Killington Bike Park

Robin

Robin

Well-Known Member
I'm new to DH and have been eager to try new mountains. My only DH experiences have been Mountain Creek and once in Fernie, BC (on a all-mountain bike). So I was really excited to get to Killington to see what they have to offer.

As of now, there are two areas to the mountain - Snowshed and K-1. Snowshed is the newer part of the mountain (accessed via chairlift) and K-1 is the old part (accessed via the gondola). They expect to open Ramshead later this summer.

We arrived around 10 (opening) and on the same day as the ESC Enduro - and K-1 would be closed for the race until 2 pm. We rode all of the trails at Snowshed a few times - mostly flow and one natural trail. As 2 pm approached, we were eager to get to K-1.

We were unpleasantly surprised to find out that some trails were still closed due to the enduro, limiting our choices for getting down. Some of the trails were just gravel fireroads. Others were washed out and required climbing - too much for a hefty DH bike in my mind (i.e. walking/pushing bike up).

So my impression? Meh. Yes, I don't have a lot of experience/been a lot of places, but that being said, I won't be back at Killington anytime soon and would rather check out Highland, Thunder, Platty, etc.
 
The blue trail from k1 that takes the actual ski/board trail down was extremely boring. Any natural trail at a blue level of difficulty with a single track vibe did require some pedaling and was scenic at best. I was on a 160 travel bike so it wasn't so bad in that aspect. but my gf on her 180mm freeride bike with the seat slammed prob had much more to be desired out of that segment. All the best trails from the k1 are their black /double black diamond trails.

I did enjoy my time, but I hope ramshead does offer more to the overall experience for a return journey

It does make me appreciate having mnt creek so close to us though.
 
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Thanks for the review.
Good to know they are expanding.
Sounds like it hasn't changed much since the '90's off K-1
 
How did you zero in on Killington? When I saw your picture there, the first thing I thought was "I guess they did some work?" as they never seemed to promote the bike park much.
 
stb222 said:
How did you zero in on Killington? When I saw your picture there, the first thing I thought was "I guess they did some work?" as they never seemed to promote the bike park much.
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I just went cause they where open last month during a weekday and my gf didn't feel like riding creek 🙂
 
stb222 said:
How did you zero in on Killington? When I saw your picture there, the first thing I thought was "I guess they did some work?" as they never seemed to promote the bike park much.
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Since @BiknBen hadn't been there yet and the rep at NEMBAFEST talked it up.
 
They are reinvesting. Unfortunately, they are still working to bring the place up to par with others.

The lowest lift portion is new and pretty good for beginner to intermediate DHer. Just too small to justify the travel. They are working in the K-1 area. It looks as if they will be continuing to bring that portion of the mountain back to life.

All the rental fleet bikes and gear are new this year. So money is flowing but it just takes time to pay off. I'm NOT itching to go back this year.

As someone else said recently, these trips really help to appreciate what we have at Mtn Creek. More trails, more variety, better lift service.
 
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Bromont I have been told is worth the trip.
Whiteface has some great runs and super long runs.
But as its been said we be spoiled with Creek.
Looking forward to a highlands and thunder trip.
 
All the NE resorts will be stepping up their games as winter seasons are certainly shortening.

It will be a few years for sure. Stowe is finishing their permitting as we speak.
 
There are plans to build trails in and around the town of Killington and eventually connect up rt 100 to GMT. Mad River Valley and Sugarbush areas are expanding as well. Not all lift stuff but more better trails.
 
It seems like Killington has been talking about a major expansion for 5+ years. We've hired Gravity Logic blah blah blah. It's time to put up or shut up. In the meantime, tiny Thunder Mountain has blown past them as a major east coast MTB destination.
 
Alot of the stuff at Killington is more cross country downhilling. You need a bike that can pedal uphill too.
We used ride it in the mid-late 90's on xc bikes with mag-21 forks & canti brakes. That stuff gave your hands a workout!!!
 
BiknBen said:
As someone else said recently, these trips really help to appreciate what we have at Mtn Creek. More trails, more variety, better lift service.
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I read this yesterday and as a ex-daily winter activity person, this just sounds wrong... because mountain creek sucks in the winter!
 
pearl said:
I read this yesterday and as a ex-daily winter activity person, this just sounds wrong... because mountain creek sucks in the winter!
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You have to put this in context. When Creek was owned by intrawest, they could leverage that to build parks that were light years ahead of the local counterparts which is why Creek produced some of the best rail jocks around. Also, the middle mountain of creek was far less crowded than the gondola side and had some descent terrain. Of the mountains within 2 hours of central jersey, creek was by far the best option.
 
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stb222 said:
You have to put this in context. When Creek was owned by intrawest, they could leverage that to build parks that were light years ahead of the local counterparts which is why Creek produced some of the best rail jocks around. Also, the middle mountain of creek was far less crowded than the gondola side and had some descent terrain. Of the mountains within 2 hours of central jersey, creek was by far the best option.
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Except riding the triple up felt like a life time.
 
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