garnet hill lodge and ski resort

Great trails for snow shoeing, loved the Hooper Mine! Very helpful staff, good trail identification and maps available.

Garnet Hill is definitely a treasure! The new owners are doing a fantastic job bringing back the glory of this place that has had quite a storied existence. My family has primarily skied the trail network but the lodge is gorgeous (the fireplaces... the views...) and it is definitely high on the list for a weekend getaway - you can ski right to your door! And getting kids nordic skiing and loving it, even if they think they prefer alpine? Garnet really helped us with this, making lessons fun. Now we all ski as a family and have a great time! The location is wonderful for winter or summer - the trails provide a range of experiences and the proximity to state land and thirteenth lake is wonderful. Garnet is a great home base for lots of outdoor adventuring.

Love the trails...really fun layout! The bonus of having a bus pick you up at the bottom just gives you time to do more skiing

Breakfast, included with room, was traditional eggs, home fries, bacon, sausage to order with optional sweet rolls, fruit, granola, etc. A nice dinner menu with a number of options, not exactly at the highest standards of fine restaurants, but good enough. Service a bit amateurish at times, but friendly and accommodating.

The last few days of XC skiing at Garnet Hill have been wonderful. There is no better XC skiing experience than skiing down miles of wonderfully groomed trails that go through the woods and then being brought back to the ski shop by hopping on the Garnet Hill shuttle bus at the bottom. The finishing touch to a wonderful day was last night's delicious dinner at the lodge while listening to live piano music.

After years of XC skiing in Canada, we "discovered" Garnet Hill Lodge and XC Ski Center eight years ago, and just returned from the second of three planned trips this winter. We love Garnet Hill for so many reasons, and we bring back wonderful memories from each and every trip.The lodge is inviting - small enough to be intimate, large enough to provide all necessary services ...and this they do extremely well! New owners Don and Mindy and their staff are welcoming, friendly, gracious, and ready to accommodate guests' every need. This includes the knowledgeable folks at the Ski Center. Food is definitely a cut above what one might expect at a ski lodge - delicious, and artistically presented. Must mention the wine tasting dinners - great wines, food, conversation! Have attended two and hope to be there for the next one on March 22. Impressed by variety and quality of lodge's wine cellar and the expertise of the food and beverage manager, Jeff Goodspeed.We are older folks, no longer looking for breathtaking thrills in our XC ski outings, and find many miles of trails accessible. It is a XC skier's paradise, regardless of age and ability, and we are always impressed by the quick response of groomers to changing weather conditions. Snowshoeing opportunities abound, and a hike with friends up to Balm of Gilead Mt. was a highlight last week.The magnificent views of snow-covered 13th Lake and the mountains beyond, seen from the lodge, are beautiful, peace-inducing, and ever-changing. For a wonderful winter getaway, it doesn't get any better than this! S&S / Wilmington DE

It was 4 years ago that I had been at Garnet Hill, and I much enjoyed it then. When I stayed there two days this week I enjoyed it even more. The trails were in very good shape, and the restaurant, although it wasn't bad 4 years ago, was even better now. The staff was friendly and helpful, and the overall atmosphere was great. Did I mention the unforgettable scenery?

We moved to NYS in 1974 and immediately became avid cross country skiers. Over the years one of our favorite places was Garnet-Hill Ski Center. Our children, now young adults, spent many of winter weekends there skiing with us, in lessons and in ski-club. The place has changed owners several times since these years and the quality and dedication to the sport and families had waned to a point of us not choosing to frequent it. However, it was with heartfelt enthusiasm my husband and I skied there Sunday. The trails were well groomed, the ski shop staff was once again helpful and knowledgeable and several families were there for the "No Child Left Inside" ski program. For the first time in 8 years I will reconsider purchasing a season pass!!! Thank you Don & Mindy!!!

great value and really friendly people, ski hire was helpful and had an excellent lunch for $11room was mid week and we were upgraded to an excellent room, with a stunning view, would happily stay there again

We just returned from five days at Garnet Hill Lodge and Ski Resort. It was wonderful! We arrived during the brief warm-up to 46F on Sunday, hopeful that ski-friendly temperatures would return. A fall to sub-zero that night brought winter back to the mountain, and the icy conditions on Monday morning were resolved with aggressive grooming by the staff. We skied every day, and with a little new snow mixed in, trail conditions kept improving. Every time we went out we had more fun!We snowshoed up to Balm of Gilead Mountain one afternoon with some other guests from the Lodge and had a great time. What a view! Back at the Lodge, sitting around the fireplace we met up with some old friends and made some new ones. We've met some very nice people over the years right there by the fire. Dinner was great, the staff was friendly and attentive, and we even got a piano concert from Don, the owner! We've been going to Garnet Hill for many years, and have seen many changes. Don & Mindy (and staff) are doing a great job of making the Lodge the sort of place that feels like home. We can't wait to go back!

Dear David,I'm very dismayed to hear that you had such an unsatisfactory experience at our cross country ski center. It must have been this past Monday that you visited us, as that is the only day where the cold weather produced icy conditions on our trails so far this season. And I admit, we did not handle the situation properly. We had had a major rain storm the previous Friday which soaked the trails with moisture, but grooming and skiing were still great because the temperatures were warm enough to prevent icing. But by Monday that had changed dramatically as temps dropped below zero and we were not able to groom as well and as easily as it had been earlier. And so we failed to change our tactics sufficiently and soon enough to allow skiers to still enjoy the trails as they should have been able to. And so I apologize for this lapse. By Tuesday we had recovered a good deal of skiable trails and with the help of a little fresh snow our trails are once again as pristine and beautiful as they have been all season. I can only apologize again and promise you that this situation will not happen again.In the big picture, I would have to say that Mindy and I are wholeheartedly dedicated to maintaining and improving the trail system, grooming and overall skiing experience at Garnet Hill Lodge far beyond where it has been in the years leading up to our ownership. That's not to say that we haven't made our share of mistakes but it is not because of a lack of trying or dedication. What we have done is make significant improvements in the trail infrastructure with proper mowing and trimming, new bridges and culverts where needed, trail smoothing and leveling, as well as signage improvements and upgrades. We've also invested in new machinery as well as in maintaining existing machinery to manage the extensive trail system that we have in summer and winter. We've also invested in a larger, better trained staff that is dedicated to providing a great skiing experience at Garnet Hill.So with all that as our personal commitment to improving every aspect of skiing at Garnet Hill Lodge it is very disappointing to hear that you are not planning to return based on what happened to you this week. While so many people have been telling us what a wonderful time they've had skiing with us this season and that things are so much better than ever before, it is only those who can tell us where we are lacking that can help us improve in the future. So I thank you for your honest feedback and hope that you will consider coming back to try us again in the future. If you do, just let us know and you will have a free trail pass with us.Sincerely,Don Preuninger

Manicured miles of trails were wonderful. A great mix of pick-your-own adventure trails. We found even the most challenging trails enjoyable. $22/person is a little spendy so we tried to ski as long as possible.

We had a great day renting skis and cross country skiing at Garnet Hill. The trails were well kept and endless. It made for a fun cold day activity, because cross country skiing is a good, warm exercise and the cold wind was blocked by the forest! The trails were beautiful and the meal and fireplace at the lodge was a perfect ending to a perfect day!

Garnet Hill is an absolute gem of a place. The setting is incredibly beautiful and the trails were extremely well groomed. Ivy and Adam were unbelievably helpful throughout our stay and Adam was a very effective skate teacher. I honestly could not have imagined a better weekend getaway that we experienced at Garnet Hill. Ought to get a 6 out of 5!

After 30 years of skiing here, we lost faith when former owners let the place go downhill. Under new owners the grooming is back to A-plus. It was a delight to get back on these trails, even if the former trail system is somewhat reduced (apparently they couldn't re-negotiate right-of-way with all the adjacent property owners, as was done in the past). This place is still unique among East Coast x/c ski offerings.