Terrain	4.0
Service	4.5
Crowds	4.5
Activities	3.0
Value	5.0
Overall Rating	4.2

2 Viewer Reviews

Darryl K. Lewis from Jamaica, New York	Mar 1, 2008
Overall Rating:  3.8

SkiTown Review

Ski resort reviews can be helpful only if you know the skill level and skiing perspective of the person authoring the review. I am a middle age advanced skier with no interest in jumping off cornices or cliffs. I will often at high speeds hit a small lip in the terrain and get a little air, but that is about the extent of it. I venture in and out of moderate mogul fields in an attempt to become a better all-around skier, but I tend not to spend a majority of my ski day dealing with the bumps. The week after Presidents Day, my granddaughter and I decided to leave the big guys alone and ski the smaller mom and pop operated midsized mountains of Gunstock, New Hampshire; Shawnee Peak, Maine; and Berkshire East, Massachusetts. The average vertical drop for these three is 1,300 feet. With that said, here are my impressions of Shawnee Peak (Shawnee)

Terrain: Rated 4.0:
Good things sometime come in medium size packages, and terrain wise, Shawnee is definitely a good thing. I was expecting nothing and got everything except open bowl and above the tree line skiing. Shawnee has an assortment of glades, some with well spaced trees and others as tight as a wall street banker. My first run of the day is usually a blue square intermediate trail, which gives me a feel from the mountains viewpoint as to what is manageable terrain. But after seeing the goodies from the chairlift, I jumped directly on black diamond trail named Upper Appalachian. This trail was a fall-line trail on the east side of the mountain, extending from the summit to the base for the entire 1,300 foot vertical. I started cruising and got into fifth gear when I quickly encountered a lip which I couldnt see beyond. I slammed on brakes and gingerly looked over. No skiers were in sight and I could see the east base lodge. Entering fifth gear once again, I headed straight for the Sunnyside triple chair lift which brought me back to the summit. I did the trail once more, but this time with a little air at the lip. Big fun!! Shawnee has such a variety of trails, mogul runs, a terrain park, a half pipe, almost everything you could find in an eastern resort.

Service: Rated 4.0:
I had planned on enrolling my granddaughter in a half day lesson program but arrived a little late and everything was booked. The ski school program was confident that they could squeeze her in. With a lot of smiles and diligence, they found a half day slot for her in the afternoon. She enjoyed her lesson and instructor immensely. At lunchtime my granddaughter ordered a burger that was too well done. The cafeteria staff took it back without a word to the contrary, and cooked her a fresh burger. I, as usual, had my bowl of chili which was too soupy. But fortunately it had a unique bacon charbroil flavor. If they could thicken it up some, it would have been excellent.

Crowds: Rating 4.0:
It was Presidents Day week directly after lunch when I was schussing down Upper Appalachian. I had the trail to myself for almost all of its 1,300 feet with direct skiing right to the lift without a liftline.

Activities: Rating 2.0:
There was a big difference when I crossed over from Conway, New Hampshire into Maine. Shawnee may be only 15 to 20 minutes from Conway, but it is like going from New York City to the Ozark Mountains. Shawnee has a terrain park, but the mountain seems truly isolated and resides in the heart of boonieville.

Value: Rating 5.0:
My granddaughters ski school fee was relatively inexpensive . It included an all day lift ticket, although her lesson was not until the afternoon. An all-day adult lift ticket did not exceed the $50 dollar threshold and was reduced even further when I presented my Triple A membership card. Dollar-wise, it is certainly worthwhile to ski Shawnee

In summary: Shawnee has the challenge, variety, and a great ski school for kids, and is relatively inexpensive. Please keep in mind that my personal focus is on the terrain and excitement of the actual skiing activity. If I had to choose my favorite of the three mountains visited based upon those aspects, it would be as follows: 1.  Shawnee Peak, 2.  Berkshire East., and 3.- Gunstock.

Pete Stone from Portland, ME	Sep 17, 2005
Overall Rating:  4.6

This place will always be special to me since it is where I first learned to ride. Yeah it's not a huge mountain but big deal, there is nothing like taking a run at 8:30 at night with well lighted trails. You can't do that at many resorts across New England. As a college student the prices for lift tickets are peanuts with a student discount. Furthermore, Chet Homer who is the owner lets the families of our military serving in the middle east to ski and ride there for free! Never met the guy before, but what a good way to give back to your country.