devil's elbow ski area

Devils elbow is a wonderful place particularly for people looking for a family oriented ski trip.Its not a huge hill, but what is in Ontario? It has a decent variety of trails, great staff, good grooming, great snow making coverage, and is a pleasant trip for young families.I have been skiing since I could walk, about 40 years, and have been to resorts all over Canada in America. You obviously can't compare this to a mountain, its just not even in the same ballpark, but for beginner and people looking for a nice getaway close to Toronto, its a wonderful hill. The ski school is great. The instructors are friendly, personable, competent and make the kids enjoy their day. They make them feel comfortable and encourage them to enjoy learning. Both my children have been through multiple programs at the Devils elbow ski school and are much better skiers for the experience. The cafeteria is simple, but adequate. My kids love the poutine, they have sandwiches burgers soups and a few others things. No license, but its closed at 430 anyway and there aren't accommodations anyway. Its nice you can keep track of little ones as well with only one chalet. There is ample space to store your things and free storage for bags and such, as well as lockers for 3 bucks a day if you wish. Its reasonably priced, and best of all there are not often very long lines so you don't spend much time waiting in lift lines (my biggest pet peeve with blue mountain and horseshoe valley). Don't go expecting a mountain and take your young kids, they'll have a blast. Enjoy, let me know if you have any questions. Cheers

Uncle Velfrid could have retired years ago but he works tirelessly to make sure Devils Elbow is kept up fun and safe for all skiers. He takes the lifts apart and sends the cables to the US for x-raying to verify their strength. He makes sure to build up a good snow base as soon as the temperatures drop and this is his passion.I am not a skier but my daughter skis here along with so many others that know this is a well managed ski lodge.

Well groomed on all runs today with just a bit of ice forming by end of day. Only three of five chairs open despite being Saturday but minimal wait times. Went just for afternoon after ski schools done - learnt that they no longer offer an afternoon pass but only a 3 hour pass option - which at 1230 meant paid full day pass just to ski for afternoon. Hill closes at 430 but with most people gone by 4 we were advised at 415 that it was last run and lifts closing. Which is minimal but given 5 minute turn around time still annoying not to get the full time as advertised - clear impression from staff that we were holding up closing up for the day as only a few people left by that time. Hill does have a good separate bunny hill system with separate chair for new skiers plus far chair for only advanced runs so decent system to help separate different skill levels.

Besides being super pleasant and knowledgeable, the staff in the rentals and lift ticket offices were very efficient - that meant no waiting. With several lifts there were no long line-ups there either. The runs were really well groomed considering the mild weather during March break. Unfortunately, that meant the cross-country trails weren't open though. As for snowboarding the runs, that was a "real blast" according to my 16-year old son. Devil's Elbow has some excellent runs including the actual Devil's run having a serious bend about half-way down - the longest and fastest - and we will definitely return next season. We spent about 5 hours there and my son looks forward to trying to master the tougher runs again.