Ski resort

KartepeKocaeli

Kartepe is a ski resort in Kocaeli province. The highest point reached by the lifts is 1,573 m and the base is 1,249 m, giving a vertical drop of 324 m. The resort has 5 lifts. Snow depth comes from the measuring station of the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM); temperature, wind and new-snow forecasts come from the Open-Meteo model. The elevations are not the figures the resort advertises — they were measured from the lift lines.

Base → Summit profile

1,249 m 324 m 1,573 m

5

lifts

0

gondolas

MGM

snow measurement

Caution

The freezing level is above the summit as well: any precipitation will be rain, not snow.

Today’s Conditions

measured · MGM station model · Open-Meteo, summit point

Snow depth

Measured · MGM

—

MGM is not sending the snow field at the moment — since no measurement arrives we leave it blank rather than writing zero.

The station is not exactly above the resort.

New snow · summit

Model · 72 hours

Fallen

0 cm

Expected

0 cm

Calculated at the summit point for the past and next 72 hours. No precipitation was calculated for this window; this is not a gap but a calculated zero.

Temperature · base → summit

Model

13° → 10.8°

An altitude difference of 324 m produces roughly 2 degrees of temperature difference. MGM station measurement: 12.3 °C.

Freezing level

Model

4,130 m

Above the summit as well — any precipitation will be rain. The 0 °C line; snow reaches roughly 200 m below it. Lowest in 48 hours: 3,960 m.

Wind

Measured · MGM

11 km/h S

Below the 60 km/h threshold at which chairlifts are stopped. Expected at the summit: 11 km/h (model).

Snowmaking window

Model · 48 hours

0 / 48 hours

How long the wet-bulb temperature stays below -2 °C over the next 48 hours. Snowmaking is technically not possible.

Five-Day Forecast

These come from the ski resorts service of the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM). Unlike the snow depth measurement these values are a forecast; they change as the day approaches.

Day	TemperatureMGM	WindMGM
Friday 18 September	10° / 14°	8 km/h N
Saturday 19 September	8° / 15°	9 km/h NE
Sunday 20 September	10° / 16°	11 km/h NE
Monday 21 September	11° / 16°	8 km/h NE
Tuesday 22 September	11° / 15°	9 km/h NW

Kartepe

324 m

vertical drop · measured from lift endpoints

Erciyes

1,245 m

the same measure, for comparison

Hello everyone! Kartepe is the ski resort closest to Istanbul, and that alone puts it in a special category: somewhere you can go without having to plan a holiday around skiing. On this page I have gathered its conditions.

The ski area we measured is 1,249–1,573 metres, a drop of 324 metres. A note on these figures: there is a long cable car line running up from Derbent and that line descends as far as 281 metres. We did not include it in the base calculation, because it is a transport line, not a ski lift. So the 1,249 metres here is the real skiing base.

Who It’s For

The elevation is below the Turkish average and the drop is limited. The reason to choose Kartepe is not snow quality but access — you can leave Istanbul and be back the same day.

It makes sense for beginners, families with children and “anyone who wants to see snow for a day”. For an experienced skier the day fills up quickly.

When to Go

Because of the low elevation the season is short and the snow situation unstable. At this resort, setting off without looking at the measured snow depth above is genuinely risky — the chance of finding mud at the end of the road is higher than at other resorts.

Things to Know Before You Go

The elevation is low; set your expectations accordingly.

The summit is 1,573 metres; even Palandöken’s base is 550 metres above that. The snow quality is not comparable.

Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality has a webcam.

You can look at the summit before you set off; the link is above. Because the snow situation is unstable, a webcam genuinely helps here.

Weekends are very crowded.

Proximity to Istanbul is as much a disadvantage as an advantage; on the first weekend after snowfall the roads can jam.

Frequently asked questions

About Kartepe

Can you do it as a day trip from Istanbul?

Yes, that is Kartepe’s reason for existing. In practice there is no other ski resort in Turkey you can visit from Istanbul in a day.

Is snow guaranteed?

No, and at this resort the question matters more than at the others. Because the elevation is low, the snow can disappear even during the season.

Where does the snow depth information here come from?

It is a station measurement from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM). Note: at this resort the station is not exactly above the resort, and we state that separately on the page. New snow, the temperature difference and the snowmaking window are calculated from a model.

Ski resorts near Kartepe

Straight-line distances from base-area coordinates; elevations measured from lift lines.

Other resorts with the biggest vertical drops: Erciyes 1,245 m vertical · Ergan Dağı 1,225 m vertical · Palandöken 1,010 m vertical

Compare Kartepe with the other 23 resorts

If you want to see snow depth, wind and vertical drop side by side on the same scale, you can go back to the list.

All ski resorts →

Sources. Base and summit elevations and lift counts were measured from the lift lines of OpenStreetMap contributors; snow depth and wind are measurements by the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM), and the forecasts come from the Open-Meteo model.
OpenStreetMap data is used under the ODbL licence. © OpenStreetMap contributors.