Here is the deal, my daughter and I are looking to get out for a couple of days......we are from the Milwaukee area - typically ride at Sunburst in Kewauskum because it is close, but we move around a bit and go to some of the other "close" hills (Olympia, Cascade and Alpine) when we can.
Sometime in the next couple of weeks we are going to go somewhere mid-week and are looking for suggestions. Last year we went to Powderhorn and had a blast.....have not heard great things about the conditions/snow up there right now (could just be bad info) and am hesitant to make the 5+ hour ride for average snow. So, I'm also thinking about Chestnut (never been but heard good things) and Granite Peak (I've been there before) because they are both in the 2-3 hour drive time range.
Any insights into Chestnut? Has anyone been up to the U.P. recently? Thoughts?
Thanks,
For what it is worth, she is 10 and is a fairly cautious skier...I board but don't get too crazy, so the terrain park is not a huge concern.... some small features and I am good.
You could take the ferry across Lake Michigan to get to Boyne / Nubs Nob / Boyne Highlands / Schuss but I don't know how much snow those have and if they are any better than anything in Wisconsin.
If I recall correctly, Granite Peak is supposed to be pretty big and have more vertical than a lot of places in the Midwest.
In the UP you have the Porcupines which are right on the MI / WI border, Mt Ripley in Houghton, and Bohemia at the very top of the Keewenaw Peninsula (that wouldn't be a good place for beginners or even intermediates - very steep, rocky, etc.). You could also swing over to Marquette which I believe has a decent area.
Chestnut in Illinois? I haven't been there in about 2-3 years, but I used to go there all the time. It's a pretty nice place, they have a good variance of runs. Their park is on the opposite side of the hill as their easier runs, but they usually have some small park features partway down one of their longer green runs, so I think that would work well for you.
Chestnut isn't huge(I think it's about 150 acres, compare that to 300 for Devil's Head) but it's one of the better, areas I've been to as far as quality, not to mention it has a great view of the Mississippi while you're riding down! I can't comment on snow quality this year, but I can't imagine it's great considering the weather we've been getting around here this year!
How about Christmas Mountain just north of the dells about 15 minutes. Small and quaint might be fun.
Nordic Mountain just north of Oshkosh actually in Wild Rose, not sure about the conditions though heard some good things about it. Would actually like to try it with the boys.
I'm a regular at granite peak and i would suggest not to go there. Right now the conditions are terrible all the runs are icy and it is supposed to be in the 30's all week here. So i would suggest powderhorn or any other UP area compared to granite peak because of conditions and prices are outragous
Granite Peak was an ice hole just a week ago, but it seems like there conditions have improved from what little snow fall we have been getting. It is also supposed to snow 4 out of 7 days this coming week. So i guess my hope for granite peak was just rekindled lately.
4,700 people were there on Saturday. The place was a madhouse, but they must be either doing something right or people are just that desperate to get a few runs in
Been riding days instead of night to have a chance to ride in slush rather than on ice.
My boys school had a road trip there, he couldn't go. So waiting to hear how it was...
I go to Chestnut almost every weekend, including this season. The snow has been pretty awful all season, but of course that's a reflection of the weather and not Chestnut. Even still, they have a pretty decent base built up and even some monster jumps on one of the blue runs as part of a contest last week. If you're going, definitely go during the day when the snow is softer/slush because if you go on a night that dips below freezing, you're going to have sheet ice. And even worse, if it's windy it will blow all the loose snow off the runs and you will be riding literally on bare ice.
Devil's Head and Cascade are usually much better choices than Chestnut. I was at Devil's Head a couple weeks ago right after a small dusting and it was pretty decent, but you will never get to ride fresh pow there because they groom 99.9% of the hill immediately after a snowfall.
I haven't been to Granite Peak this season so can't comment.
Sundown Mountain in Dubuque is pretty good (at least as far as Iowa/Illinois is concerned) but it's smaller and shorter than Chestnut. The runs aren't as steep though, which could be a good thing depending on your preferences.
Unfortunately all of my comments are moot now, because most of these places are closing in just a couple weeks.
Thanks for the info on when granite peaks going to close because i thought it was closing late march, but now i can snowboard for even longer than i thought!
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