Pico Mountain At Killington

Love this mountain
Small clean and friendlily staff
No lines, no waiting and great skiing
Plenty of stuff for all levels
49ner is my favorite run in Vermont!
Thanks Pico!

I spend time in VT skiing mostly Okemo, Stratton and Killington. Today I tried PICO. Conditions were excellent. I am an intermediate who can ski Double blacks but don’t love them. PICO is great for families. For some reason the place just let me down a little. There are a lot of people hitting the same 10 trails over and over. I just found the mountain a little boring. They had some very cool glades though, with super deep and steep terrain in the glades. Definitely bring a friend because the glades can be treacherous, snow is 4′ deep in the glades. Nice resort overall but kind of just «Blah». It’s still a good mountain with 57 trails and no lift lines ever, lifts are not high speed. I paid $ 40 through liftopia so definitely a great value. I would head here if you are a little tired and can’t pull off another full day at Killington which is only 15 – 20 mins. away.

Skip Killington and come here. Like a lot of the reviews here, I will note that it is a lot less crowded and easier to navigate than Killington. If Killington is the big blonde group of jerks from the ski school, Pico is the plucky upstart who wins the big competition at the end of the movie. Best way to describe it is that it feels like a larger small/​family mountain.
I ride, so i found myself hiking around with my board in hand a lot at Killington. Not so much at Pico.
We skied/​rode Killington on Saturday and did a run or two on Sunday before taking our passes to Pico. Best decision we made. Conditions were great, and the lift lines were never more than two or three minutes. Yeah, the lodge is much smaller, the but the bar and food were great.
Not sure I will ever go back to Killington. ..

So much better then Killington. A lot less crowded and staff was friendly and attentive. I recommend this place for every level of skiers. Great trails from the summit. Upper KI is our fav. Happy skiing!

My boyfriend took me skiing at Pico and signed me up for 3 days of classes to learn to ski. The instructors are extremely patient and helpful. I was able to ski after my first day. I think Pico is a great place for families and for beginners. Definitely pack a lunch because it’s really expensive to eat (a small bag of chips is $ 2.25) and you must try a waffle with chocolate drizzle at the Waffle Cabin. It’s nice after a long day of skiing you can go upstairs to the bar, get a seat by the fire, enjoy a hot chocolate with baileys and some great live music.

I never skied pico I enjoyed it very much it’s killington with way less of a crowd the conditions when I went were A+ grooming is a skiers love!

Awesome family ski resort. The in-​laws rented a house for 14 of us and we were all set to ski the week away at Killington. When one of us thought it would be a good idea to start the week with a more laid back day at Pico, it was our stroke of good luck. No crowds, friendly staff and great skiing. May not be as big as Killington, but we all had a blast. The kids (age 10 to 13) found the mountain to be perfect for their skill set (blues and greens). Definitely go here!

Yes Pico is smaller than Killington, but it’s better in every aspect. It’s less crowded, lodging is nicer and the staff is extremely friendly.
Like one reviewer said, I’m almost afraid to write this review because I’m afraid people will rush over here. But hey, I’m not stingy so help yourself :)

when you think of skiing in vermont, you probably think of places like killington and okemo. they’re big. no doubt. they’re also crowded. no doubt.
the perfect description of pico (pronounced pie-​ko, not pee-​ko) wrote itself when i was going up the summit lift, looking at the slopes of killington a few miles down the road on a drizzly, misty day:
other guy: weird weather today.
me: yup. but at least it kept the crowds away.
o.g.: what?
me: well, it’s just so empty here.
o.g.: :chuckles: no. it’s *always* like this.
you can’t make this stuff up. it’s even better when you get a couple of buywithme coupons and go to this empty place for half price.
with a summit elevation of nearly 4,000′, pico is every bit as tall as, if not taller than, its big-​name neighbors despite being smaller in terms of trails, lifts and ammenities. by virtue of its more famous neighbors, you’ll get to ski or board down trails with no one else in sight and, like me, may find yourself pulling in for the day at 10:30 a.m., parking in row «c» of the lot, and finding no line for lift tickets.
even if pico were more crowded, it would still be a fun mountain, but maybe not great. the trails are wide and well-​maintained. there are only 4 lifts from the base. all of them take you about half-​way up the mountain and all have blues and greens to get down. more daring folks will want to start from the golden express quad lift. from the top of that lift, you can go to your right to pick up the summit express quad or to your left to grab the outpost double, both of which will lead you to the blacks.
the woods are open off the summit so, have fun with that sonny bono.
the knomes knoll triple will take you up to pico’s terrain park, packed with well marked jumps of various sizes, loads of rails, and boxes. no halfpipe but, let’s face it, i’m not shaun white and you probably aren’t either.
where pico could use some improvement is in the après-​ski department. i expect mountain restaurants to be lousy with people and pico’s last run lounge was no different. i was, however, flabbergasted that there were no burgers on the menu and that nothing came with fries. you can get high-​school-​cafeteria-​quality burgers and fries downstairs and bring them up, but, well … i went with the very uncreative pepperoni pizza which was meh at best. despite the crowd, however, service was good and there was a live band which was nice. they do, however, have a waffle haus.
tl;dr — i like pico. great trails, fun terrain park, and a waffle haus. i’ll definitely go back.

I almost don’t want to write a good review, cause if I do, more people will start going here! Its great, conditions stay pretty good, as most go to killington, not Pico, but the trails are long and well groomed, Definately worth a visit!

I like Pico — and as everyone has pointed out it is considerably less crowded than Killington. With that being said, depending on the conditions, certain trails are closed, etc.
Hit up Pico on a Saturday and Killington on a Sunday to avoid the masses.

Pico is small — but I like it better than Killington.
The trails are more wide open, there are less people, and it reminds me more of skiing out west in Colorado.
Do yourself a favor and check out Pico — it’s cheaper than ‘the beast’ too! You’ll be glad you did!

The Alpine Slide was a blast! If the ski lift didn’t take so long to reach the top I would have kept going on it over and over again. It was so much fun!
It’s closed in the winter. Can be dangerous, so pay attention to the rules or you might take a nasty tumble!

To Hell with skiing here in the winter, they have the Alpine Slide (summer only) which is a terribly fun way to spend a beautiful day in Vermont.
Keep your hand and feet inside the sled, or be prepared for friction BURNS that never heal.
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Pico (pike-​oh) is one of my favorite mountains. When I had the All-​East past, I would ski here every time over Killington. Why? It’s just more FUN. The vertical drop is not as high as Killington, and they have fewer trails, but it’s also way less crowded. There are some great narrow, moguly trails, and some nice glades. It’s a good mountain for all abilities, and within a day trip (3 hours from Boston).
The lodge is decent sized, and for those of you who ski for the food (you must be small in number), there’s a belgian waffle house at the base lodge.
Pico, I miss you!

I heard some story about how Pico mountain is Killington’s bastard younger brother who doesn’t get as much attention or funds thrown its way. This is not a bad thing, in fact, I think it’s what makes Pico so charming. I’ve been skiing my whole life and have never found a place I’ve enjoyed as much as I enjoy Pico.
First of all, it’s completely different from the Killingtons and the Sunday Rivers. Whereas the Killingtons and Sunday Rivers are these huge ski resorts with 19 million lifts and trails and snowmaking and tourists and Sharpshooters trying to take your picture, Pico feels like a place for locals. The advertising says that it’s «pure» and «perfect». And it is.
The mountain is not that huge, but it has plenty of slopes to keep you busy, even when you want to be challenged. Try the Upper Giant Killer, which is usually completely empty and offers beautiful views.
A lot of the slopes shunt you through the woods, so you feel like you’re in the back country for just a moment. The sun hits the mountain at a very pleasing angle, so there aren’t many shadows to facilitate icy conditions.
The lodge is small and rustic but not overwhelmingly crowded, and they sell waffles at the base of the lifts that make the air fragrent with sugar and chocolate and batter. Also, the bathrooms are newly renovated, which does make a difference.
So, all in all you can probably tell that I love this place. Don’t tell to too many people about it though, because I don’t want it to get too popular. Also, they don’t make much snow, so that can be a problem, especially if we have more winters like this past one.