35+ Best Michigan Ski Resorts & Hills: Complete Guide + Map 2026-2027

Last updated October 2026

Michigan has 41 places to ski and snowboard this winter, and most lists stop at the dozen with hotels attached. I’ve put all 41 ski resorts in Michigan on this page, from Mount Bohemia’s 900 feet of ungroomed vertical in the Keweenaw to the free rope tow in Petoskey, with the numbers checked against each area’s own site. If you want to sort them by drive time, snow in the forecast, or lift ticket price, use the guide below; it installs on your phone and works on the hill.

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This is for anyone picking a hill: a family that needs a tubing lane and a magic carpet, a snowboarder hunting a halfpipe, a Detroit skier who wants to be home by dinner, or someone with an Ikon, Epic or Indy Pass trying to figure out where it works in Michigan. I learned to ski at a few of these resorts in Northern Michigan and taught my kids on the same runs, and I’ve organized the whole state by region so you can go straight to the part that’s within your drive.

Here’s how I’d use this page. If you’re staying overnight, start with Northern Michigan or the Upper Peninsula, where every big resort has lodging a few steps from the lift. If you’re skiing after work or with a beginner, the community hills are the better deal: lit runs, rope tows or a small chair, and lift tickets that cost less than lunch at a resort. The Upper Peninsula gets the most natural snow in the state, often more than 200 inches a season in the Keweenaw and the Gogebic Range, and that’s why its season runs longest. Everything below is in the order I’d think about it: by region first, then biggest to smallest within each region.

Michigan ski resorts map

The live map is in the app: every one of the 41 areas as a pin, colored by how much snow is forecast over the next three days, with directions one tap away. The interactive Michigan ski map works offline once you’ve opened it, which matters in the UP, where cell service is a rumor between towns.

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Northern Michigan ski resorts

Northern Michigan has the state’s full-service resorts: eight with lodging at the base, plus eight community hills that locals ski after school. Lake Michigan lake-effect snow helps, but every resort here makes snow on most of its terrain, so opening dates hold even in a thin year. If you’re coming from Detroit, figure three and a half to four hours to Harbor Springs, Boyne Falls or Thompsonville, and under three to Cadillac, Gaylord or Grayling.

The Highlands at Harbor Springs

The Highlands, which Boyne renamed from Boyne Highlands in 2021, has the most vertical and the most skiable acreage in the Lower Peninsula, and the 1.25-mile North Peak Pass is the longest run you’ll find south of the bridge. The Camelot 6 high-speed six-pack went in for the 2023-24 season and took the sting out of the main lift line. This is where I’d send a mixed group of abilities: the learn-to-ski programs are strong, and the advanced skier isn’t bored. The Highlands at Harbor Springs resort site lists a projected season of December 4, 2026 through March 21, 2027.

Boyne Mountain Resort

Boyne Mountain is the one Michigan resort where a non-skier in your group has a full day planned: Avalanche Bay is the largest indoor waterpark in Michigan, and SkyBridge Michigan, the timber-towered suspension bridge, is lit with more than 150,000 lights in winter. On the hill, Disciples 8 was the Midwest’s first eight-passenger chairlift, and the Top Notch tubing conveyor is covered, which your kids will appreciate on a windy day. Boyne projects a December 4, 2026 opening, and spring skiing on the Victor lift has run into May in good years. I’ve put the resort side of the stay in my guide to Michigan winter resorts.

Crystal Mountain

Crystal is a four-sided mountain, and that’s the thing to know: the Front Side is where you learn, the North Face and The Backyard are where you go once you’re bored of it. Family-owned, near Frankfort and Sleeping Bear Dunes, with the Crystal Spa, igloo dining and seven glade areas. Snowboarders get a Burton Learn-to-Ride program. Crystal aims to open November 27, 2026, which usually makes it the first Lower Peninsula resort spinning lifts. The Crystal Mountain resort site prices tickets by date, so check it the week you’re going.

Nub’s Nob

Nub’s Nob in Harbor Springs is family-owned since 1958, has won Midwest best-snow and best-grooming awards for years, and lets anyone use the beginner area, with its own chairlift and conveyor, for free. That’s the best learn-to-ski deal in Northern Michigan, full stop. The main hill is 427 feet of vertical over 53 runs with 320 snow guns covering nearly all of it, there’s no lodging on site (Harbor Springs and Petoskey are 10 minutes away), and the Nub’s Nob website projects a December 5, 2026 opening. Nub’s is on the Indy Pass.

Shanty Creek Resort: Schuss Mountain

I took my first ski lessons on Summit Mountain here years ago, and it remains a favorite for learning, but the lifts have changed: all downhill skiing at Shanty Creek is now at Schuss Mountain, and Summit is alpine tubing only. Schuss has 450 feet of vertical and 42 runs, night skiing Wednesday through Saturday, the Elf Buster beginner hill with a magic carpet, and the Skibra shuttle between villages. It’s on the Indy Pass. Shanty Creek’s resort site in Bellaire (Antrim County) lists a passholder preview on November 27, 2026, daily operation from December 17 and a March 22, 2027 close. Short’s Brewing Co. in Bellaire is 15 minutes away for after.

Caberfae Peaks

Caberfae Peaks is Michigan’s oldest ski area, opened in 1938 in the Manistee National Forest outside Cadillac (Wexford County), and one of its best values: 485 feet of vertical, 34 runs, and an adult lift ticket that starts at $84 on the Caberfae Peaks rate page, with kids 8 and under at $10. The MacKenzie Lodge is ski-in, ski-out. The Mother Superior run is the long, open descent people come for. Caberfae projects December 5, 2026 through March 28, 2027 and takes the Indy Pass.

The Homestead

The Homestead in Glen Arbor (Leelanau County) skis Bay Mountain, 375 feet of vertical over 15 runs with Lake Michigan and Sleeping Bear Dunes below you, and that view is the reason to go. The catch, and it’s a real one: lifts run Fridays through Sundays and Presidents’ Day only, with a short season the resort projects as December 26, 2026 through March 7, 2027. Adult day tickets start at $63 on the Homestead resort site. Stay for the sunset over the lake from the shoreline after the lifts close.

Otsego Resort

Otsego Resort in Gaylord (Otsego County) was a private club from 1939 until it opened to the public in 2017, and it still feels like one: 358 feet of vertical into the Sturgeon River valley, 32 runs, a high-speed quad, glades and night skiing, with short lift lines because most people haven’t caught on. It runs a short season, December 26 to mid-March, and is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Details are on the Otsego Resort site.

Treetops Resort

Treetops is the gentler Gaylord option: 225 feet of vertical, 23 runs, three chairlifts that all meet at the summit, 100% snowmaking and a tubing hill, attached to a 226-room golf resort with 14 km of cross-country trails. It’s on the Indy Pass and the Treetops Resort site projects December 5, 2026 through March 14, 2027. For a first family ski weekend with a mix of ages, this is the one I’d book.

Northern Michigan community ski hills

These eight are municipal or nonprofit hills with rope tows, T-bars or a small chair, lit for night skiing and priced for locals. Several are the best beginner hills in the state precisely because nobody’s in a hurry.

• Hickory Hills, Traverse City (Grand Traverse County): city-owned since 1950, rebuilt in 2019 with a new lodge and snowmaking; 240 ft vertical, 16 runs, 6 lifts, inside the city limits. The City of Traverse City’s Hickory Hills page listed an adult day pass at $28 for 2025-26.
• Mt. Holiday, Traverse City: community-owned nonprofit on the east side of town with every run lit, a terrain park and a tubing hill; 200 ft vertical, 12 runs. Projected December 19, 2026 through March 14, 2027 on the Mt. Holiday site. Indy Pass.
• Hanson Hills, Grayling (Crawford County): T-bar and rope tows on 225 ft of vertical and 11 runs, a lift-served tubing park, and 35 km of groomed Nordic trails. Run by the Grayling Recreation Authority.
• Snow Snake, Harrison (Clare County): family-owned since 1957 and the southernmost hill in Northern Michigan, about an hour north of Mt. Pleasant; 210 ft vertical, 10 runs, a four-lane tubing park and a PSIA ski school with more than 30 instructors. Snow Snake’s site projects December 12, 2026 through March 14, 2027.
• Mt. McSauba, Charlevoix (Charlevoix County): a city rope-tow hill on a Lake Michigan dune, operating since 1956, with six groomed runs, a terrain park and night skiing; the Tornado Alley backside run is the local favorite. Details on the Visit Charlevoix page for Mt. McSauba.
• Missaukee Mountain, Lake City (Missaukee County): volunteer-run, natural snow only, weekends and school breaks, with two terrain parks and a free sledding hill. The City of Lake City’s Missaukee Mountain page covers hours. Lift passes have run $10, the cheapest lift-served skiing in the Lower Peninsula.
• Petoskey Winter Sports Park (Emmet County): free. One rope-tow beginner slope about 460 feet long, two outdoor rinks with skate rental, and a sledding hill with loaner sleds, per the City of Petoskey’s winter park page. If your kid has never been on skis, start here.

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Upper Peninsula ski resorts

The Upper Peninsula is where Michigan skiing stops apologizing for itself: more vertical, longer runs, and natural snow that lets a few areas skip snowmaking entirely. The Gogebic Range around Ironwood and Bessemer is the snowiest skiing in the state, and the Keweenaw, at the top of the peninsula, is where Mount Bohemia sits. From Detroit it’s a long day’s drive to any of them; from Chicago or Milwaukee, the western UP resorts are closer than most people think, around five to six hours.

Mount Bohemia

Mount Bohemia is not for beginners, and it means it. There are no green runs, the terrain isn’t groomed, and the resort makes no snow, so the opening date depends on Lake Superior’s mood and has slipped into January in lean years. What you get in exchange is the biggest vertical in the Midwest, glades and cliffs that feel more like British Columbia than Michigan, and snowcat skiing at Voodoo Mountain. I have a full Mount Bohemia guide if you’re planning the trip; the Mount Bohemia site has the current conditions.

Snowriver Mountain Resort

Snowriver is the resort you may still know as Big Snow, or before that as Indianhead and Blackjack. Midwest Family Ski Resorts bought both in 2022 and runs them as one 370-acre, two-peak resort: Jackson Creek Summit in Wakefield (Gogebic County) and Black River Basin in Bessemer, 73 runs between them and 538 feet of vertical on the bigger side. The Voyageur Express six-pack is the only six-person chair in the UP. Slopeside lodging, an indoor pool and tubing make it the most complete family resort in the western UP, and it opens around Thanksgiving. Snowriver is on the Ikon Pass for 2026-27, having left Indy. Tickets and dates are on the Snowriver Mountain Resort site, where an adult day ticket starts at $67.

Big Powderhorn Mountain

Big Powderhorn in Bessemer is the other half of the Gogebic Range snowbelt: 417 feet of vertical, 45 runs on two peaks, and a fleet of nine Riblet double chairs that is one of the largest in the UP, so lines are rare. Two terrain parks, slopeside condos and chalets, and introductory packages that bundle a lesson, rental and ticket for first-timers. It takes the Indy Pass, and the Big Powderhorn site lists an adult day ticket from $99.

Ski Brule

Ski Brule in Iron River (Iron County) is usually the first resort in the Midwest to open and among the last to close; it’s targeting November 20 to 22, 2026, and has closed as late as May 15. That’s 100% snowmaking on 150 acres, 500 feet of vertical, 17 runs and 11 lifts, three terrain parks, a tubing park, and free snowboard lessons for riders 10 and up, which no other Michigan resort offers. Cabins and chalets are on site. Adult day tickets start at $79 on the Ski Brule site. From Chicago, it’s about five and a half hours.

Marquette Mountain

Marquette Mountain is minutes from downtown Marquette with Lake Superior in view from the top, 540 feet of vertical over 29 runs, nine backcountry glade areas and night skiing every night of the week. A new Doppelmayr triple chair is slated for the 2026-27 season. It’s on the Indy Pass, and the Marquette Mountain site lists adult day tickets from $85. Stay in town; the Tbar Bar & Grill at the base has a patio and fire pit for après.

Pine Mountain Ski & Golf Resort

Pine Mountain in Iron Mountain (Dickinson County) sits two miles from downtown beside the historic Pine Mountain ski jump, with 500 feet of vertical, 35 runs, night skiing, three terrain parks, tubing through True North Outpost, and ski-in, ski-out hotel rooms and condos with a heated pool. Indy Pass. The Pine Mountain resort site has dates and rates. About five hours from Chicago.

Norway Mountain

Norway Mountain, 15 minutes from Pine Mountain, sat idle from 2018 until local owners reopened it for the 2024-25 season, and it’s the comeback story of UP skiing: 500 feet of vertical, 17 runs including a 1.4-mile longest run, night skiing Thursday through Sunday, lodging, tubing and the Moosehead Restaurant. It runs Thursday to Sunday only. Indy Pass. Adult day tickets start at $74 on the Norway Mountain site.

Porcupine Mountains Winter Sports Complex

The Porkies is the only ski area in Michigan run by the DNR, inside Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park near Ontonagon, and it’s 100% natural snow: 630 feet of vertical, 20 runs, two lifts, Lake Superior filling the horizon from the top, and more than 20 miles of groomed cross-country, snowshoe and fat-bike trails. It runs Friday through Monday from late December. An adult day ticket is $60 for 2026-27 on the DNR’s Ski the Porkies page, and state park cabins and yurts are nearby. Bring your own lunch to the A-frame warming building if the chalet is packed.

Mont Ripley

Mont Ripley in Hancock (Houghton County) is Michigan’s oldest ski area and is owned by Michigan Technological University, which sits across the Keweenaw Waterway from it. The Keweenaw averages more than 300 inches of snow a year, so Ripley’s 440 feet of vertical and 25 runs ski bigger than the numbers. Night skiing, a terrain park with more than 30 features, a two-lane tubing park and Snow School kids programs. Indy Pass. Adult day tickets start at $75 on the Mont Ripley page at Michigan Tech.

Upper Peninsula community ski hills

Seven more UP hills are run by a college, a city or a volunteer club. Hours are short, prices are tiny, and a couple post their schedule on Facebook rather than a website, so call or check before you drive.

• Mt. Zion, Ironwood (Gogebic County): on the Gogebic Community College campus, home of the college’s ski area management program; 300 ft vertical, 10 runs, glades, night skiing and a tubing park, with free cross-country and snowshoe trails. The Gogebic Community College page for Mt. Zion lists an adult day ticket at $55; seniors 62 and up ski free.
• Gladstone Ski Hill (Delta County): the city’s John & Melissa Besse Sports Park above Little Bay de Noc has rope tows, a T-bar, a three-run tubing hill and a regulation half-pipe, with evening hours Monday, Thursday and Friday per the City of Gladstone’s sports park page.
• Sault Seal Recreation Area, Sault Ste. Marie (Chippewa County): one lift, a single 1,000-foot lit run and a seven-lane tubing park with two tubing lifts, plus a heated chalet. The City of Sault Ste. Marie’s Sault Seal page listed a $15 adult daily pass for 2025-26.
• Hiawatha Slopes, Chatham (Alger County): a volunteer rope-tow hill about 15 miles from Munising, open weekend afternoons and Wednesday evenings, where an all-day tow ticket has been $5. Free groomed cross-country trails and a sledding slope. Schedule is on the Hiawatha Slopes Facebook page.
• Adventure Mountain, Greenland (Ontonagon County): revived in 2021 by the local Lions Club after 30 years dark; a lit rope-tow hill with a chalet and an indoor ice rink, open Friday evenings and weekends on natural snow.
• Crystella Ski Hill, Crystal Falls (Iron County): city-owned and volunteer-run, typically January through March, with sledding welcome. Season passes are through the City of Crystal Falls skiing page.
• Big Valley Ski and Tube, Newberry (Luce County): a small beginner and tubing hill, and the only downhill option in the eastern UP between Marquette and the Soo.

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West Michigan ski areas

West Michigan’s five ski areas are all day-trip hills within an hour of Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo, every one of them lit for night skiing, and none with lodging on site, so plan on sleeping in Grand Rapids, Holland or Grand Haven. For a Chicago skier, Swiss Valley and Timber Ridge are the closest lifts in Michigan, about two hours by car.

• Bittersweet, Otsego (Allegan County): the biggest vertical in Southwest Michigan at 350 feet, 20 runs, 11 lifts including two high-speed quads, three terrain parks and the Fireside Lounge with live music. Family-owned since 1982. Adult day tickets from $74 on the Bittersweet Ski Resort site.
• Cannonsburg, Belmont (Kent County): Grand Rapids’ home hill, 20 minutes from downtown, with 250 ft of vertical, 21 runs, three chairlifts and Michigan’s largest tubing hill, served by a magic carpet. Cannonsburg Kids and the Junior Academy are the local learn-to-ski programs. Adult tickets from $59 on the Cannonsburg Ski & Ride site.
• Timber Ridge, Gobles (Van Buren County): Southwest Michigan’s oldest ski hill, open since 1961 and 25 minutes from Kalamazoo; 240 ft vertical, 15 runs, three terrain parks and a nine-lane tubing park with a moving-sidewalk lift. The lodge is a relocated 1900s Shelbyville train depot. Adult tickets from $64 on the Timber Ridge site.
• Swiss Valley, Jones (Cass County): the learn-to-ski hill for Southwest Michigan and northern Indiana, with 100% snowmaking, every slope lit until 9:30 pm, 225 ft of vertical over 12 runs, and two terrain parks rotating 42 features. Indy Pass. Adult tickets from $64 and a $29 rental package with helmet on the Swiss Valley site.
• Mulligan’s Hollow, Grand Haven (Ottawa County): a volunteer-run nonprofit rope-tow hill in the dunes behind the Tri-Cities YMCA, open since 1963, with eight lit slopes, Lake Michigan from the top dune, and events like the Glow Bowl and the Cardboard Sled Race. The 2026-27 season is posted as December 19 through March 14 on the Mulligan’s Hollow site, with adult tickets at $24.

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Southeast Michigan ski areas

Ski resorts near Detroit

Four ski areas sit within about an hour of Detroit, all in Oakland or Livingston County, all with 100% snowmaking and night skiing, and all busiest from 5 pm on weeknights when the after-school programs let out. None has lodging, and none needs it: these are after-work hills. Pine Knob is usually the first in the region to open, around Thanksgiving.

• Mt. Holly, Holly (Oakland County): the biggest vertical in Southeast Michigan at 350 feet, 20 runs, 13 lifts including the region’s only two high-speed detachable quads, a three-story Austrian-style lodge and the Thunderbolt race program. Rates on the Mt. Holly site.
• Pine Knob, Clarkston (Oakland County): closest of the four to the city at about 30 minutes, 300 ft of vertical, 17 runs, three terrain parks, a 1,000-foot high-speed tow rope, and a lodge with three fireplaces. Rates on the Pine Knob site.
• Alpine Valley, White Lake (Oakland County): 25 runs on 100 acres, 14 lifts, and the only halfpipe in Southeast Michigan, 350 feet long with walls up to 10 feet. Rates on the Alpine Valley site.
• Mt. Brighton, Brighton (Livingston County): owned by Vail Resorts and on the Epic Pass, 130 skiable acres, 230 ft of vertical, 24 runs, five chairlifts, two terrain parks and Dew After Dark night skiing. Where a large share of metro Detroit learned to ski. Rates on the Mt. Brighton site.

Pro tip: Mt. Holly, Pine Knob and Alpine Valley price tickets by date and sell them online in advance; the walk-up window price on a Saturday is the most expensive way to ski in Michigan. Buy the day before.

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Which multi-resort passes work in Michigan?

Three. Ikon covers Boyne Mountain, The Highlands at Harbor Springs and Snowriver. Epic covers Mt. Brighton. Indy covers 12 Michigan areas: Big Powderhorn, Caberfae Peaks, Crystal Mountain, Marquette Mountain, Mont Ripley, Mt. Holiday, Norway Mountain, Nub’s Nob, Pine Mountain, Schuss Mountain at Shanty Creek, Swiss Valley and Treetops. Indy gives you two days at each, which is enough for a UP road trip that hits five of them. Rosters shift every spring, so confirm on the pass’s own site before you buy.

When does ski season start in Michigan?

Late November in the UP and at Crystal Mountain, the first weekend of December for most Northern Michigan resorts, and mid-December for the community hills that depend on natural snow. Ski Brule’s target of November 20 to 22, 2026 is the earliest posted date in the state; Crystal and Schuss aim for November 27; Boyne Mountain and The Highlands for December 4; Nub’s Nob, Caberfae and Treetops for December 5. Closing runs from early March at the rope-tow hills to late March at most resorts, with Boyne Mountain and Ski Brule skiing into April and occasionally May. The season calendar in the app lists every projected opening and closing date as resorts announce them.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best ski resort in Michigan?

For most skiers, The Highlands at Harbor Springs: the most vertical and acreage in the Lower Peninsula, a strong ski school and lodging at the base. For families, Boyne Mountain or Crystal Mountain. For experts, Mount Bohemia, which has no beginner terrain at all.

What is the best Michigan ski resort for beginners?

Nub’s Nob, because the beginner area is free, or Schuss Mountain at Shanty Creek for its ski school and the Elf Buster magic-carpet hill. On a budget, a community hill like Hickory Hills or Swiss Valley teaches the same skills for a fraction of the price.

Can you snowboard at every Michigan ski resort?

Yes. Every one of the 41 areas allows snowboards, and most have at least one terrain park. Alpine Valley has the only halfpipe in Southeast Michigan, Gladstone has a half-pipe in the UP, and Ski Brule gives free snowboard lessons to riders 10 and older.

Which Michigan ski resort gets the most snow?

The Keweenaw and the Gogebic Range in the western Upper Peninsula: Mount Bohemia, Mont Ripley, Snowriver and Big Powderhorn all sit in snowbelts that average well over 200 inches a season. In the Lower Peninsula, The Highlands and Nub’s Nob near Harbor Springs get the most lake-effect help.

Are there ski resorts near Detroit?

Four within about an hour: Pine Knob in Clarkston, Mt. Holly in Holly, Alpine Valley in White Lake and Mt. Brighton in Brighton. All have night skiing and full snowmaking.

Which Michigan ski resorts have indoor waterparks?

Boyne Mountain, with Avalanche Bay, the largest indoor waterpark in the state. Snowriver and Pine Mountain in the UP have indoor pools at their lodging, and Shanty Creek’s lodges have pools and hot tubs.

Forty-one places to ski is more than most states can claim, and you don’t have to drive to Colorado to find the one that fits you. Pick a region, put the ski guide on your phone, and watch the snow tab; when the UP lights up, go. If you’re building a whole weekend around it, my guides to snow tubing in Michigan, cross-country skiing and winter resorts and waterpark hotels cover the rest of the trip.