Mount Kato Ski Area

Only been here for mountain bike season, great singletrack.

Totally great experience with my son! Havent done this in years! Thanks so much!

Great slopes, great terrain for all levels of riding. 2 sided mountain makes the scale and ability to explore awesome. Some of the staff was good, but a majority wouldnt even respond if I asked how they were, where I should explore, or even if I told them thank you. Would love 5 stars but my favorite part of snowboarding is the community, I found some good company on the lifts and slopes, but your lift operators seemed uninspired, luckily that didnt stop me from having a great time so Im adding the 5th star after all, because I know Ill go back.

The tubing here is great! I love not having to climb the hill. Tubes were in good shape and the whole family had fun!

The high point was definitely customer service. Outstanding service from Dominic in the rental shop. We will come again because of him.A couple of points worth mentioning: we came for tubing and the website listed a holiday tubing schedule but no dates. So we wanted to tube but could not. The ski rates w/ rental equipment were high for a week day, about $300 for a family of 4. We still had fun and enjoyed excellent employee customer service.

When I am not able to get to a bigger mountain in Colorado or there I love to hit up Mount Kato. Little to no wiat for chair lifts even on a great day with great snow. Not Colorado but once you get beyond that face a fun place to hit the slopes.

My biggest problem is the staff, dont get me wrong there are definitely some good people working here who really love their job, but the lift operators seriously NEED TO PAY ATTENTION!!! Its not as bad on the slopes on the back of Mount Kato but the lift at the Bunny Hill (Beaver Trail is what its really called or something like that; its in the front next to tubing) needs to have people who will pay attention working at it. This is literally the worst slope to have people who arent paying attention working on it because that is the BEGINNER HILL!! People will fall of the lift or tumble and the operator wont be paying attention and let the lift keep going while the person is struggling to get up as the people behind them try to get past them. So many times have I seen this happen and it really angers me because its dangerous and people could get really hurt. Dear Owners of Mount Kato you have to have some sort of meeting with your employees and do something about this. I have seen this happen so many times, it happened to me before and my friends. I have a season pass here from last year and I plan on getting another one this year too! I am so thankful too have a Ski Resort/Ski Area in southern Minnesota and not have to drive +2 plus hours to go snowboarding. Since its a smaller Ski Resort than most it hills are pretty small and short, i.e. it only takes about 2 mins. to get down the hill on the longest run which is a little dissapointing, it would be nice to have a longer run. Its prices are a little high, I would reccomnd getting a pass if you plan on going more than 3 or 4 times, but if you compare it to other resorts it really isnt that bad. I really wish that they would do a better job of updating their website and Facebook, sometimes on their website it says a run/trail or lift is closed when it actually isnt. One thing that is very overpriced though is the food! It really doesnt have to be that much.

Mount Kato is a fun small Ski destination with occasional terrain parks. I never got sick of the trails and the lifts are fast with very friendly staff!

I only give 4 stars because when we arrived and checked in at guests services the ladies working made me feel awkward and confused. I was paying for my 2 kids lift and rental and she made me confused and rushed I asked where do we go after this and she said you’ll know when you walk out the door there is sign. At the rental house the guys were all super nice and friendly and were genuinely caring and made sure my kids boots fit right before they let us go. Lastly the male instructor we had for the ski lesson was awesome! He was super patient and encouraging made sure the girls were going to get this down within 2 hours.

The resort provides plenty of terrain for skiing and snowboarding. The Chairlift bar has friendly servers to help with your order. Overall, Im impressed with the service from Mount Kato.

Love the mtb trails. Great work by great people.

Fun mountain biking in the summer

Getting really excited for snow this year. Last year was amazing at Mount Kato. The season passes are affordable. They do have early bird sales and prices increase closer to winter. The terrain park is well placed and most of the runs are open when the weather is right. Looking forward to another season.

Went skiing with my friends. Would not be going there again. The instructor Jon left us in our group lessons and he went with another group out of no where. Would definitely be not going there again!

Great place for beginners! We had our kids take a lesson and by the end of Day1, my 13 YO was ready to try the Blues.

Place is very close to me so I gave it a shot .very affordable and my snowboarding rentals were fair as well .place is more for beginners but I enjoyed snowboarding there, they also offer discounts if you go past 4:00 PM. Workers are professionals and very friendly and very welcoming ..highly reccomend it

Just like the good ol days in high school. great time!

Fun place. Fun slopes. Nice people

The new kids bike trail is great. All the trails are great.

One of the best place to ski in Minnesota. The lift bar is great place for a tap and a burger!

Awesome day, great instructors for the kids, nice operators at the lifts, not too crowded for a beautiful saturday.

Some of the staff are great, especially the guys in Rentals, one staffer on the hill seemed to have a gripe he needed to take out on someone. Not sure why he was so completely unprofessional

Love it has awesome patrol worker and fun place to go for all ages

The hill was a bit packed and icy tonight but nice assortment of runs and friendly staff! Nice big lodge too

Not much variety when it comes to runs. Staff weren’t extremely friendly. Tried to get and new ski pass due to switch snow pants and they said I would need to pay. 50 bucks for a lift ticket and about 30 to rent. Prices seemed on the high side.

It costs money to ski no getting around that, Mt Kato does a good job. Myself and 3 children are annual members.

I had so much fun, great place to hang out and snowboard or ski, soooo funnnn

Mu son spends hours here and enjoys skiing g and spending g time with his friends

Its always a fun time going skiing and tubing!

The rentals were cheap for a reason. I got two left feet. The rental equipment and check out process is very dated. Some staff were nice some where not. The kid working the tubing area didnt look up from his phone and the walkway was off so we had to walk up the whole thing. Eventually they did turn it on but we decided we would have more fun at home.

I get a season pass every year and its truely worth it! Mount Kato is a great place for the family to spend time together.

Great place to have in Southern Minnesota. Has many different difficulty levels. Not a ton of vertical but thats to be expected. Groomers do a great job.If they could improve anything it would be updated/faster chairlifts and better food selection.

Tubing was awesome and not a lot of wait time!

Been going here on and off for the last 5 years, the place seems to have lost its luster. Numbers are down and rarely do they have all the lifts open. Even on Holidat weekends it doesnt seem to get as busy as it used to. Hills are short and are kind of all the same, it would be nice if the price was a little lower than other nearby ski areas with more variety.

Decent hill for the most part. A lot of fun on pow days, and convenient to the college. They advertise that they have 4 terrain parks on their website and trail maps when in reality there is 1. The entire backside is under utilized as they could have a killer park back there! Just would be nice if they didnt falsely advertise.

Would have been better if tubing was open before December

Great place to teach kids how to ski and snow board

Great location for the mn high school cycling leagues last race of the season.

The kids had a great time tubing

Great staff that hosts High School Cycling League bike races!!

Loved it went to the NICA mtb race.

Best place in Southern Minnesota to scratch your ski itch. Tubing for kids too.

Great place for loads of winter fun!

Love the locals

Good fun. The lodge is run down and sub par though. Good value for money!The backside seems to be rarely open fully but it provides a less streep longer more meandering path. You will have to leave to get food, and unfortunately the good food is on the other side of Mankato making that a significant drive.

Good hills but needed a little more snow. Bathrooms are bad flooded drains and kinda messy.

We skied at the end of the season, so was expecting less than ideal conditions, but the hills were great! Nicely groomed, plenty options for our new skiers. The staff was very helpful and friendly! We stayed 10 hours, we had so much fun.

Water in bathrooms are cold. Be nice if was like warm when coming in from being freezing neg temps outside. Loved it last January when all lifts were open and had more snow. Nicer then small hill we have back home but wasnt enough snow to keep you going all way down hill today but plan to try come back if have time when get more snow

My kids love it here

Good to ski. Even better to mountian bike

So much fun just its usually pretty busy.

Great runs and fresh snow!

On a high hill, not far at all, you can find snow when there isn’t any in your yard, skis and snowboards, lessons for these snow sports, and a cozy chalet with really good coffee. This well kept ski hill is tucked south of the University and easy to get to. A worthwhile activity for the whole family. Discounts for groups. There is also a tubing hill!

Beautifully groomed and helpful team!

Great place to go if you love skiing and want a little adrenaline boost.

MTB trails were well maintained and a blast to ride!

I saw pictures of this place online, didnt expect much, but I actually really enjoyed it. Thought the hills looked too small, but I was pleasantly surprised how much fun this place was.

Fun! But spendy

We went through the university and ugggh it was so so much fun. Good thing, they make their own “snow” so, you don’t have to wait for a real snow to have fun.

Really great service!!! Tones of different options to do, I was having trouble with my personal board and the rental shop guys were super nice and talked me through fixing it, really appreciated the kind service.

I love skiing and this is the only hill I have ever been to, but I gotta try somewhere else in the future. Hill feels like it gets worse every year.

A ski resort in an unexpected location given there are no mountains around these parts. Also has a tubing hill, equipment rental, and indoor concession stand with plenty of seating. A place that for many defines Mankato.

FUN! Live music Saturday night!

3 kids all had a blast skiing and tubing. Great prices and an awesome day of fun!

Very nice how for ski and tuning

Love this place. No, its not Colorado. But it is surprisingly good.

Learned to ski here. Couple fun slopes

Went tubing with my teenage son and my niece and her young son. We all had a lot of fun. Price was good. We didnt make it into the chalet. They sell 2 and 3 hour packages for tubing. We bought 3 hour, but got tired and didnt make it 2 hours.

Minnesota State High School mountain biking season finale!! Couldnt ask for a better place

Its a fun place to go obviously but the prices are steep and hey tend to even charge full price when only half the runs are open. Try the fries in the chalet though because theyre amazing! Runs are alright, nothing crazy until they put up the jumps in the back and terrain park on the far right in the front. If youve never gone try it out, but any advanced boarders or skiers probably wont be impressed with either the resort or its prices.

Not alot of hills open

It is what it is. I grew up skiing there but they dont even try to make a ski lodge feeling. Turn the fire place on. Put some music on. Play some ski videos. Know how to make warm drinks. They could so alot more with what they have but I feel like they are there just for the school bus traffic.

Mt biking here is really nice. Elevation single track. Something for everyone. Be prepared to climb and descend.

Great time with my two grandkids

Its fun

Nice little hill not too far out of the Metro...

Absolutely loved it! Everyone was so nice! Such a wonderful experience!

Edit:Ski instructor Bruce was rude and condensing to my family in a closed area that was unmarked. He didnt ask if she needed help even though she was clearly struggling. His helpful advise dont come down this again as its closed. There were no signs, significant 100ft of fence lacking.Weve spent $2000 here this year alone and it may be our last.

Really nice to have in a flat area but you can do all of the runs multiple times in a day. Terrain parks were better in the past.

Mt. Kato is a great place for the whole family. By no means is Mt. Kato big, but they do have various slopes and anbunny hill. Our families favorite part is the tubing, even as a grown adult it has always put a smile on my face. They do offer ski and snowboarding lessons if you were curious, and they have food and a bar as well.The one downside is the price, but they do run specials and also honor veterans and students.#LetsGuide G.I. Joe - Military discount offered here

Makes for a fun day out!

Nice people.

Nice and small ski area and they also have snow tubing. Both is a lot of fun! Just a little bit expensive. They have nice artificial snow if needed.

We had a mountain bike race there and some of the trails are technical and fun

Awesome place to do the Skiing for the beginners. Darius was our guide. He was so patient with us and taught us well with all the basics.

Just passing by on the bike trail.

Its great Minnesota skiing. Much better the Buck Hill but its still Minnesota skiing and there isnt much to be said for that...

Very good place for events like XC Mountain Bike Racing!

Had a good time

Its a good value for the Midwest. If you want to compare it to Colorado, of course it wont match up. But if you dont want to drive a long way or spend a lot of money, its very possible to have a fun day at Mt Kato. We encountered friendly people and a nice family atmosphere.

Nice place with a wide verity of runs for all different types, and skill levels of skies and snowboarders.

Nice place decent prices.

Awesome place to hangout with friends and ski also great food.

Always a fun activity and the staff are friendly.The food is a little over priced but good.

Great trails, especially on the back side of the hill. Staff are nice and have helpful tips if you are a beginner skier.

My one big problem with Mt Kato are the lifts and the lift operators. I have seen too many very dangerous situations with the lifts, many resulting from operators that were just not paying attention or were in the wrong place to do anything in case of emergency. One operator took the cake by sitting heads down (on his phone I presume) in his little booth, not ever looking up. Infuriating.The runs are nice (although short, but thats to be expected). Tickets and rental are fairly quick.The food available for sale is not great, but also typical for a ski lodge.

Easily accesible, fun time, and great concession food!

Great band

Not a great ski area, but considering its the only one close, more than adequate. Lifts always in working order and slopes are groomed.

Best hill around! and great deals!