Artificial ski slopes are great for learning to ski and snowboard all year round and for honing your skills in the run up to the winter season. Here is a list of Scotland’s artificial ski slopes plus an indoor “real snow” slope.
Scotland’s indoor and artificial slopes
Skiing and Snowboarding at Snow Factor, Scotland’s only indoor slope. Credit: Visit Scotland
Snow Factor
Where: Soar at intu Braehead, near Glasgow
What’s on offer: A beginners’ slope as well as a 200m indoor slope covered with 1,700 tonnes of man-made snow.
Hire snowboard or skis, or bring your own. Group lessons and one-to-one coaching available.
See: www.snowfactor.com
Aberdeen Snowsports Centre.
Aberdeen Snowsports Centre
Where: Garthdee, near Aberdeen city centre.
What: Snow-flex nursery slope with a travellator and rope tow; two 80m long dendex slopes, as well as a snowflex slope with jumps, rails, boxes, moguls and a quarter pipe. There’s also a tubing slope and wooden cabin party hut.
See: www.aberdeensnowsports.com
Alford Ski Centre
Where: Alford, 25 miles from Aberdeen.
What: A 70m Dendix slope with poma lift, 30m trainer slope with magic carpet lift, flood-lighting, and tubing for groups and individuals.
Bearsden Ski & Board Club
Where: Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire.
What: 100m Dendix main slope, a nursery slope made of a soft snow-flex surface and one of the top freestyle slopes in the country. Lessons, camps, tubing and much more.
Firpark Ski Centre
Where: Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire,
What: 120m artificial ski slope with tuition in skiing, snowboarding and blading, as well as snow tubing.
See: www.clacks.gov.uk/culture/firparkskicentre/
Glasgow Ski & Snowboard Centre, Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. Credit: Visit Scotland.
Glasgow Ski & Snowboard Centre
Where: Bellahouston Park, Glasgow.
What: Four floodlit artificial slopes, instruction and lessons, a modern café/bar and plenty of free parking.
See: www.ski-glasgow.co.uk
Insh Hall Ski School & Ski Lodge
Where: Kingussie, Highlands
What: 60m long artificial ski slope.
See: Loch Insh skiing
Lagganlia Centre for Outdoor Learning
Where: Kincraig in the Cairngorms National Park.
What: 60m artificial slope using the latest technology in ski mats. There is a poma for uplift.
See: www.lagganlia.com
Midlothian Snowsports Centre. Credit: Visit Scotland
Midlothian Snowsports Centre
Where: Biggar Road, near Edinburgh in the Pentland Hills Regional Park.
What: The longest artificial ski slope in Europe that has been the training location of 29 Olympians.
See: www.midlothian.gov.uk/info/200281/snowsports_centre
Newmilns Snow and Sports Complex
Where: Newmilns, East Ayrshire.
What: Skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing on an artificial slope.
See: www.skinewmilns.com
Polmonthill Ski Centre
Where: Near Falkirk, Stirlingshire.
What: 100m artificial ski slope, as well as a shorter nursery slope where kids as young as three can enjoy lessons.
See: www.falkirkcommunitytrust.org
Also check out: Ski Scotland slopes.
Other Scottish skiing blogs:
Skiing in Scotland: Where is the steepest, longest, oldest, newest?
What’s it like to ski the Flypaper in Glencoe?
Half-term fun at Scottish ski resorts.
- This blog post is published in association with Ski-Scotland.