Everything You Need to Know About Killington Resort, VT

Killington Resort is located in Killington, Vermont, about an hour and 40 minutes from Burlington, VT. It is also about 25 minutes from Rutland, Vermont, which is also a nice place to stay if the resort is full. Pico and Okemo ski mountains are also close by Killington and Rutland, Vermont. This resort is mainly known for skiing and snowboarding in the winter, however, they do offer a lot of fun activities in the summer as well, which you will read about in this article.

Also, in this article, you will learn about different Killington resort lodging within and near the resort, all about the mountain, different activities to do, Killington lift tickets, hours, and more.

This article is all about Killington Resort.

Killington Resort:

Killington Resort Lodging

There are many places to choose from when thinking about places to stay at Killington Resort. They have plenty of hotels and condominiums very close to the ski mountain. The Killington Grand Hotel is the only hotel right on the mountain to stay at, however, all the other hotels associated with Killington offer free shuttle rides to and from the mountain.

Here are places to stay near the resort:

{Related Post : The Best Ski Resorts in the Northeast & Vermont Ski Resorts}

Killington Mountain Info

Okay, so I’m guessing the main reason you want to come to Killington Ski Resort is to ski or snowboard. That being said, there is SO much skiing here. Killington offers 155 different trails, 7 different peaks, 1,165ft of elevation at the base of the mountain, and a 3,050ft vertical drop. In addition, Killington is always one of the first ski mountains to open and one of the last to close for the season. Killington hours vary depending on what season it is.

The best places to be on the mountain for beginners are the Snowshed area (ski & ride school here) and Sunrise Mountain. The best places for intermediates are Snowdon and Ramshead Mountains. There are also a couple blues that you can take from the top of Killington at Peak Lodge. The most popular route for intermediates from the very top are Blue Heaven into Solitude into Sassafras. From Sassafras, you can take many different trails to wherever you want to go on the mountain.

Now, for experts, some great places to ski on the mountain are Skye Peak, Bear Mountain, and the top (Killington Peak). There are a ton of double diamonds off the top of (Killington Peak) and Bear Mountain, while Skye Peak, has a lot of diamonds.

Lastly, for all you glade lovers, the best glades on Killington are off of Showdon Mountain, Skye Peak, Bear Mountain, and Killington Peak (the top). Snowdon and Skype offer a lot of diamond rated glades, which are great for advanced skiers. While Bear Mountain and Killington Peak offer a lot of double diamond glades that would be great for expert level skiers and snowboarders.

Killington Lift Tickets & Hours of Operation

In the winter, Killington’s lifts run from 8am-4pm, with the exception of early season openings (anywhere from mid-November to December), the mountain and lifts run from 9am-4pm. Also, late season (May to June) the mountain is open from 9am-5pm. Here is more information about Killington lift hours. Killington lift tickets can be pricy, a one day standard lift ticket at Killington runs for about $184. They do offer a lot of multi day tickets and the Beast 365 Pass, which are a little more reasonable.

In addition, you must buy your tickets online. Then, once you get to the mountain, you will scan the barcode of your receipt under one of the lift ticket pickup kiosks (they are right there when you walk in and are marked). Killington is a cashless venue, meaning you will have to purchase everything with a credit or debit card. Also, if you buy a lift ticket at Killington, it is good at Pico ski resort as well. Here is more information about lift tickets and here is some more information about season passes. Also, Killington is not technically apart of the Ikon pass, but they do have a partnership with them, allowing Ikon pass holders, 7 days at Killington within a season.

Now, in the summer, the mountain is open from 10am-5pm. Killington offers a lot of different mountain biking lessons and summer camps for kids. They also offer summer camping at the resort.

My Experience:

I have only skied once at Killington ski mountain, but hopefully in the future I will get there more. I really liked Killington. Although, I did go on a weekday and a powder day in the middle of February. So conditions were as ideal as they could be, this definitely added to my experience in a positive way. I would try avoiding any ski resort on the weekends, they are just atrocious. The crowds to get on the lifts and on the trails are insane. And definitely always affect my skiing in a negative way. To avoid this, I’ve started skiing on weekdays when I can or backcountry skiing. I took an intro class at Bromley over this past winter and had a great experience. If you don’t have the gear you can also rent it at their store, Potter’s Brothers.

Anyways, when I was at Killington at first, I was really overwhelmed with where to start, parking. I parked at the snowshed area which is a beginner area. Mainly, I picked here because it was the first parking area I saw and I had no issues. Also, they have a mountain store to buy stickers here, if that’s something you’re interested in. I always buy stickers from every resort (that I like), so I figure other people might want to know as well.

Even though the Snowshed is a beginner area, it’s very easy to get to other areas of the mountain from here. I took the Highlander trail to the Showdon Six Express Lift. It’s also almost all the way over to “lookers right”, which is the Snowdon Express. This is a 6 person chair lift that is a “blue bubble lift ” (below is a picture of the lift).

I spent most of my morning at the Showdon Express lift skiing the Patsy’s and Low Rider Glades. They were SO much fun. You can get to these trails via Frolic Trail, they will be off to your right. I recommend these glades to anyone who is able to ski/snowboard them. They are a true diamond, so if you are at that level, please give them a try. Below is a picture of them. Now, I did hit these glades on a really good powder day, so that definitely made them more fun.

The next area I went was the K-1 Express Gondola. Now, there are two Gondolas at Killington, I was very confused when I saw the other Gondola. I thought this was the one I rode, but it didn’t make sense. So, then I looked at the map and realized there are two. Hopefully, this will save you some confusion on the trail if you make the same mistake. The second Gondola is in the middle of the mountain, where the K-1 is more to “looker’s right.” It’s pretty close to the Showdon Express Lift. I took Great Northern to get to the K-1 Gondola.

The K-1 Express Gondola also takes you to the summit of Killington which stands at 4,241ft, which makes it a 4,000 footer. There are only 5 total (including Killington) 4,000 footers. All five of these are my favorite mountains to hike in Vermont.

So, once I was at the Gondola, I skied Rime into Powerline into Royal Flush into Racer’s Edge. Racer’s Edge is the catwalk you want to take to get to the Chop Chop Glades. They are a lot of fun as well. The Chop Chops are a little more open than the Showdon ones, but I still agree with the diamond rating. After this, I rode the K-1 Gondola again. Then I took Bear Trax into LaunchPad into the Anarchy glades.

I loved the Anarchy glades. They were a lot like the Showdon woods at least for the first part. The second part of these glades were much tighter and steeper, so I agree with the double diamond rating. However, I believe I skied into the Juanita and Julio glades as well. I was in the Anarchy glades for a while, which is why I’m pretty sure they turned into the Juanita and Julio glades. The glades let me off at the very end of the Flume Trail. If you look at the trail map, this is where the Julio glades let you off. Again, this is why I think I skied all three of these glades.

After the Anarchy glades, I took a break in the K-1 Lodge. They had water fountains with paper cups. I really appreciated this because I was exhausted after all the glades. I really needed a break and water. Thus, I was very happy to see that Killington had this.

After the lodge, I did a little cross-country skiing to get to the Superstar Six Lift. It took me so long (3 tries) to find the Somewhere & Nowhere glades. I took so many trails trying to find and get to these glades. I skied Skyehawk about 50 times it felt like and just kept missing the entrance to Somewhere and Nowhere. Finally, I skied Great Eastern, and wrapped around the mountain a couple times, saw where the second Gondola let off. Then finally, at one of the curves, I went to the right and saw the entrance to the Somewhere and Nowhere glades. I had a lot of fun in these glades. I think these were the easiest glades out of all the ones I did but still agree with the diamond rating.

Now, it was around 2:30 at this time and while I wanted to get to Bear Mountain, I knew I did not have enough time. Because of this, I started to head back to the Showshed area. To do this, from the Superstar Six Lift, I took High Road to the Snowshed area.

I was bummed I didn’t get to ski Bear Mountain. Bear Mountain mostly has diamonds and double diamonds, there is only one blue square. They also have a good amount of glades which I was interested in trying. But it’s okay, it just gives me more reason to come back. Now, there is a parking area at this part of the mountain, they also have a lodge here. If you are an advanced skier you can park here to start your day.

Overall, I really enjoyed Killington. I thought they had great, diverse, and vast trails to offer. The snow was fantastic, but I also hit it on a really good day. I loved their glades and can’t wait to ski more of them. One drawback I found was the signage at Killington for the glades wasn’t great. However, most ski mountains are like this. They are great at labeling main/groomed trails but fail to label the glades. Killington did have signs for their glades put they were in deceiving places. I think mountains do this for many reasons. One, to keep good trails a secret, thus, keeping the locals happy. And two, to keep people out of the glades that really shouldn’t be there. Also, lift tickets are grossly expensive at Killington but they do have 155 trails. Otherwise, I only have positive things to say about this mountain.

Killington Resort Summer

Hiking and mountain biking are the main summer activities at Killington Mountain. Killington Resort mountain biking offers 35 different mountain biking trails and 30 miles of trail. For hiking Killington offers 10 different trails and 15 miles of climbing. Killington Resort elevation base level is at 1,165ft and the highest peak being at 4,241ft. They also offer a really nice golf course at the resort.

You can hike to the top of Killington which is a lot of fun and is the second tallest peak in Vermont. It is apart of the Vermont 4000 footers and the New England 4000 footers.

The most common way to hike Killington is via the Bucklin Trail, which is not located at the resort. It is located just outside of Rutland, VT, which is about 25 minutes from the resort. You could hike to the top of Killington from the resort which is a little less mileage but about double the elevation gain compared to the Bucklin Trail. This article is super helpful if you want to know how to hike Killington Peak from the resort.

My Experience:

I have hiked Killington via the Bucklin Trail. There are a couple different ways to hike Killington. You can also hike it via the Long Trail and Killington Peak Loop. Via the Bucklin Trail, roundtrip it is about 7.5 miles with about 2,500ft of elevation gain. I hiked this trail a couple years ago in the fall time, hence the jacket and hat in the picture below. I don’t remember this being a super difficult hike, but definitely be in shape before attempting it. The hike definitely felt longer than 7.5 miles but didn’t have a horrible elevation gain. I remember the parking lot having a good amount of space and really enjoying the view at the top.

Killington Restaurants

Okay, lastly, you probably want to know some good places to eat at. Here are some great restaurants nearby, that I suggest:

And that wraps up our article on everything you need to know about Killington Resort. I hope this was helpful and you learned a bunch of new information regarding the resort and are better prepared when you visit. Thank you so much for reading and take care!