. The main lift (see "Double Chairlift" on trail map) that would access the majority of the terrain was not open, speaking to locals I learned it has been broken down since the start of the 2018/2019 season. Owners have stated that with how old the lift is it has been difficult to find repair parts. There were two runs open, Easy Street and Showboat. Half of showboat is reserved for sledding. The one lift moves very slowly and is shared between skiers and sledders so it frequently stops when loading/unloading. Their website advertises "100% chance of snow!" and I guess that was technically true, but even of the terrain that can be accessed by the lower lift about 10% of it had snow on it at all, and there were some bare patches. Essentially it was two 20-40 foot wide patches of snow with about a 150 ft vertical drop, one of which is partially reserved for sledding. If you live in the area it could be an okay place to learn how to ski but that is the only value of this place as long as they continue to make the bare minimum of snow and not get the main lift fixed.
Ski near Omaha
Main lift broken down for over a year, crowded
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