If you're one of those people who weren't lucky enough to learn skiing as a kid, you know how intimidating it can be to learn a new sport as an adult. This is how I felt when I wanted to learn how to ski, but found that a majority of ranges around here catered to the thrill seekers and party goers. I headed to Bradford after seeing that they had a good package deal for beginners which includes a lesson, rental gear and a beginner lift pass for about $90. Signing up was easy and I scooted off to wait for my session. Although I was put into an adult group, no adults showed up for beginner lessons and I teamed up with a really cool 6-year-old girl. So my Yelp tip here is to bring a friend if you're uncomfortable learning alongside the tykes. My instructor, Larry, was great and gave equal attention to both me and the nugget. He showed us the basics and was very supportive of our trial and error. I felt it was a great base foundation. The beginner hills are great for newbs, but be prepared to wait 5-15 minutes for a lift when classes are in session. The little kids need extra time as they figure out the rope lift and spend a lot of time tumbling down and stopping the lift. It's not a bad thing, everyone's learning in this area - but take note if you're impatient. Overall, I like this place as an unintimidating place to build my foundation. After a few days of practice, I'll try out some of the other ranges nearby. read more

decent skiing for what it is, but some of the people working there think that there running the navy and not a small town skiing hill, (mostly the people running the tow rope and magic carpet). Me and my friend almost got our passes taken for "cutting the line" at the tow rope; for reference the rope had no one on it, and the "line" was little kids learning how to ski and figuring out how to get on the rope. Quite over priced as well its almost as much as a real mountain such as loon just a fifth of the size. would be one star if it wasnt for santa the BEST lifty ever to graze the earth. read more

Had an absolute horrific first 15 minutes getting there on Valentines Day. We parked at the lot across from the rentals, and an older gentleman approached me not stating he was an employee there and began to harass me and my finance " suggesting" us to move our car because the lot is tight. Mind you our vehicle was in line with every other customers car. After several verbal altercations this older man walks off. Not another 10 minutes later he comes back with an absolute god awful tone to me and my fiance slinging harsh sarcasm and asking why I'm talking back to him in my tone and saying that "I must be right all the damn time huh" Im beyond appalled by his behavior for an older man who works at the parking lot for a ski place, to talk to me and my family like that. This was our first time and our last. It's too bad this employee decided to have an ego boost and on Valentine's Day after spending over 150$ to be there. Not happy at all read more

They say they are open until 4:30 pm but they stop letting people on the chair lifts before 4:25. I ski there with my son often because the location is convenient and the slopes are good for learning, but getting cut off the chair lifts well before the actual closing time is incredibly frustrating. Today, the guy who manned the chair lifts pulled the rope literally at my son's face. We rushed to catch the last ride; we were at the bottom of the chair lift at 4:23 and the guy said that they were closed. My son cried. I said we paid to ski till 4:30, he repeated that they were closed. Another 10 or so people were there too, also trying to catch the last ride up. We all complained but in vain. A good small hill for learning but the service and the staff suck! read more

Today we called to go Skiing and they said it was fine to come on in. Once we arrived at 3pm the guy at the front told us the 12-4pm session is ending you might as well wait for the 5-9pm session. He also told us to come at 4:45pm to buy lift tickets. We wait in our car for about 2 hours until 4:45pm. Then start walking in and the same guy said tickets are sold out. Like really? He told us to come back at 4:45pm then they are sold out. I've been skiiing all over the country and so far this place is the worst. read more

Had a great time! I went with my daughter and her friend, who are strong skiers, while I am a beginner that haven't skied for few years. While this is not a serious mountain by any means, the slope was good enough for the girls to enjoy for a whole day. Despite being a weekend the place was bit busy (maybe because there was a slight drizzle) and we never needed to wait for the lift. I took a private lesson. The instructor (Erin Carpenter) was friendly, knowledgeable, and patient. She gave me several tips that helped me a lot, and within one lesson got me back on track, so I was able to spend the rest of the day skiing on my own. I don't think there is any better place within a short ride from Boston. read more

Bradford is small and seems like a perfect place for kids to learn. unfortunately their 'bunny slope' isn't very flexible or helpful for actually teaching kids. my wife and I brought my daughter and I stepped out of my skis to help her and got scolded by staff.... they said I couldn't walk on the snow. seems crazy to me you can't walk on the teaching area??? yet the instructors can. that's understandable for the main trails but they should allow parents to walk on the bunny slope when teaching kids. sounds like they are pressing to sell lessons as the only safe option to learn. I'd rather teach my own kid safely. read more

Great little ski area. Especially good for kids lessons. Also, DADDY's FRIED DOUGH operates the outdoor snack shack there. The fried dough is amazing! Nice people too. It was fun eating outdoors at a picnic table while watching the skiers. read more

Had an amazing experience! I took my 3 year old son to Bradford yesterday to get some him some practice skiing. He's only been a couple times so I was a little worried about it being to crowded and not having the space to be able to spread out and take our time. That wasn't the case at all! There was ample room for us on the learning hill, plenty of space to practice turning etc. All the staff was very helpful and covid conscious from getting lift tickets and rentals, to getting to the learning hill. Ski patrolman Tim Wareham in particular was very helpful! Not only did he walk us over to the learning hill to show us where it was, he also explained which lifts would be easiest for my son to get to the top safely since he is so new to skiing and gave me some helpful tips to make our experience more enjoyable. 5 stars all the way!! read more

I booked a beginner ski package lesson for my 2 sons last weekend. It was a 1h lesson incl. a pass for $80 each, so $160 for two (excl. equipment rental). The lesson was to start at 1pm and we were asked to wait from 12:50pm. The instructor, Erin, came at 1:08pm and without apologizing for her delay said she is very tired and it has been a long day. Parents asked if the lesson will be extended by the 8 minutes. She said "no, I have to be done at 1:55" for the next lesson. So keep in mind I paid $80 dollars for a 45min lesson!!! Then Erin told 4 kids, who all stood on skids for the first time on skis, to walk UP THE HILL to the magic carpet. None of them could do it and were constantly falling and the group reached the bottom of magic carpet by 1:23pm. In total, kids in this class went down on a flat 10-15m long stretch 3 times and were not at all enjoying their experience. Erin was sort of mad that she had to teach another lesson that day and kids could feel it. I understand that learning can be slow but I HAVE NEVER SEEN such LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM, LACK OF EXCITEMENT AND FAIRNESS IN ANY RESORT before. The learning area was also overcrowded and overall this was A HUGE WASTE OF MONEY. I felt like I was cheated and so did the other parents. I strongly do not recommend lessons at this place. Way to overpriced and the whole experience is a joke! read more

My girls are new to skiing this winter. I was hesitant to get them into it because my wife and I aren't skiers. The staff at Bradford was incredibly helpful! They explained all the programs on the phone before our visit, the check-in process was quick and easy, the rental staff was outstanding (helpful and a great, positive attitude) and the ski instructor was knowledgeable and engaged. This is the perfect place to learn! read more

Agree with the previous reviewers! We chose this place to learn skiing as a family for the first time ever- we had one private lesson for the 4 of us and we were all skiing after- though at different levels! Heidi, our instructor, was incredible, great teacher! After she gave lessons all day and finally was able to go down a few big runs herself, she saw me struggling after a fall while going downhill and she came right up the rope tow and taught me how to get up and get back on my skis and I had my best run of the day after that- all in all everyone was friendly and helpful! Great place to spend the day with family and they will be able to teach you to ski in just 1 hr! amazing! Best Day Ever, thank you Bradford ski area! read more

The Bump. The Hill. Call it what you will but don't call it a mountain. The three stars is solely based on value, not on fun factor. Where else in northeastern MA can you say on a weekday night at 5pm "I want to go skiing" and actually go skiing? Why Ski Bradford of course. The Bump is home to 5 trails (even though they try to make it seem like there is more, there isn't) and has a whopping 350ft vertical drop. That's what I'm talking about! But on the serious side, it is a ton of fun. They do a great job dealing with the elements and working with what they have. I used to basically live in the park some winters and it has been turned into a pretty good park. Better than any others in MA. Theres three kickers, a "half pipe" but there isnt enough natural snow to ever make it good, and a bunch of jibs. The ski patrol is great and instructors are even better. They actually care if you aren't doing well and use different strategies to try to explain things to teach you. It is a great place to bring young children to learn because no one cares if you are sitting in the middle of the trails because the lift ride is so short. A great place for beginners and park rats at night. If you are a speed demon...you will be disappointed and if you go weekdays between 3-6 be prepared for the worst as school ski programs take over. read more

Wouldn't really call it a mountain but just a giant hill with 8 trails. But they work with what they have very well. Beggars can't be Choosers . I think that this is the perfect place to learn how to ski/snowboard. The instructors are great and they really make sure that you are getting a hang of it. They are so nice. I really felt comfortable with the instructor and really trusted him. He was also a friend of mine from work, so that added to the trust factor. I knew he wouldn't let me do anything that would hurt myself. They run an after school program for all the local school districts which is cool as well. read more

The kids have skied here for three years as part of their school. Our daughter lost her cell phone and it was all hands on deck until it was found. Great family service, the best fries around in the caf and actually lots of snowmaking for a moderately sized ski area. Thanks for finding the phone Mike! read more

When I was 12, I had three goals; one of those was learn how to ski. (Craziest random goal ever, especially considering I've been a major klutz my entire life.) It actually took me two years of beginners lessons (6 lessons per year) to be comfortable, but I did learn how to ski. This "mountain" is perfect for beginners, or perfect for people who want to ski but know they actually suck at it. A couple years ago, I got to ski in Pennsylvania. Oh my god, BAD idea. The bunny slope was actually bigger than anything at Bradford. Needless to say, after falling down a mountain half a dozen times, I decided to stay in the lodge. Bradford, luckily, is small enough to prevent that kind of a sucky day. Yes, it's more of a hill than anything else. Yes, the trails take two seconds to ski down. But you know what? For those of us who don't ski well, it's pretty much perfect. I love the place. read more

We had a great experience over the past two days at Bradford. My 9 year old took snowboarding lessons with Darcie and Zack yesterday and Corbin today. Both were "group" lessons but my son was the only one in his group. He absolutely loved it and I'm thankful to the instructors and to Bill over at the lessons area who welcomed us in and made us feel very comfortable. read more

Nice hill to bring the kids for the day. Nothing fancy, lines were reasonable, prices weren't ridiculous and the people were helpful. Rental equipment in good shape. Great place to learn to ski or carve read more

This review is 100% based on the two ladies I dealt with in lessons one claiming to be a manager. I called to inquire about lessons for my 5 and 7 year olds based on the referral of a friend who took her six-year-old there. The first giant one young lady couldn't explain the pricing to me and asked me if I was stupid and then basically told me to take my kid to Killington again. I'm used to lessons being 3 to 4 hours and a hundred fifty bucks. This particular places I guess need you to buy $110 lift ticket and then they're 60 to $70 for a one-hour lesson. So they continued the first young lady told me to go to Killington and hung up the phone on me I called immediately back and get another woman asked for a manager and she said she was the manager she was also clueless and unhelpful read more

I'm an adult learning to ski and had a fantastic first day and lesson. I had a "group" lesson but I was the only student, since they do adults and kids lessons separately. My instructor, Dennis, is a very experienced, fantastic teacher and walked me (figuratively and literally) through the physical senses and non-intuitive things to do. I was whooshing down the greens after one lesson and I can finally see why people are so into skiing. I can't speak to the bigger hills up the chair lift (since I'm still a newb; I did try and it went badly), but many adults and kids seemed to enjoy them. It's half an hour from home so it'll be easy to get back and keep working on things. read more

My buddy and I hadn't skied since childhood (and even then, not much), so we were novices and need a place to learn. We signed up for the $90 lesson/rental package. Our instructor, Anna, was excellent and taught us well. By then end of the hour, we were linking turns and after a few more tries down the bunny slope, we were ready to go on a lift. Here is where I take one star off. When we got to the ski lift, we were told that the $90 package doesn't cover the bigger lifts. That's fine, I just wish we were told that right-off-the-bat. We upgraded for another $20 apiece and had a great time the rest of the day. I understand that this resort isn't very large, so the number of trails is limited and they aren't tall. They were perfectly fine for me. Perhaps this isn't the place to go if you are already an excellent skier, but I think it was just perfect for a novice like me. A little more transparency on what the ski package gets you, and they would've had 5 stars. As a quick tip, I recommend going on the Wasp trail and turning left off the ski lift when you are upgrading from the beginner's slopes. This seems to have the most even slope all the way down and gives you a lot of room to turn, go straight, and turn so that you don't go too fast. It's also less crowded than the two blue square slopes (Stinger and Queen) that are right in front of the lodge. read more

I'm not going to write a book here, but this place isn't half bad... Grooming... A-. Trails... B. Location - (if you live in Boston, MetroWest or North Shore)... A. Price for what you get... B. If you're thinking about making the trek out to Wachusett, check out Bradford. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Overall as an experienced skier, I can say: "Ski Bradford... Ski close to home!" And you won't regret it. *Smile* read more

This is a great place to learn to ski at. Good lessons. Go during the day before the schools bring their ski clubs if you are over 20 and want to learn! read more

Horrible experience at Bradford on Feb 10th. I was asked to leave the mountain because I was walking with my 4 year old daughter on the bunny slope. I had purchased a learning area ticket for both myself and daughter and had appropriate gear on and with me. I was simply riding the magic carpet with just boots on so that I could help my daughter load and unload safely and start to make her first turns. I was an instructor at this mountain a number of years back and frequently did just this with their "ski wee" program. We would have three instructors for safety, one on skis and two on foot to make sure the kids were safe. When asked how having a snowboard attached to my feet made it safer for other people or my daughter, who is a new rider, they could not give me a reason and suggested that I get her a lesson. When I told them that I was a former certified instructor that worked for them in the past, and did this while employed by them they had no response. Their reason was that it was an "official policy" that Neil let "everyone" know about years ago, mandated by the state. When I later called other Massachusetts ski areas to double check this I found out the staff at the front desk were lying to me and that what I was doing would be no problem at their mountains. They refused to refund the two tickets that I had purchased 30 min earlier, instead offering a gift card. I had proper boots and a paid ticket for both my daughter and myself, and was still told to leave. Absolutely unacceptable on the part of Neil and all at the ticket office. I will not be returning and suggest that others steer clear of this non family friendly place. Absolutely disgusted by the management. Please spread the word especially to the school systems that frequent this place. If you can't support someone learning to love the sport you sell then you should not be in business. read more

My child has being to Bradford learning how to ski the past couple of weeks. While I find the instructors guys working the lifts and the rental department are excellent and very friendly. A word to the wise For some corrective criticism The reception desk could do with some friendly faces. A lady working the lesson desk was unfriendly abrupt with her answers very unwilling to answer simple questions. Obvious she did not want to be there today. read more

My son was with his school for the ski program and accidently dropped his ski in the parking lot. He brought it to the ski shop and asked for help and no one would help him. It only needed a screw tightened. He tried to rent skiis and they told him he needed a photo I.D. HE IS 9 YEARS OLD! This place is shameful. They would not give him credit for his lift ticket and he had to stay there watching all his friends ski. Would not recommend it to anyone and will not do program again. read more

I don't ski but my child does. At Bradford the drive is short enough that we can go for a few hours. It's small enough that I can see my child ski and keep track of him. The instructors are excellent. The lodge is clean and the staff are friendly and helpful. read more

Yes, it's barely a hill, but it caters to the day crowd, not those who are looking for a fancy lodge and a week long getaway. My 12 year old is a much better skiier than I am or than any of his friends, so he wants to out on his own. I can't do that at a big mountain, but I have no fear here, as I can see all the trails from wherever I am. I agree with the previous reviewer on instruction - I took a lesson with an instructor who was excellent. It is a fun and friendly place and you don't have to drive two hours from Boston to get there. read more

Close to home, great for beginner/intermediate and reasonably priced. The staff and instructors were excellent with my kids. Food isn't bad either but expensive. We loved the fireplace to warm up! If you are an avid skiier it may be to small for you. read more

Bradford Ski Area is an excellent family venue, especially if you have a few kids in tow. My daughter is a new skier at 7 years old. The lesson package deal is a value, with rental equipment in good working order. The instructors work well with kids, are skilled and patient, and encouraging to beginners. The lodge is accessible with adequate storage for coolers and totebags. (The only drawback is cafeteria no-back-style seating for those who wait ask their kids ski for 4-5 hours.) Overall, Bradford is a fun place to learn to ski and enjoy the sport. read more

My son started ski lessons here and I was not impressed. It just wasnt what I expected. No one helped him with anything. He was so stressed out he just wanted to leave. He went with a school program and thankfully I met him up there as I expected it to be a chaotic day. I found the staff less than helpful and not very pleasant. Everyone looked exasperated. Parents of other skiers ended up helping him as needed. His instructor just left him on the bunny hill, sitting in the snow, with no idea how to get the snow board off. Perhaps it was the first day with all the schools coming to the mountain, but they seemed overwhelmed and supervision of the kids was seriously lacking. If you are a parent and have any reservation about their ski club/lessons, I recommend that you meet them up there. I was glad i did. Be prepared by dressing very warm. The lodge was so crowded there was no place to sit and watch. I hope the rest of the lessons go more smoothly. In the end, my son had a good time in his first ever lesson. edited. our second week went much better. staff was happier, the place was better organized. overall a much better week. read more