We recently went to Pajarito Ski area for my kids to have their first opportunity to ski. The beginner hill was the only thing open, but it was a perfect learning place. We started them off with 2 hour lessons for a very reasonable price. The ski instructors were pleasant and patient. One of my sons also learned snowboarding. He had a very nice instructor, and the place was not bustling with skiers yet, so my son had one on one instruction. There is a restaurant in the lodge along with clean restrooms and down in the ski rental area there are lockers. The restaurant in the lodge has delicious food. There were 7 of us together and we all enjoyed the food, the view and our time at Pajarito.
A beautiful place to spend the day year round, this ski hill is treasured by locals (and should probably be kept a secret). During the winter the snow can be unreliable, but on good years it has the best runs in the state. There are never lines at the lifts and quite often you have the entire run to yourself. Extremely challenging, even the bunny hill makes most resorts look boring. The summer season features hiking, biking, sight seeing, and music/beer festivals. On good years you can even go mushroom picking. I would love to keep this a secret but they could use a little help as I would love to see more money flow into improvements (the lifts leave a lot to be desired).
I had been there last winter and it was my first time to be there. It has much harder blue and black lanes. I was a starter but I still had fun there. Remember to arrive early. After I think 3pm, it would be getting dark and really cold, and you'd better go back home. The cost is relatively same or cheaper than skiing in Corolado.
Pajarito is amazing. My only complaints are about the snow in the area, but I cannot blame them for that. There is are a ton of runs for the highly skilled and for people new to the sport. A little tough for a first time skier. Pajarito also offers some of the cheapest skiing and is one of the least crowded resorts I have ever been to. It is well worth the drive from Santa Fe or Albuquerque. Pajarito does not offer quite the terrain that Taos does, but is $15 cheaper per day ($62 vs. $77). If you are coming to NM to ski and notice that Santa Fe is packed, check out Pajarito. You can almost always ski right into the lift and hop on (no wait time). The drive up can be a bit tricky in heavy snow so bring your 4x4s and/or chains when there is fresh snow in Los Alamos.
My husband and I are frequent skiers in the winter months. We love Pajarito when the snow is plentiful. As with all of New Mexico resorts, the snow is rather unreliable. When there's snow in NM the skiing can be incredible! We've had some amazing powder days at Pajarito when we had first tracks on every single run. No lie! For skiers that don't like waiting in lift lines, waiting in line for lunch, and waiting in line for the restroom, this is the place. Try it, you'll love it.
We usually snowboard at Ski Santa Fe which is awesome, but we come here to use the Nordic trails located on the North Side of the parking lot. If you're into x-c skiing, this is a very nice spot to come. Tracks are made by volunteers and it's free. The local Nordic club, who maintains the trails, appreciates donations. As far as Pajarito Ski area, it looks great. I've walked into the lodge many times and folks seem to be really happy. It has a good vibe.
Great grooming on the trails. Good snow and hills. Disliked that only one lift to upper hills was running, so we had to ride along crossover trails a lot to get back to the lift. Too bad so many of staff smokes. Walked through cig smoke a lot outside of the lodge and gift shop saturated with smoke stench.
Everyone at this place is super friendly and encouraging from ticket sales, equipment rental, lift workers and we had the 2 best ski instructors. Kyle was very patient and taught this family of 5 a lot n a full day. 3 kids 6, 11, 13 all had a great time. Great Lil spot for beginners in a family setting for a great price for skiing or snowboarding. Not overly crowded ;)
It was great and beautiful during the winter with the snow all over the place. It has great service very nice to visit depending what you want to do.
When it snows here it is awesome. They have had some years where it has been too dry to open but 2015 is THE year for Pajarito! New ownership, lots and lots and lots of snow. Recovering very well from the forest fire. Nearly everything up and running again and enough snow for Skiesta!