Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Deer Mountain Ski Resort 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 Deer Mountain Ski Resort 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 Deer Mountain Ski Resort review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.
Reviews for Deer Mountain Ski Resort
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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.
This place is great! The staff is amazing! I ski all over the country and it would be hard to find a ski area of this size with this much character. The snow quality at Deer Mountain is much better than the snow at the other ski area in the black hills. The ski school people are unmatched in terms of their passion and overall love for the sport. The people that work there really care that you are having a good time. The owner is always out skiing on the mountain checking to see if you are having fun. There aren't a lot of arbitrary rules and the general vibe is like being in an 80s- 90s ski movie. The apres ski is great, at the end of the day there will be three or four talented people playing guitars and singing, cheese and crackers, a full bar and a bunch of riders hanging out. If you come to the Black Hills to ski, Deer Mountain is the best of the two options you have.... Full Review
Tim
In the Black Hills, there are two options. Terry Peak, which is the "resorty" type place, and Deer Mountain, with more of the ski area atmosphere. The staff and management are great and always smiling. Yes, it is smaller, but you also don't have to worry about lines and everybody knows each other. Also, no artificial snow and they only groom about 1/2 the runs to allow more natural terrain. ... Full Review
Curt Jopling
I had skied Deer Mountain many years ago. It has always been second fiddle to Terry Peak. I returned to the area having been gone for some time. I skied Terry the first day and tired of fighting the crowd. Thought I would check out Deer.....Mystic the next day. Upon arrival I took some time to look around. The tow rope was not running at all. There were not very many people there to begin with but it did pick up as the morning went on. I'd say 85+ % were there for the tubing hill. I decided I would buy a lift ticket to take advantage of no lines. There was a reason for the no lines. No one was skiing and for good reason. First the price. $42 for a day pass. While cheaper than the big resorts there is nothing there to demand that kind of price. I looked for a trail map after buying the ticket. None to be found. The trail maps posted throughout the building were either faded or did depict the skill levels. Once at the top you were on your own to figure out which trail was what level. No usable markings whatsoever. Too put it bluntly this place is horrible and they are not taking care of it at all. This is too bad as the Hills needs more than one ski area. ... Full Review
calebluken
Great hill to learn on, nice smooth runs, and great people to meet on the mountain.... Full Review
jay
At Ski Mystic-Deer Mtn. you can relax and watch your kids from the lodge window!! Or you can go get right in it! There's something for everyone. Great food, great bar, AWESOME TUBING, (the best in the country), great natural snow, and most of all the people that come here are a very chill crowd and not too uptight. You can read a book by the fire, you can grab a hot/cold drink from the bar and spectate out the full view lodge window or hang out on the full mountain view deck. So fun and exciting for the kids and relaxing for us parents. This is a GREAT family get-away. It seems that Ski Mystic keeps amping up the fun every year. The new owners are really tapping into the entertainment business. While riding on the chairlift all I could see and hear from the tubers was pure exhiliration and laughter. So fun to watch. Very satisfied. My family will go back again and again.... Full Review
Our family skied at Deer Mountain for several years before it was bought out in 2008. Since then it has gone down hill and we've had to go elsewhere. The first thing they did was spend a bunch of money on a new computer system that left people standing for HOURS on opening day waiting to get their passes, equipment, etc. They've had tremendous snow the last few seasons but have managed to run off all of their good help and loyal customers. It was a virtual ghost town last year. They spent a bunch of money on computers, TVs, and signs, but neglected the slopes. They've logged a bunch of trees out to make room for houses, etc., but in the process have created areas where the snow now blows away. They have limited snow making ability. The 2nd year they owned it there were bare spots in the runs almost all season despite good snowfall. They routinely run snowmobiles down the middle of certain runs making big ruts for beginners to negotiate. The worst neglect was of their lifts. They hardly opened the back side for the first 2 seasons because of lift problems and the 2nd season it was only open for part of 1 day before a chair fell off of it!!! I don't think they even bothered to open the backside last year. They also let trees grow up in the middle of runs for a couple of years. They took over the ski school and got rid of all the good instructors. They took over the food service and now it's too expensive. Our family really misses skiing there and we're waiting for the next owner to come along! If anyone else buys it, we'll be back!!... Full Review
Deer Mountain is slowly improving, food was cooked while you waited, however I ordered something and was told it would be a 10 minute wait. I waited ten minutes and then came back and waited at the counter for 15 more minutes. I asked why it took over 20 minutes to get my food and was told that it didn't take that long. I talked to the manager about it and was offered a refund of my money. The two sticking points I had on the whole issue was the time it took for the food that I could have been skiing that much sooner, and the fact that the person initially called me a liar by saying that it didn't take over 20 minutes. There only excuse was that they were "busy". They had 3 people waiting to order food and one other besides myself waiting to pick up food. If that is busy then Deer Mountain will never reach there desired recognition as "premier ski area" of the Black Hills. The other thing is that they had open runs that had more dirt and gravel in them than they did snow. This was mentioned to the manager during our conversation and the nest time i came down the hill they had them roped off. Some snow making in the early year would greatly improve skiing conditions at Deer Mountain. A high speed lift and a magic carpet would be a great improvement as well. ... Full Review
scott ingle
Bring the fatties because the bowls are really deep this year- they are working on the half pipe and better jumps and the staff is really friendly. Love the northside too!... Full Review
S. Areno
Ok, check this out. Deer Mtn. is now called Mystic Minor. Ok. . . Since they are primarily open on weekends, the snow is usually really good. And since there are alot of beginners, the trees are always barely touched. Now, There are only two lifts. One triple on front side (you might as well hike some days), pretty slow. On the back side (which is only open for a few days a year, there is a super sketchy double chair (creaky and slow). Mystic's rival Terry Peak is just up the road and has several high speed lifts, more terrain and a half pipe. Mystic said they would have a halfpipe and made an anouncement, but it was nothing more than a lump in the snow. They used to have night riding. . .not anymore. However, the vibe at deer mtn is cool, easy going and easy to pretty much do what you want. The terrain park got better as the season progressed but weak at first. They did, however, put a bar atop the mountain's summit which was cool, except, it was only open for the last couple of weeks. For SD it's cool to be able to shred. If you're a local, cool place. If you're from CO,UT,MT,WY,WA,OR,ID,CA, or AK, you'll be pretty bored here.... Full Review
Philip H. Eckerberg
Located in South Dakota's Black Hills the former Deer Mountain was sold this last summer and was renamed "Mystic Miner Ski Resort at Deer Mountain". Sorry guys it will always be just plain "Deer Mountain" to me. The resort is a better place this year. So far most of the improvements are service related. When you walk in the lodge there seems to be a feeling of friendliness in the air. The staff seems genuinely happy that you are there. The food service is much better this year too. No more getting your burger and fries from under the heat lamps, all orders are cooked fresh, it tastes good, and is not terribly expensive. The new Mystic Miner website is a vast improvement, I love the photo gallery and virtual rides. The one thing missing is a trail map, there is not one on the website and even though I asked there were not any available in the lodge. For now the facilities are pretty much the same. There have been no changes to the slopes and lifts. They have been blessed with a lot of snow this year and the runs are good. This is a great place to bring your family. My non-skiing wife likes the fact that the bunny slope is right in front of the lodge and she can watch the kids while she sits and reads. I like the fact that new skiers do not need to be good at stopping, there is a nice flat area where all the front side runs end and you will stop with little effort from the skier. On the front side there is a Poma lift and a triple chair. I have never been a big fan of Poma's but they are simple. Nightlife: world famous Deadwood with is casinos is about 8 miles away, while the more metropolitan Rapid City is about 50 miles away. Both towns have plenty of restaurants, rooms, entertainment, and shopping. Lodging: unlike most ski areas the Black Hills are primarily a summer destination so in the winter lodging is abundant and inexpensive, rooms can be had for less than $50 per night. Lift tickets are economical as an all area day ticket is just $39. Although the expert will become bored here this is a great place for the rest of us, I will be back.... Full Review
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