Conditions Report
Report from Saturday, February 1 – Sunday, February 2, 2025
When you ask skiers and riders what countries offer the best skiing on Earth, Canada more often than not makes the list. Yet 40% of Canadians, including myself, grew up skiing in the flat, mountainless province of Ontario, where winter still exists for six months of the year and if you don’t play hockey, you have to do something.
While mountains may not exist in Ontario, we do have hills, most notably the Niagara Escarpment, which stretches 650 miles (1,050km) from Upstate New York, through Ontario, and around to Wisconsin. Along the Ontario portion of the Escarpment sit 11 ski areas:
- Glen Eden
- Caledon Ski Club
- Hockley Valley Resort
- Mansfield Ski Club
- Devil’s Glen Country Club
- Osler Bluff Ski Club
- Blue Mountain
- Craigleith Ski Club
- Alpine Ski Club
- Georgian Peaks Club
- Beaver Valley Ski Club
At first glance, as small as these ski areas may be, eleven options seem pretty decent, until you realize that eight of them are either fully or semi-private ski resorts. And although there are many ski areas off of the Niagara Escarpment throughout Ontario, none compare in size and scope to Blue Mountain.
Quick Facts & History
- Date Opened: 1941
- Multi-Destination Pass: Ikon Pass (don’t mistake it for Blue Mountain, PA, also on the Ikon Pass)
- Number of Trails: 43 (most in Ontario)
- Skiable Acres: 364 (biggest in Ontario)
- Vertical Drop: 720′
- Base Elevation: 770′
- Summit Elevation: 1440′
- Terrain Breakdown:
- Beginner: 21%
- Intermediate: 34%
- Advanced: 15%
- Expert: 30%
- Number of Lifts: 12
- Night Skiing: Yes (7 days/week, largest night skiing operation in Ontario)
- Owner: Alterra
- Other Activities:
- Snow Tubing
- Canopy Climb Net Adventure
- Ice Skating
- Mountain Coaster
- Aquatic Center
- Blue Mountain Village
- Snowshoeing
- Ski Touring
While only 4.5% the size of Canada’s largest ski resort Whistler Blackcomb (in terms of skiable acres), it has 25% of Whistler Blackcomb’s uphill carrying capacity at 26,750 people/hour. The resort is able to achieve this massive volume of guests thanks to all five chairlifts serving the top of Blue Mountain being high-speed six packs. On weekends, even this impressive lift fleet can still get backed up with lines, considering Blue Mountain is the pinnacle ski destination for a weekend ski trip for almost 15 million Canadians.
This idea of Blue Mountain maximizing its offerings regardless of its size rings true throughout all aspects of the resort. It has 96% snowmaking coverage on its cut trails, making it one of the most impressive snowmaking systems in the world. It has a village that could easily be mistaken for one at a full-blown West Coast mega-resort. It offers night skiing on 30 of its trails 7 days a week, giving it a night skiing footprint that ranks among the top 20 in North America. This list can go on and on.
But with all of these impressive stats comes a lot of people, especially given the limited number of options people from the Greater Toronto Area have for a true weekend ski vacation. So the question I was most eager to find the answer to was how does all of Blue Mountain’s infrastructure stack up in comparison to the large number of visitors it typically experiences during peak winter weekends? Having often heard rumors in the past of 30+ minute lift lines being a common occurrence, I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a little concerned.
I decided to spend two days up in Collingwood to get the full experience at Blue Mountain. The first I was going spend on the slopes while the second day I was going to dedicate to Blue Mountain’s non-skiing winter activities.
Skiing on a Saturday at Blue Mountain was much less dramatic than expected. While lift lines did exist, they were never longer than 15 minutes and significantly shorter if you went to the less visited Orchard and North Chairlifts. I naturally gravitated towards the North Chairlift, where all of the resort’s double black diamond terrain is located, besides from some glades.
Blue Mountain is off to one of its best ski seasons in the last several years, seeing solid amounts of natural snowfall without any major thaws. This has preserved both the snow quality and available terrain, making an enjoyable experience across the resort. Some thin coverage spots did exist, but only on select trails with most of these patches being easily avoidable.
One part of Blue Mountain I don’t often get to enjoy is it glades. Typically, Blue Mountain’s gladed terrain is patchy at best, but I was shocked to see many of the glades in the best conditions I have ever experienced. When these trails are fully open, and you don’t have to worry about hitting dead branches or nicking rocks, and the glades are actually quite enjoyable and diverse. Narrower glades with less room to spread out such as Showcase and Bear Trail definitely had significantly more bare patches, so I avoided those for the sake of the bottom of my skis.
As the day went on, the crowds died down, and if you really want to avoid the most crowds, skiing at night is your best option. The resort regrooms most trails in between 4 and 6 pm, allowing skiers and riders to enjoy first tracks one run at a time each evening.
Additional Activities
If you are not a skier or are just looking to have some extra fun, the best way to experience all of Blue Mountain’s activities at the most affordable price is through its Play All Day Pass. The Play All Day Pass gives access to six activities in the winter and sixteen in the summer. Blue Mountain’s winter offerings include Ice Skating, Snow Tubing, the Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster, the Canopy Climb Net Adventure, Plunge! Aquatic Center, and snowshoeing.
The Canopy Climb Net Adventure is a newest addition to Blue Mountain’s lineup of activities and was easily my favorite. While other activities had long lines, the Canopy Climb had none and was sparsely populated once you got into it. I kept thinking I was about to get through the entire course before I discovered an entirely new section to explore and navigate through. After exploring every nook and cranny, I easily spent an hour there. This would have been a core memory if I had done this as a kid.
The one activity I would not recommend, especially if the lines are long would be the Hike n’ Tube located just outside of the Village. Every single time I pass this place I am always stunned at the lines for this attraction. Quite frankly the hill is comparable to going sledding at your local park. If you want the proper tubing experience, there are several other ski hills in southern Ontario that offer much better snow tubing where you don’t have to hike up yourself.
Blue Mountain’s Ridge Runner is a thrilling ride that anyone will enjoy doing, especially since you can control your own speed. Unfrotunetly, this activity is the most prone to long wait times, and if you plan on doing this, I would highly recommend going at as much of an off-peak time as possible, such as first thing in the morning when it opens, late in the afternoon when things start to die down, or on a weekday.
While I was not able to get to all of the activities in one day, I can speak from previous experience and say that the snowshoe trails are great. They run up either side of the resort’s boundary and connect to the Bruce Trail, which leads to hundreds of kilometers of hiking trails, with many kilometers of those trails being within a short distance of Blue Mountain.
Plunge! Aquatic Center used to be one of my favorite spots in Collingwood to go as a kid, with its indoor/outdoor pool being a blast, especially in cold temperatures. While it would be misleading to define this place as a waterpark, it offers multiple waterslides, a water playground, and other unique water features that add to the fun.
The Blue Mountain Village has a wide variety of restaurants for anyone looking to dine out. Prices may be higher compared to going out to dinner in Collingwood, but you are going to avoid the typical casual sit-down chains and have the perfect location. Families best gravitate towards Firehall Pizza Co. For a fancier sit-down meal, my pick is Mother Tongue. If you are just looking for a quick bit, the traditional ski lodge cafeterias always work, and there is, of course, a Tim Hortons as well.
Conditions
Weather Outlook
Photos
I left my time at Blue Mountain, having enjoyed a well-rounded weekend of skiing and other outdoor winter activities. It is evident that in recent years, Blue Mountain has really made a push to be more than just a winter ski destination and instead simply just a winter destination. With the ever-expanding array of activities, events, and spaces to enjoy, Blue Mountain has become a place where people from all over Ontario can spend a weekend, whether you are a skier or not.
For those reasons, alongside its continued focus to maximize the ski footprint it has, it is no surprise that Blue Mountain is Canada’s go-to ski resort, serving the country’s biggest metropolitan area well.
For more information, check out Blue Mountain’s website.
