Pebble Creek, Idaho

Pebble Creek is a local’s ski hill close to Pocatello, Idaho. It has a very strong community vibe to it, with almost no tourists visiting when we were there at the end of the season on pond-skim day. This resort is not part of the Best/Top 100 list due to it only having 1 ski pod, so it’s not ranked.

Stats

Real Vertical ?	2,140′
Size	1,100 Acres
Annual Snowfall ?	220″ Est.
Lift Pods ?	1
Distinct Trails ?	27
Review Date	March 2025
Number of visits	1
Go, or skip?	Go!  Definitely worth a visit
Resort Website	https://www.pebblecreekskiarea.com.com

Pebble Creek Review – Overall

Pebble Creek was actually recommended to us as a good candidate for the project by someone we met out skiing one day.  We would have put it on the list, but it really only has 1 ski pod, served by a very long fixed-grip triple, and another chair that only goes about half way up but serves the same terrain.  If it had made the list, it wouldn’t be at the bottom of the rankings because there is a significant vertical there, and quite a bit of challenge to be had.  I would give it a solid 2 stars due to the awkward layout.

This one got skied on the way back from a trip to Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee in late March which is the end of the season there.  The snow had already melted off on the southwest facing aspects, but all the main trails were still open with great coverage.  It was icy off-piste though, which meant no skiing of the excellent glades which are one of the main draws to this resort.  It never really got warm enough to soften much unfortunately.  Still, we got a good feel for the place and recognized the potential.

Skyline Lift

This is the main lift going to the top but it doesn’t serve the last 300′ of vertical of beginner terrain at the bottom.  The lodge is at the base of this lift part-way up the resort.  Beginners can just park and ski down.  Advanced and Expert skiers will hop on Skyline and lap it most of the day.  There is a very solid 1,850′ of vertical on this lift.

The resort gets progressively steeper the higher you go, which is always interesting and good, because the best snow is always at the top.  Note that it’s impossible to get a good feel for the resort by just looking at the trial map because they really have one of the worst trail maps I’ve ever seen! Those squiggly green roads all over the map are really unnecessary and distracting.  The squiggly black runs could just be labeled as glades.

The runs to skiers left are reachable directly by skiing down a catwalk and dropping in.  These are all short and steep and most are groomed.  They all gather about 1/3 of the way down and then you will need to branch out to one of an equal number of choices on the lower part of the mountain.  It’s essentially a funnel.  The best combo on this side was probably Max Out to Sun Bowl — Intermediate and groomed all the way, but on the high end of intermediate and quite steep at the top.  Sun Bowl is a really nice run with great views and a feeling of remoteness away from the rest of the resort.

The runs to skier’s right are trickier to get to.  You either need to climb up to the upper traverse, take the very steep “The Rock” double-black, or wind down the Pebble Lane road and take the North Traverse.  Most people do that to get to the signature run for Pebble Creek: Stacy’s to Lower Green Canyon.  That run reminded me of some of the great runs at places like Vail and Telluride.

When you take the North Traverse you can see some of the great steep glades around the Rattlesnake run.  Really most of the mountain has skiable glades, but the trees are spaced a little wider below the North Traverse.  This would be awesome on a powder day.

Sunshine lift

This serves the lower 1,100′ of the same terrain pod Skyline serves, but it only really has direct access to a handful of runs on the lower mountain.  I believe this lift only operates on busy weekends or holidays.  Lower intermediate skiers will prefer to lap this lift to hit these easier runs than what are found off Skyline.

Beginner terrain

Pebble Creek has great beginner terrain off of the Aspen lift.  It’s ideal because it’s at the bottom of the resort below the lodge and it’s completely separated from more advanced skiers, so there won’t be high-speed pass-throughs.  For a community ski resort where there are a lot of kids learning how to ski, this couldn’t be better.

Food, the lodge, and parking

This is very much like most of the ski lodges we’ve been to at resorts of this size.  Seems like we’ve seen this 1,000 times.  It has the usual food items that largely cater to families on a budget.  The hamburgers were pretty decent.  Parking is a terraced dirt lot that’s not flat and requires a bit of a climb to get to the ticket office.  The parking filled up by about 12 and people were parking along the only road that winds up the foothills from the freeway below.

The good

• • Off-the radar and uncrowded
  • Surprisingly good terrain variety
  • Non-touristy ski culture
  • Easy access right off the freeway
  • Great tree skiing if conditions allow
  • Decent grooming for a resort of this size
  • Inexpensive

The bad

• Only 1 real ski pod limits options
• Could use more average snowfall
• Lower altitude affects snow quality
• Awkward layout for the average intermediate

The Bottom Line

Pebble Creek is a gem and if you are in the area you should stop in for a day. There is plenty of challenge and surprising variety. Best time to go would be after the base is in and all the runs are open, but before about March 7th for better snow quality. We liked it but it’s not really a repeat destination or something you would go out of your way to drive to for a dedicated trip.  For the average intermediate skier, the awkward layout on the upper mountain may be an issue, but advanced and experts will have plenty to do, and beginners will love the dedicated terrain pod at the bottom.