Best places to ski in the Midwest?

13118387:ERICA.MN said:
check out regionals:
https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/39/Indiana-Michigan-Ohio

https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/40/Minnesota-Wisconsin-Iowa
https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/41/Nebraska-Dakotas

IMO if you're in MN / WI your best bets are Granite Peak, Trollhaugen, Spirit Mtn and Hyland.
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links got fucked up:
https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/39/Indiana-Michigan-Ohio
https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/40/Minnesota-Wisconsin-Iowa

https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/41/Nebraska-Dakotas
 
Granite peak is a favorite. Trollhaugen has fucking amazing rails. Lutsen is easily the biggest, it's like going out west but 1/3 the size. Snow conditions are meh.
 
ssssssuuuuuunnnnnddddooooowwwwwnnnnnnnn mountaiiinnnnnn in dubuque iowa. Probably the shittiest place to be but no one there really cares anymore, and my crew of park rats run that shit now.
 
13120155:Iraq_Lobster said:
ssssssuuuuuunnnnnddddooooowwwwwnnnnnnnn mountaiiinnnnnn in dubuque iowa. Probably the shittiest place to be but no one there really cares anymore, and my crew of park rats run that shit now.
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Ha sundown sucks now, real talk.
 
people leave out perfect north slopes in indian. They don't market themselves like other midwest hills do (i.e. Mad river mountain), but the kill it in the park scene. Everyones alway stoked and there are some damn good people from there like Goepper, Laker, Rich Fahey, and more. Back in the day, I'd say the were easily the best park in the midwest with events such as Pink Flamingo Camp. However, i do know from sits that Granite Peaks park looks dope and the kid there kill it.
 
Spirit Mountain has an amazing jump line for the Minnesota and has a very well kept park. Mont Du Lac is really fun with a high speed ropetow and super creative features. Mount Bohemia and Lutsen have the best pow.
 
I ride Granite all the time, trollhaugen's rails look tight. Mt. Bohemia is super fun if you're looking for more "real skiing". Tyrol always kills it with pre and post season events.
 
Granite peak and spirit mtn. If u are ever near sunburst it's worth a stop, the park isn't always the best but they sometimes have unique stuff and the rope laps are endless
 
Snowshoe is real nice, great terrain and good enough parks (have to go to Silver Creek right down the road, too - free with Snowshoe ticket)
 
Granite Peak was the place to be. They have a new park manager for this year so I'm not sure how their park will be this upcoming season. Otherwise in south west wisconsin there is Tyrol Basin, which can be pretty fun. They are probably redoing their park layout this season which will be different from years past. It's looking very hopeful.
 
If you want off-piste, Mount Bohemia. There is no competition. IMO it's the only place really worth skiing in the Midwest, and I've skied at many places in the Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan). It has about 1k vertical feet and terrain that rivals most Rocky Mountain ski areas, and it gets a lot of lake effect snow. Mostly tree skiing, some open bump runs, and some cliffs. Potential downside is that they don't have grooming equipment so if you like taking easy runs on groomers from time to time you don't have that option.

If you want a mix of on-piste and off-piste, based on my experience, Whitecap is your best bet. Blackjack and Lutsen are great for groomers (by Midwest standards) and both have a little off-piste. Runners up (groomers only) would be Giants Ridge and Spirit.

Places I have not been to but have heard good things about are Granite Peak and Indianhead. Also Porcupine Mountains but if you're going to the UP you'd be an idiot to not ski at Mount Bohemia so it would be pointless to go to Porcupine.

Summary:

Places I have been:

1: Mount Bohemia (no competition at all)

2: Whitecap

3: Blackjack and Lutsen tied

5: Giants Ridge

6: Spirit Mountain

Places I have not been:

Granite Peak

Indian Head
 
For skiing in general, Lutsen and Mount Bohemia but not for park.

Spirit for park, I remember liking Giants ridge's park too because it's pretty big with lots of features (at least that's how it was years back when I was there), but the downside is they are poorly maintained.

I'm sure tons of places have good parks, but just to get quality skiing in I'm sticking to Lutsen and Bohemia.
 
13130259:CoreyTrevor said:
I remember liking Giants ridge's park too because it's pretty big with lots of features (at least that's how it was years back when I was there), but the downside is they are poorly maintained.
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It's gotten pretty sweet recently, they have a few fat tube rails, an amazing donkey dick rail, the jumps are weird but I like them. Giant's is my home resort as far as feeling the most at home goes, it's rarely busy, very snowy, pretty remote...
 
i ski afton. it sucks sometimes but the vibe is fun in my opinion.

troll has tight rails but it's just fucked with boarders and is an ice rink from december on
 
Alpine Valley would have to take the cake. It will go toe to toe with any indoor skiing bunny hill, and lose. Badly.
 
Stay away from Mount Bohemia. Its the absolute worst, nothing good there at all, not worth it.

They don't groom, there are no lights, and its about 75 miles from anything.

They don't even accept cash, credit only.

The only lodging is in a stupid tent, and if you can't afford one you have to pay 20 whole dollars to sleep with other people.

Yep absolutely nothing worth seeing here, keep driving east or west. Marquette Mtn is great.
 
13201157:LynxNation said:
Lutsen Mtns or Spirit.

Lutsen has the super sketchy Gondola too, so that's a plus...?
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If you want sketchy, ride the chairlift at Whitecap that goes from Thunderhead to Eagles Nest.
 
There's Alpine Valley in south eastern Wisconsin. Not very good but we get a ton of runs in everyday.
 
There's Alpine Valley in south eastern Wisconsin. Not very good but we get a ton of runs in everyday.
 
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