thunder ridge ski resort

We have visited Thunder Ridge on many occasions this year and have always had a fantastic time. My boys have learned to ski and snowboard there and the staff treats us like family. They remember my kids names from year to year and always make it fun. The area is small, but perfect for us because I feel safe letting my kids have a bit of independence of skiing and boarding "alone". Definitely worth the trip from anywhere!!! My kids are THRILLED that they finally have a decent snowboard park! A big thank you to the new owners!

Terrible customer service--arrogant and couldn't care less about the costumer!Terrible rules-- my two 5 year olds were on the bunny slope and for the most part, were able to get up after a fall. However, anytime they couldn't get up, I would hop over the fence to help them. I would then get an earful from the unfriendly workers about how I was breaking the rules as I didnt have a ticket. So I went to buy a 50 dollar tIcket so that I could pick up my kids. When they told me that I would also have to rent skis!! In order to supervise my kids, I decided that I would rather break their rules until they kicked me out of this hell hole.The supervisor came over to me and chewed me out. I told him that I was willing to buy a ticket but not rent skis. He said that it was safer for me to pick up my kids while wearing skis then in my civilian boots. Huh??Terrible lines-- and no one really cares. I hope this place closes so it wont continue to take advantage of people!

Where do I begin with saying how bad this place is. I have been boarding in NY for over 10 years. Just to step foot on this place you need to spend 45 or more per person. I have been traveling to Hunter for years and you are allowed to walk the mountain without a ticket. It's call a LIFT TICKET for a reason. At this place to stand and watch my 3 year old ski on the magic carpet cost me 50 dollars. I didn't even step foot on a lift or a trail. Then to top it off I could even carry my back pack? Oh yeah another way they try to get you to spend more money for no reason. If this place closed down for good it wouldn't bother me one bit. You get what you pay for. A crappy mountain, terrible parking, unfriendly employees and a great way to a fun trip turn south. This is my first and without a doubt my last. I wouldn't come here if they paid me too. Spend your money on the better mountains of NY

This was our first time skiing the ridge. It's a small mountain that does a nice job not making you feel like you're at a small mountain. The trails are varied and fun with small jumps and trails through the woods. There are two main lifts that bring you up the mountain in addition to another that caters to a small beginners area. Lifts are old and slow but they stopped infrequently and lines moved along. Lift operators were friendly and helpful. There's a nice large main lodge with affordable food. Parking is accessible and convenient. It's a bit expensive for what it is but we found discounts that made it worthwhile. So if you want to do some skiing and you don't mind a real quick journey down the run then you can have some fun here. I went with my 56&10 year old and it was perfect for them. Negatives: this place has septic problems. Toilets didn't flush and got stuffed up and stinky. The young woman that we purchased lift tickets from was rude and abrupt and unbecoming.

The place has horrible staff. Bad skiing conditions and overcrowded. Our kids were in intermediate lesson which was bogus. 20 kids to one instructor . This place needs better management or it should go out of business. Rude stafc

I am reviewing the WEEKDAY lessons for preschoolers ONLY. My older son took lessons during the week from 3-5 years of age. We absolutely loved it. I would reserve a spot for a group lesson the night before and he would end up with a private simply because the place was so empty. Sometimes we were the only ones there for a lesson. The staff were friendly and accommodating. I only give 4 stars because my younger son had a different experience. He has a more challenging personality and the staff gave up on him too quickly. He took 3 lessons then refused to go. DO NOT TAKE THE WEEKEND LESSONS. If your child is in any group below chair lift level, they will spend the entire time waiting in line for a crappy carpet ride to a 20 foot "slope". Don't bother complaining. The guy, Shep, who runs it has a rote response for any complaints ... "Buy a private". Total. Waste. Of. Time.

Thunder Ridge has been the worst ski area on the East Coast for some years, with lousy snowmaking and grooming, nasty customer service and horrendously long and unruly lines. But it could be a great little place, and new management is on the way.

Very small bunny hill, 2 chairs available, go there ONLY if- you live in NYC and do not own a car- you are in a budget (Thunder Ridge is less expensive than the average thanks to the MTA package)- you are ok to take the train from GCSIf you have a car, go somewhere else, there's no reason to go to this place

This is not my first review, I am a first time season pass holder for my family & myself, regretted it from day 1. Only bought it for convenience. I showed up @ 1:00 on March 1, 2014 & the bathrooms were again a mess, that's good because @ least there is great consistency. There was a lot of grass showing & plenty of ice, the staff still had their long hard wrenched stressed out faces on, a very unhappy staff. Now... I walked away from my large TJ Max shopping bag for a few minutes, filled with 3 pair if cheap water boots, 3 pair of googles, 3 hats, 1 pair of new adult ski mittens & 2 brand NEW Gordini kids ski gloves, when we returned to our bag...some total LOWLIFE thought they were smart & thought they took a COMPLETE pair of the kids Gordini gloves, but ONLY got two LEFT ones, we STILL have the RIGHT gloves jerk. You are a big piece of crap whoever you are. I screamed all over the place saying that people steal, screaming for a manager, you would never know that the man who showed up was a manager because he was NOT fit & dressed unprofessional I could have been talking to a homeless person about the situation & not known. The bottom line, there was no staff that was sympathetic & I had to buy my twins each a pair of cheap ski gloves @ the concession for 50.00, doesn't sound cheap, sounds like an inside job??? to get me to purchase gloves from their facility?? what hurt me the most is that the STAFF was trying to convince me that I lost the gloves, you just don't lose TWO left gloves, we had just skied a few minutes before for a little while & took a break, besides I'm not an idiot & know exactly what I have, JERK!! This facility is extremely run down, staff unfriendly, not sympathetic, absolute in desperate need of a FULL overhaul. Try JIMINY Peak went there for the weekend a professional well maintained ski place. Also try Gore Mountain Lake George, Convenience not worth it, we'll take a loss on 3 season passes.

After reading and re-reading the previous reviews, we should have known what to expect, but even the employees never saw such crowds as today. It was a beautiful Sunday morning of a holiday weekend which explains the crowds. It does not explain the rather disorganized method of check-in and equipment rental. There was only one person handling check-in for lessons and lift ticket purchases and while that line was long it was nothing compared to the line for equipment. My 4 year old grandson, on skis for the very first time, was scheduled for an 11:00 lesson and even though we arrived an hour ahead of that, as instructed, we did not get off the lines with equipment until 11:45. We were told that his group lesson would be combined with the 12:30 group. At that point the little guy was cranky and tired and couldn't understand why we still had to wait. What managed to save the day were the instructors. They were just great with the kids, and all of them were helpful and jovial. I just can't seem to understand why there was so little organization with check-in and rentals. This is not a new establishment - it was recommended to me by a colleague whose daughter took her first lesson there 11 years ago - so why were they so ill-prepared for holiday crowds? I would actually go back because it is convenient and as I said the instructors were great. I will however check out some other places as well.

I knew what to expect:high prices, horrible amenities. But it's proximity is great to find out if it's worth packing the little ones up for a longer trip. Purpose served. The mountain smells like a septic tank. Didn't expect that.

This is good for ski lessons, and that's pretty much it in this area. You are better off heading oy catamount and hunter, Wyndham etc. the lodge is run down, but the kids working there are pretty nice. The adults working behind the counter for lift tickets are not very friendly.

I should have thought twice when I decided to get a season pass for the 3 of us for 757.00 this year. I thought the bathrooms overflowing from kingdom come last year was just a one time problem, NO guess what, at about 1:00 today both women & men's bathrooms overflowing everywhere. I should have expected that because it smelled so DAMN bad outside the bathroom. The parking lot SUCKS & there is not a professional staff to handle it, I therefore parked in a WRONG spot & was my pot boiling when I heard that I would towed away if I didn't hurry up & move my car. I ran as fast as one can run in SKI boots, dumped my two 10 year old kids told them to hurry up so i could move the car. I would have left them with their father, but he died years ago & I don't have a nanny. The ski place is over crowded & when I told the women at the front ticket desk that why are the bathrooms always overflowing & she said there's a lot of people. I told her she should not sell so many DAMN tickets. Think before you have a very disfunctional day. AMEN

There are obviously a lot of much larger ski areas but you just can't beat Thunder Ridge for a nearby, easy afternoon or evening ski. Of all the smaller local mountains within an hour of Fairfield or Westchester Counties, TR is the only one that has a few runs with some actual pitch if you're an advanced skier. If not, there are plenty of intermediate and easy runs. They have an excellent program for junior racing with some very good coaches who understand it's still about having fun. We're a family of four with two kids, and really enjoy spending a Saturday night under the stars. You can't beat their weekend night skiing price of $25. I think it's even less during the week. We think the folks who work there have always been extremely pleasant and helpful. Another little tip is that the guy who does the ski tuning is really good, probably because they cater to local racers.

This is a copy of a letter I send them. I never heard back.Dear Thunder Ridge,I am writing to express how upset I am at the actions of one of your employees. On Feb. 10, my family and I were up at the mountain for a day of skiing. It had just snowed a ton that Thursday and we were excited to arrive. My daughter and son took one hour private lessons as they have many times before. My wife and I stood by and watched my 4 year old son while on the bunny slope. His instructor suggested a move over to the slightly steeper slope nearer to the main lift as the heavy snow made conditions slower. As I escorted the instructor and my son to the other magic carpet, this female employee, Melissa, stopped me and said I could go no further. I complied and went back to watch my son, even though the line to the magic carpet was about five more feet from where she was standing. I was escorting my son and instructor, clearly didn't have any gear on. Somehow she interpreted this as trying to sneak onto the mountain or lifts. I explained this to her, but she would not listen. She had no identification or badge and she would not tell me her last name or last initial. I don't even know if Melissa was her real name. Any employee that is unwilling to identify herself clearly has to make you wonder. Next after i stepped way back to watch, she walked 20 feet toward me and my wife and told us we had to go back further. At least ten other non-skier's were standing around both me and my wife and came intentionally toward only us and forced us to move back. The rest of the people remained there. After my daughter finished her lesson, I she wanted to go on that same bunny slope. Since we were without an instructor at that point, I escorted her toward the magic carpet. Again she stopped me even before i got near, and forced me to let my six year old daughter go alone. That was completely unwarranted and spiteful. I told her this and she said she was doing it for my own safety. No reasonable person could say this.I would like this employee reprimanded and reviewed. There are hundreds of young people looking for employment right now. I can't believe there aren't any that are more suitable for this position. I have spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars at Thunder Ridge between lessons, lift tickets, food, etc. I have never encountered someone so rude and unpleasant. I would like to know what follow-up action you are taking.