RusstheJudoGuy
We absolutely love HV! What a wonderful experience! We skied for over 10 hours today, had great chili for lunch and bbq (ribs). Cannot wait to go back next year!
chanelj5
After seeing the negative review from another Navy veteran I thought it necessary to offset his a bit. I visited here a few years ago with my son for the Polar Plunge tubing and this year I thought it was time for him to learn to ski. The first thing you need to do is buy your lift ticket and equipment rental (same location). For military it is $5 for equipment rental and $5 for your lift ticket. I don't know anywhere else that provides such a discount. The ticketing girl asked if I knew how to put my lift ticket on and thanked me for my military service. Next stop is the equipment rental building. Pretty easy process if you know in advance. First you go and get your boots, put on your boots and get in line to pick up skis or snowboard. You need to fill out a paper to provide your height and weight so they can adjust the bindings accordingly. I'm normally a snowboarder but because they don't have snowboard boots small enough for my son I decided to ski. They don't tell you to grab poles on your way out to the snow so don't forget them! Poles are in bins by the exit and base it by your height. Since I was signing my son up for lessons we had to go to the next building over to enroll him. The ski instructor was young and very nice; they have a magic carpet in the beginner area which is so much better than rope tow (they do have a rope tow on anther part of the resort) but once it started snowing it gave a lot of people problems as it became slick and they slid and fell if they didn't remove at least one ski.Anyway, I'm from the west coast and have skied/snowboarded in WA, CA, Canada, UT, CO, OR but currently living in TN so I am happy to have this place within driving distance...better than nothing at all!My son loved it and is ready to go back :)
278michellep
We went for a night ski session on Valentine's Day with the family. We were certainly impressed but the production that is Hidden Valley. The prices were reasonable considering the time allowed to ski, number of slopes, accessibility of lifts, and equipment provided. They had nice skis and snowboards available as well as helmets. Remember to bring money for the lockers. They do have a change machine if needed. The snack bar and indoor rest area was nice and large with plenty of seating. The outdoor area had a firepit going to gather around. The kids are already asking when we can return. We may try tubing next time because it looked like lots of fun!
daltonww11
im a navy veteran, and was cussed out because i put the lift ticket on wrong. then i ask for the name of the supervisor and they play dumb. most disrespectful people ive ever met. i will never return not to mention its an ity bity mountain to act like there job is so hard.
CaB839
Although the snow was better when the weather is colder and overcast rather than sunny, the group ski lesson made this ski day so much fun! Our ladies group on Wednesday night had the pleasure of instruction from the ski school director Merle, who took time to review the important basics with all levels of skier, and individually critiques us. She even skied with the more advanced skiers individually and was the most considerate and safety conscious instructor I have yet to experience in 20 plus years of irregular skiing. That says a lot from someone who skied in the Alps, Colorado, Utah, all with instruCtors who made the session enjoyable but actually did not prevent injury or explain the basics as well as Merle did. Bravo MO! And kudos to the ski rental expert who took the time to review my bindings and explain how I can maintain these 15 year old Solomons to last throughout my skiing life.
X9552YWjamest
Our family took a vacation to St. Louis last Christmas and we went to Hidden Valley Ski Resort for one afternoon/evening. We had never gone skiing before. The staff there are totally friendly, the man made snow is cool and the kids LOVED the tubing hill! We live about an hour west of Kansas City, and one of this company's other places is closer, so we'll be checking it out this winter. Hidden Valley is very nice, reasonably priced, and the boys all had fun!
allisonb11
This is a midwest ski resort. The people are friendly. We signed our children up for the kids ski lessons. The instructors were great. Would have received 5 stars but there were no helmets available for the kids. We called ahead and were told kids helmets would be provided with the tickets. They are not provided and are rented for around $10. We did not know this until after we had our skis on and asked for helmets. You must go back and stand in line (in a separate area) to rent extra items. Very inefficient.If you live in the IL/MO area this is a great place to take lessons prior to taking a ski vacation. I suggest heading out early on a Sunday as it is a little less crowded and not as many snowboarders. However, they offered special pricing for families on Sundays after 3pm.
scottzee
To my knowledge, Hidden Valley is the only ski resort in Missouri. While it was fun to try both skiing and snowboarding without leaving the state, the general consensus is that Missouri's unpredictable weather often leads to icy conditions, making skiing much more difficult than in Colorado, for instance, with its powdery snow. Still, if you're careful, there's plenty of fun to be had at Hidden Valley. I'd like to try their sledding hills (Polar Plunge), as I think that will be much more conducive to Missouri's weather conditions.
CarolH922
The owners have done a great deal of improvement since I was hear last. Now they have 2 black diamond ski hills and a polar plunge (sledding on tubes). The lodge area was nice with big windows that face the ski area. I am not a skier so will not comment on that aspect. It felt like a fun place to be though.
704anned
I wished I had never listened to the person that told me not to go here, that it "is not worth it". Came to Hidden Valley for the MLK weekend . We had an overwhelmingly positive experience and cannot wait to return. As newbie snowboarders we registered for the 3 private lesson deal. Our instructors were professional and helpful. By the third day we were able to navigate the beginner hill without falling. The resort is clean with a large efficient cafeteria. Will return for a weekend in February. A good value for the money. A "hidden gem" in St. Louis
lindseym780
We went for just the tubing at Hidden Valley. For $26 you get unlimited rides for 3 hours, which is a decent price. The large conveyor belt they have is super convenient and gives your legs a break. I wish they had tubes to hold multiple people, but you can link up to others and go down the hill. Tip: go during the last shift of the day, the line pretty much disappears and you can go as many times as you want without any wait. The workers let us make a train of like 16 people and sent us down together, it was such a blast!
vieuxloubard
i was a bit worried about the quality of this place. well: all was above par: the skiing, the snow, the equipment, the slopes, etc... this is a perfect place for beginners or people wanting to ski one day as part of a trip to st louis. as an advanced skier, i still enjoyed hitting easy slopes, although i would not recommend it for more than a day or 2. my kid who is a beginner, had a blast. and i feel the fee is a real bargain.
stldebbie2008
Excellent snow tubing. The workers were fun, interacting with everyone. There is no fear of tipping over as the tubes are very durable & there is a large hole for you to plop yourself down into.Both of my 5 and 8 year old grandchildren LOVED it. They have a motorized conveyor belt for you to take to go down the lanes. If you feel it takes too long in line, they are very safety conscious as they waited for all of the lanes at the bottom to clear before they sent the new groups/singles down.I highly recommend this family attraction.
tm2924
Nice place to visit for skiing in MO. They just opened a couple new trails this past year. Spring conditions almost all the time. They also have snow tubing now.
StephanieM717
I went with a church youth group and we did not have enough money for people to get helmets ($10) because the skiing was $70 per person (quite expensive and we were supposed to get a group discount...). There was no instruction on how to ski and after I got the hang of things, I went down a bigger hill. However, I slid onto a closed slope and rolled down 50 feet. I couldn't get up and waved at some employees for assistance, but they looked at me from the other slope and skied away. When I got to the bottom, I tried to use the tow rope, but it flung me forward and I hit myself in the back of the head with my skis and got a concussion. Nobody bothered to help me, even though I was knocked out for a few moments. I went to see the medical people there and they took forever to check out my head. We wound up leaving and going to the ER. I never want to ski again. Their snow was also half melted and not powdery.