Snowshed Lodge is actually the most central lodge at Killington. It has (nearly) everything, and is also the central bus terminal for the resort.
Location
Snowshed is the first lodge on the left as you come up the access road. Turn left into the lot when the Ram's Head Lodge is on your right.
Parking
There is a small lower lot next to the lodge that fills up quickly.
There is also a huge "upper" lot that requires a longer walk to the lodge. This is a downhill walk on the way to the lodge, which is not great. At the end of the day, with tired legs carrying or wearing equipment, it really stinks.
Services
- Lift Tickets
- Equipment Rentals
- Retail store (souvenirs and gear)
- Cafeteria/Brown Bag lunchroom (2nd floor)
- Wait-staffed restaurant (3rd floor)
- Bar (3rd floor). The bar/restaurant usually has live music on Saturdays.
The only thing missing is children's lessons, which can be had at the Ram's Head lodge. You can get there by skiing through the tunnel on the slope-side of the lodge, or walking through the tunnel on the parking-lot side of the lodge.
Lifts
The most obvious lift is the Snowshed Express Quad, which is to the left as you look up the hill. This is the primary lift for this portion of the resort.
The old Snowshed Double is a little higher up the hill. That lift runs when it gets crowded or the quad is out of service. Ride this for a taste of how skiing used to be!
Just to the right of the Beast Coaster building is a carpet lift that serves a very gentle area for never-evers
You can also take the "Learn to Ski" bus on the parking lot side of the lodge. That will take you to the Learn to Ski area, which is also suitable for never-evers.
Terrain
The terrain at Snowshed is mostly for beginner and novice skiers. Beginners may be terrified by the large Snowshed Slope trail directly in front of the lodge, and that's a good thing! Snowshed Slope is not appropriate for never-evers. They should use the carpet or the "Learn to Ski" bus to get to more appropriate terrain.
A good second step for novices is to go to the far left off the lifts, and use Yodeler or Highlander. These are less challenging than Snowshed Slope.
If you are skiing Snowshed Slope, it's much easier to sliders' left, and becomes more challenging as you move right (closer to the quad lift).
If you become bored with Snowshed Slope, try the Northbrook Trail on sliders' right of the quad chair. The upper entrance to Northbrook is blue, the lower entrance is green. If you can ski either of those without being terrified, you are probably ready to try the Easy Street trail on Rams' Head mountain. Use the Northbrook Quad to return to the Snowshed area.
Advanced skiers can turn left of the lifts and use High Road to get to the Needle's Eye area, or they can turn right and use Highlander to get to the Superstar area.
Tips
To avoid the long walk to the lodge, park toward the rear of the upper lot, near the Mountain Green complex (look for the clock). The shuttle buses that serve the condominiums will go by there, and they are happy to pick up additional passengers if they have room.
Advanced skiers should be aware of their speed when returning to the Snowshed lodge. The resort has been known to confiscate tickets for skiing fast in a slow zone, and hitting or frightening beginner skiers is bad karma.