deer mountain ski area

The Mystic Ski Resort is a three person, one lift, in the Deer Mountain area near Deadwood, SD. It is only open on weekends and not the most expansive selection of slopes, BUT here's the deal - the area has some of the best skiing between the Alps and the Rockies. They normally try to open around Thanksgiving and close just before Easter. The lines are short to non-existent which means you get in a lot of runs. We came in the morning in mid-March and there was still plenty of snow. The place is family friendly and great for learners. You also don't have to worry about losing your kids as all the runs come back to the same place. You should find the runs well groomed which was the case when we were there. It is great value for money when you compare it to the rental and ski pass charges of larger resorts. The tubing looked like a lot of fun. The lift was continually running and the kids (and parents) kept coming back for more. OK...the lodge is not like something you would find in Vail, but the folks at the snack counter, rental and pass booth were absolutely courteous and helpful. If you are looking for a ski school, ask for John and Karen. They will get you started with the patience of saints. We had two very happy days here.

On January 11, 2015, my family and I went to this ski resort to try snow tubing. We had alot of fun. We arrived in time for the first 2 hour block from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The price was $25 per person for two hours. An all day pass is $41 but since we'd never done it we weren't sure it would be something that would entertain us all day. We were assured we could upgrade to the all day pass if we wanted to. The young man at the bottom was helpful and informative. The young man at the top also gave us helpful information (which of the 3 runs was the fastest, how to link the tubes together, etc.) and he held the tubes while we got on and then pushed us off. What a blast! We were able to get in 3 tube runs before the lift cable broke. We headed back to the chalet and were told that they were working on the problem and we could either get a refund or they would extend our ride time once it was back up and working. We had an early lunch and fortunately they fixed the lift about the time we finished eating. They extended our ride time for the next 2 hour block from noon to 2 p.m. and we continued going up and down those three runs, sometimes singly, sometimes linked together. I highly recommend the newer yellow tubes (faster) and this whole tubing experience. If was unfortunate the cable broke but they were very helpful and friendly and we'll definitely do this again. Hopefully some offseason maintenance will keep the tube lift operating faultlessly in the future.

My brothers and all our families drove 6 hours and planned to do this for one of the days (#1 reason we went). Make sure you have other plans as the lift broke down for us. (spendy place)It would be nice if it would have had more staff to help out, other lift running, and to get people out of the lodge and on there way to ski, tube, snowboard. Not run very smoothly. Waited over an hour to get tickets (we were there and hour early) once we got tickets we walked to get on the tube ride the lift stalled a few times as we were getting pulled up the hill. The cable that takes you up the hill almost takes your neck off as it pulls you up in spots.. Once we were up on the top to go on the ride it was a blast. Too bad it broke down and I only received half the money back (waited another 30-40 min for that)...More staff or someone announce to have the paper work filled out so it's ready to go, and for the food a menu would be handy. Also very dangerous to walk on the deck no one shoveled the snow.. Scary I hope no one gets badly hurt at this place.Should seriously consider getting that guy on tv that gets business's running smoothly, he'd have you cleaned up, running smoothly and you'd be making a fortune..

Wanted to take my family tubing. Stood in line for 2 hours to only find out I bought my family tickets for a broken tube lift. After waiting a couple more hours and the tube lift was still broken!!! Manager was nice enough to refund half our money. I was super excited to get half my money back and never took a tube ride down the hill!!

I have been coming to Deer Mountain for 8 years. A few years ago it changed owners and I'm so glad they did. The place was in need of repair. In the last few years that the new owners have taken over they have really focused on the family aspect all the way from music, food, upgrading the tubing experience and redesigning the hill for skiing and snowboarding. PLUS a fantastic highly qualified list of impressive instructors. The hill is better this year than it's been in years past. This place gets better and better with each new year. It's so wonderful to see how this older ski place has been taken and loved and transformed each year to make it a versatile family place- something for everyone to enjoy! I know my kids and myself look forward to many more years of memories and enjoyment at Deer Mountain. I love to see the new remodels and transformations each year. Mark and Alisha have transformed and continue to transform this place into someplace for the whole family to enjoy!!!!!!

Decided to take our kids tubing during a Friday night. There is a sign right at check-in that says that intoxicated people are not allowed on the slopes. Lies. I complained to two separate staff members about the actions of a group of intoxicated individuals - especially since there were a fair number of children around - but my concerns fell on deaf ears. You would think tubing would be a fun family activity - but not so much with all the swearing and disorderly conduct going on - and the cigarette smoke wafting around while riding up the lift.Also, a lot of the tubes were flat. There were not enough tubes to go around - so they had to be passed up the line of those waiting (so you could not ensure you would not have a flat tube). Tubing is also rather expensive - $30/person for 2 hours - and that includes kids under the age of 5 who have to use their own tube (although the staff did allow me to pull my son's tube up with me on the lift).The night tubing area is not well lit on the slopes. It didn't seem to bother us much - but maybe next time we'd bring head lamps.The lodge area did seem to be a bit run down - but nothing alarming - it is no 5-star ski area by any means.I guess we weren't that impressed.

Mystic Mountain ski resort is something we stumbled on completely out of the blue. We were staying in a rental cabin up the road for a week. Glad we discovered it! Had the pleasure of meeting the owners in the cozy little lounge, very personable & genuine. This little resort has tubing, night tubing, skiing, boarding & more. Great little gem!

This was my first time at this resort and I was a little disappointed at how old and unkept this place was. It was very run down and small compared to other ski resorts in the area. The girls got tired very quick;y about going up and down the hill because they had to hold onto a rope and pull themselves up. The skiers and the tubers had lifts but the snowboarders have to pull themselves up? They had a bar if you want to drink and they also provide food and non alcoholic beverages, it is very expensive but you are at a ski resort so it is expected I guess. All in all it was ok but for a place that is not kept up the prices are just as high as other ski resorts, I suggest doing some upgrades and keeping the roads up because we went past 4-5 cars that were stuck in the snow because of so much snow the week before.

Fun place to spend a few hours tubing. 3 tube runs and they let you tether together. Friendly outdoor staff, we will be back!

Three other couples and we arrived at 11:30 only to find out they charge by the session. We either had to pay the full price to 12:30 or wait until 12:30 to pay for the next session which ran until 3:30. Check times online before going. While waiting, we ordered food from someone who got every order wrong (chili instead of chili cheese fries, wrong price rung up, wrong change counted back, etc). We waited for our food in an area with a big screen TV that was off; we were told they didn't have it hooked up and couldn't hook it up. Sitting on school-type lunch tables we received our bleeding burgers. When we returned them, the manager took the workers back within hearing range and chewed them out. The lady who took our money was cranky, at one time telling us to get away from the window when we had questions because she was going to help someone else and needed to make a call, so by this time we were seriously considering going elsewhere. BUT - we stuck it out and once outside, we had a ton of fun. One particular young man gave us tips on how our group could get the most speed and most air off the 3 courses they had for tubing. The lift worked just fine. There was no waiting at the top of the runs, and there seemed to be few rules about how many could go down at once as all 8 of us would routinely hook up and go together. Inside experience - horrible. Outside experience - a lot of fun. Since the point of the attraction is the tubing, we're overall glad we went.

We like to snow tube because it relatively inexpensive, easy, and fun

The former Deer Mountain is now known as "Mystic Miner." 3 of my 7 kids w/spouses and a guest couple made it up here for ski season. Snow was low, but some runs and trails were open. The first day the ski lifts were broken. The 2d day we were able to tube for 2 hours until that lift broke down. The dining facility was in poor condition. You could get a little bowl of chili or a piece of pizza. The event operators were all bored youngsters and there no safety briefings of any kind. My youngest son did say the tube runs were pretty good, but kept closing down everytime someone had a wreck. The group diverted to the Terry Peak ski area which everyone seemed to like much better. Better and longer ski runs, but no tubing. They have a reasonable ski lodge w/well stocked condos to stay in right there.