Kirkwood is located in an alpine valley at 7800 feet near historic Carson Pass. In fact the old Emigrant route passes through the ski area..

The base elevation is the highest in Northern California at 7800 feet. There is 2000 feet of vertical and  2,400 acres of usually uncrowded skiing. Kirkwood averages 400 inches of snow per year, because of the high base elevation, the snow is deeper, drier, and lighter than other local areas.

The ski season is usually November through the end of April.

Ski magazine in November 1999 described Kirkwood: "Some have called Kirkwood a little Squaw Valley without the crowds. Others have compared it to grand Targhee, for its spaciousness and lack of attitude. It's an exhilarating, wide open place to ski, and the layout of the mountain makes it easy to explore. Its beginner and intermediate runs, such as Chair 7's Hole 'N' Wall and Chair 4's Happiness Is, are wide and true to the fall line.  But Kirkwood's piece de resistance is its off-piste terrain, which ranges from spacious and relaxed in the big basin off the backside's chair 4 to steep and technical in the chutes that drop off the ridgeline between Thimble Peak and Glove Rock.... The effect of the place is powerfully peaceful ..."

Kirkwood has typically rated in the top resorts in the Nation for powder and terrain.