Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Dodge Ridge 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 Dodge Ridge 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 Dodge Ridge review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.
Reviews for Dodge Ridge
Total (2.9)
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.
Overall you get what you pay for. Road up from 108 is very rough and not very well maintained. If there is ticket issues seems like staff is bothered. Good place to dive in and enjoy the day.
Noelle Price
Great place to learn. Very family friendly. Clean. Wish they had a better apres ski and bigger lodge to accommodate everyone around lunchtime. Would be nice if there was a lodge to stay and make a weekend out of it too. Otherwise; perfect resort. And great value for the price.
Joseph Stratemeier
This resort caters to skiers and riders from the central valley and bay areas of CA. The runs are pretty fun if a bit similar from run to run. There are lots of solid, long blue cruisers and a great beginner area near the base. Most of the marked black runs would be blues at other resorts. Granite Bowl off of Chair 8 is the hardest zone at the resort. The big boulders along the open face make it a challenge even though it's not the steepest. There isn't really any other advanced terrain and no expert terrain. Crowds and lift lines are almost non-existent. It's a decent resort for families with good food pricing and lots of tables and areas to get ready for the day. Snow, while plentiful, can get wet and heavy, especially with the 6,400' base elevation and relatively southern location. The upper mountain can see lighter powder while the base can see slush and even rain.
Sandy Shen
The past Sunday 1/14/2024 was the first day we went to Dodge Ridge this season, because they didn't open lift until 1/5/2024. Traffic was all backed up to hwy 108 at 8:45am (lift opens at 9am), and the last 3 miles took us 100 minutes. Why? Because Dodge Ridge only cleaned "preferred parking" area in front of the resort, and left the last one mile all covered in ice and snow. Cars without 4wd were forced to stop in the middle of road to put on chains.
It took us another 90 minutes to drive 3 miles when we left, again because of the hideous road condition between Pinecrest Lake road and Dodge Ridge. All cars had to move very slowly.
This wasn't our first time to Dodge Ridge. We've been here a few years. This is the first time they leave the road completely uncleared, even after I asked guest relations.
Lawrence Abbott
Best family resort. Best music on the deck! Food is pretty good too!
Helen Davisson
I would give this place a 5, three years go but now even a one star is too much for this place. The new owners have this extremely under staffed. Took 2:09 min to order chicken tenders. A bottle of water is $6 and they don’t have stations to fill up water!!! Classes are $300 and they don’t even have qualified trainers. There is garbage on the floor everywhere and they don’t clean the patio (very slippery and dangerous). I guess who cares once they got your money. We came here for 5 years but will never ever come back!!!
Jeff Hackensen
Just ok
Augie Dogie
Great resort for family and beginners, super fun of piste terrain and amazing groomers.
Jordan Elkins
We love coming to Dodge and have been going for decades - both my husband and I learned to ski here. There are are some longer runs and a fun little lodge with simple fare. Powder days are great when you can get them.
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The main issue is and has long been staffing. Dodge Ridge is far from any major population centers so commutes are long, and sometimes dangerous, and the pay is not competitive with other local businesses. Upper management insists that the poor pay isn't a problem because of the benefits, but when the only benefits are a free pass and free rentals and you don't have any free time to use them due to severe understaffing, they don't count for much. This often leads to less than ideal candidates being given jobs that they aren't suited for, and a less than ideal experience for customers (a lift operator not stopping the lift on time because he's worked for 17 days straight, alone at his post, an instructor being given huge (10+ students) lessons despite having only first strapped on skis the day before, or Guest Services continuing to sell rentals even when totally sold out)
Another issue is top-down micromanaging. Even though most of the department managers are highly experienced and very competent, they are generally not given the power to make decisions about even basic things like scheduling and approving overtime.
Outdated and run down equipment is another problem. The newest chairlift at Dodge is Chair 8, at 22 years old, while Chairs 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 were built in the 1950s. As you might expect, all of these lifts have their various problems. (It should be noted that these problems do not make these lifts unsafe, as in almost every situation the lift will shut down automatically in the event of a brake or power failure, but stoppages and closures certainly don't help with customer experience) The Lift Maintenance team are very proficient, but they're not superheroes, and there is a limit to what a group of five people can do. Management has been claiming for several years that they plan to replace 1 and 2 with a brand new high speed 6-pack chairlift but there doesn't seem to be any real merit to these claims.
I hope I have provided some insight into why things are the way they are
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