Reviews for Crystal Mountain, MI

Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Crystal Mountain, MI 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 Crystal Mountain, MI 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 Crystal Mountain, MI review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.

Reviews for Crystal Mountain, MI

Total (3.4)
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Ben
Grew up skiing this resort and have seen it evolve. Always friendly staff, who work hard and go above and beyond. Others will complain that it is “too nice” or that it may be “expensive for what it really is” but you get what you pay for, and other resorts just can’t compete with amenities, customer service levels, and overall atmosphere. Still feels like a skiers resort, but in the 21st century.
Family friendly, lessons program is very well run, facilities kept up well, and good crowd control.
Surrounding area of Thompsonville is not ideal.
Daniel Brashere-Atkinson
We had a weekend here and wow what a great place to unwind and be refreshed (while flying down their many great ski runs… heading back in a couple of weeks. Make sure you go online and register for parking and buy your lift passes they are cheaper than at the window.
Great family skiing resort
Long drive
Daniel Brashere-Atkinson
We have a couple of years on skis and with we looked for the green and blue lines, as the day progressed we spread up and looked for the longest lines. What a great skiing adventure, it was worth our 5 hr drive. We are already planning our next family adventure to this mountain…. Thank you to all the staff for what we both refer to as “professionals”. Btw for everything thing we heard and saw our family will be signing up for ski/board lessons.
First timers, great skiing experience.
On Jan 2,2023 the afternoon lines reached 12 min.
Josi
Couldn’t believe how rude and unhelpful the staff were all over the resort… from the concessions, to the pool, to the gift shop. Food was extremely overpriced and poor quality. Restaurants and attractions were not open when they were supposed to be. On a positive, the ski instructors were very friendly and helpful with my kids.
Ski instructors great with kids
Rude staff, way overpriced
Skier0224
been skiing at crystal for like 8 years so I know this place pretty well. it's fun on weeknights, nobody there and 4 of 6 lifts are lit up. the blacks on Buck are really fun expecially when they get good snow. however it gets busy. clipper and loki can get 15 minute lines for a 30 second run. I think they need to make clipper a 6 pack or add another lift on the front side. also they don't build good parks for beginners. their setup is on the busiest run here so it's always flooded and you have to go through those 15 minute lines and a 5 minute ride to use it or hike up so it's really hard to learn basics like grinding a box or landing a 360. hickory and holiday in TC both have parks you can lap in 1 minute with rope tows so Crystal is really hard to learn at. also it took them until Feb to get all the parks built this season.
good runs at buck, fun weekdays/late season, night skiing
horribly crowded weekends, bad parks, expensive
Edward Sherman
This used to be our favorite place to ski. Now they are what I feel money hungry. Service is absolutely terrible. The RFID passes are a joke, they don't work half the time. I actually had a lift operator get argumentative with me claiming it was my error it didn't work. $26 burger, fries and soda in the cafeteria is absolutely ridiculous. $120 for a lift ticket insane. Super long lines. An overall attitude around the entire resort that they are doing customers a favor. I hope someone from Crystal reads this, and makes some changes. Service and a smile goes a long long way.
Very good for beginners
Staff, restaurants, RFID passes, tent service
Skier0224
I come out here a lot and it’s a really fun place, but it is horribly crowded, Crystal clipper can get 20 minute rides for a 1 minute run which just isn’t worth it. I think they need to replace clipper with a 6 person lift like boyne has and bring back the cheers lift they removed a few years ago to have another lift on the front side. Also besides a couple runs at buck its mostly for beginners and intermediates and really should have more good blacks. However the lifts are very fast and comfy compared to other places, and they have great night skiing. Basically it’s a fun place but is way too crowded and needs more lifts with higher capacity
Decent lifts, lots of night skiing, variety of easier trails
Crowded, not much for experts, all of front side funnels into 1 run
Christina Swanson
I love skiing at this resort. I appreciate the COVID safety measures with masks required and limited congregating.
They groom and work the snow well but also leave some areas for moguls and
Weekends are busy but you can still find some part of the mountain with shorter
Very good place to ski by Midwest standards. Not the highest vertical, but some really good acreage and excellent variety of runs, from some top-notch glade skiing for all levels from double-black to green circle, to gorgeous trails through the woods, to steeps, to ungroomed blacks and blues with good moguls (a rarity for Michigan hills), to a variety of terrain parks. It is one of only four places in MI to have a high speed lift. The place seems a lot bigger than it is, due to the well-planned trail layout and “backside” area. Only fixable needs are that it needs another lift on the front side (Crystal Clipper, Loki, and Buck lifts her overwhelmed by crowds), and during COVID, some better lift one management is needed (simply asking people if they would like to take on another rider or pair up, to help relieve some of the lines; if uncomfortable, people could opt out). Nobody enjoys standing in 20 minute lines for a 2-minute ski run.
Variety of terrain, high speed lift, feels like big mountain
Poor lift line management, needs another front-hill lift
Patrick
Drove almost 6 hours to ski at Crystal Mountain over New Years and we were very disappointed. Long lift lines apparently due to over sold amount of lift tickets for the percentage of open areas and skiers and boarders unable to successfully navigate entering and exiting the lifts. ie, LOTS of noobs. The indifference and poor attitudes of the staff working the lifts, restaurant, shops, and pro shop really solidified my decision to never visit again. Did not stay on property.
New Years parade and fireworks was fun
over sold lift ticket
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