Snowstar Winter Sports Park, also known as Snowstar, located in Andalusia Township, Rock Island County, near Andalusia, Illinois, 10 minutes from the Quad Cities. Snowstar has 28 acres of ridable terrain.
In 1979, 70 acres of land was purchased to build Ski Snowstar. When the park opened in the winter of 1981-82, it had 6 acres of ridable land, a four-person chairlift and a cable tow. [1] They also had 3 snow machines that covered all the hills. [2] The ski lodge offered a cafeteria, lounge, ticket office, ski school, ski patrol, rental office, and a gift shop. The following summer, they almost doubled ridable acres with the addition of an intermediate hill and another quad chairlift. [1] The park was purchased in 2021 by a couple from Illinois City. [3]
Buildings on the property include a 6,000 square foot lodge with multiple dining options, a welcome center and a ski patrol. There are 32 snow guns that cover 100% of the 28 ridable acres and can produce enough snow for a season to last 75 days. The park experiences a natural annual snowfall of 38-40 inches. Of the 14 trails, half are for intermediate level skiers, while the remaining trails are divided between beginner and advanced(25% each). [4] It has six ski lifts of different varieties. Two are tow ropes. Features include quarter pipe, hip jumps, spines, and more. Snowstar also has a tubing hill. [5] Opening in February of 2019, Snowstar also offers year round zip-line tours. It features four lines, with the longest line spanning 1,300 feet. [6] [7]
Deer Valley is an alpine ski resort in the Wasatch Range, located 36 miles (58 km) east of Salt Lake City, in Park City, Utah, United States. The resort, known for its upscale amenities, is consistently ranked among the top ski resorts in North America.
Wachusett Mountain is an alpine ski area in the northeastern United States, located on Mount Wachusett, in the towns of Princeton and Westminster, Worcester County, Massachusetts. It has 25 trails served by eight lifts, including three high-speed chairlifts and three magic-carpet lifts, a triple chairlift, and a Pony lift.
SilverStar Mountain Resort (SilverStar) is a ski resort located near Silver Star Provincial Park in the Shuswap Highland of the Monashee Mountains, 22 km northeast of the city of Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. SilverStar's snow season runs from late November to mid-April weather permitting. SilverStar provides summer lift access for mountain biking and hiking from the end of June through to September.
Loveland Ski Area is a ski area in the western United States, located near the town of Georgetown, Colorado. Located at the eastern portal of the Eisenhower Tunnel, Loveland is within the Arapahoe National Forest. It is one of the closest ski areas to the Denver metropolitan area and Front Range corridor, making it popular with locals.
Banff Sunshine Village is a ski resort in western Canada, located on the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies within Banff National Park in Alberta and Mt Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia. It is one of three major ski resorts located in the Banff National Park. Because of its location straddling the Continental Divide, Sunshine receives more snow than the neighbouring ski resorts. The Sunshine base area is located 15 km (9 mi) southwest of the town of Banff. By car, it is about a ninety-minute drive from the city of Calgary; the Sunshine exit on the Trans Canada Highway is 8 km (5 mi) west of the town of Banff.
Copper Mountain is a mountain and ski resort located in Summit County, Colorado, about 75 miles (120 km) west of Denver on Interstate 70. The resort has 2,465 acres of in-bounds terrain under lease from the U.S. Forest Service, White River National Forest, Dillon Ranger District. It is operated by POWDR.
Bromley Mountain is located in southern Vermont, United States and is part of the Green Mountains. It is located in the town of Peru, Bennington County, seven miles (11 km) east of Manchester, Vermont and just west of the Peru town center. It is a popular destination for skiing and snowboarding.
Whitewater Ski Resort is a ski resort in western Canada, located a 25-minute drive from Nelson in southern British Columbia. In the Selkirk Mountains, the resort is situated in Ymir bowl, beneath the 2,400-metre-high (7,874 ft) Ymir Mountain. The Selkirks receive plentiful, dry snow, and the location in a high alpine bowl provides an annual snowfall average of approximately 12 m.
The Summit at Snoqualmie is a winter resort in the northwest United States, located on Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. It provides alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing, and winter tubing. Owned and managed by Boyne Resorts, it is 52 miles (80 km) east of downtown Seattle on Interstate 90.
Pajarito Mountain Ski Area (Pajarito) is located on the north face of Pajarito Mountain, one of the Jemez Mountains in north central New Mexico, west of Los Alamos. It is located on 850 acres (3.4 km2) of privately owned land. Pajarito Mountain is owned and operated by volunteers and Mountain Capital Partners. A typical season runs from Christmas to early April, but an outstanding season may run from Thanksgiving to late April. Pajarito now has a snowmaking system and it is producing snow. Season passes are available with discounts available for early season purchase.
Vail Ski Resort is a ski resort in the western United States, located near the town of Vail in Eagle County, Colorado. At 5,289 acres, it is the third-largest single-mountain ski resort in the U.S., behind Big Sky and Park City, featuring seven bowls and intermediate gladed terrain in Blue Sky Basin.
Montage Mountain is a ski area in Pennsylvania, located 8 miles (13 km) from downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania. It is located about 125 miles (201 km) northwest of Philadelphia and New York City. There are 26 trails, two terrain parks, and one of Pennsylvania's longest snow tubing areas. The mountain has a summit elevation of 1,960 feet (600 m) and a vertical drop of 1,000 feet (300 m).
Saddleback Maine is a ski resort located in Sandy River Plantation, near Rangeley, Maine, on the northwestern slopes of Saddleback Mountain. It is the largest independent ski area on the east coast, in terms of number of skiable acres (600). It has (6) lifts, (85%) snowmaking percentage, vertical drop, and skier days. After almost five years of closed doors, Saddleback Mountain was sold to the Arctaris Impact Fund and reopened on December 15, 2020.
Elk Mountain Ski Resort is a ski area in the Endless Mountains on the summit of Elk Hill in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. It is located 30 mi (48 km) north of Scranton. The mountain has been given favorable reviews from Ski Magazine, including a listing in "Six Unsung Heroes", a roundup of hidden gems in skiing.
Bristol Mountain, formally known as Bristol Mountain Winter Resort, is a ski resort located in South Bristol, New York in the Finger Lakes region. It is located 30 miles (48 km) from the center of Rochester, New York, the nearest major city to the resort, and about 10 miles (16 km) from Canandaigua on NY 64.
BigRock Mountain is located in Mars Hill, Maine, on the western face of Mars Hill. It is one of the larger ski resorts in the State of Maine with 2 chairlifts, 26 trails, 80% snowmaking, night skiing, and almost 1000 ft of continuous vertical drop.
Grouse Mountain is one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges in the District Municipality of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. With a maximum elevation of over 1,200m (4,100ft) at its peak, the mountain is the site of an alpine ski area, Grouse Mountain Resort, which overlooks Metro Vancouver and has four chairlifts servicing 33 runs. In the summer, Grouse Mountain Resort features lumberjack shows, the "Birds in Motion" birds of prey demonstration, a scenic chairlift ride, disc golf, mountain biking, zip lining, tandem paragliding, helicopter tours, and guided ecowalks. Year-round operations include a 100-seat mountaintop theatre and a wildlife refuge. The mountain operates two aerial tramways, known officially as the Skyride. The Blue Skyride is used mainly for freight transportation, while public access to the mountain top is provided by the Swiss-built Garaventa Red Skyride, which has a maximum capacity of 101 passengers. Summer access is also provided by the 2.9 kilometre Grouse Grind hiking trail, which is open for hiking from May to October.
Gibson Pass Ski Area, more commonly known as Manning Park Ski Area or simply Manning Park, is a small ski area located within E. C. Manning Provincial Park. The hill itself is not owned or operated by BC Parks, instead by the current park facility operator, Manning Park Resort. The land is used through a lease with the provincial government.
Sandia Peak Ski Area, originally La Madera Ski Area, is a ski resort located in the Sandia Mountains in northeast Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States, immediately northeast of the city of Albuquerque. It is part of a Special Use Permit Zone in the Sandia Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest. It is New Mexico's first ski area, opening to skiers in 1936. It features Sandia Peak Tramway, which was until 2010 the longest tramway in the world, and remains the longest in the Americas. The resort includes 35 ski runs and a terrain park, and also serves as a site for summer recreation. It is one of the few ski resorts in the US that can be directly accessed from a major city.
Ski Santa Fe or Santa Fe Ski Basin is a medium-sized ski resort located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, 16 miles east of the state capital of Santa Fe. It includes 7 lifts and 68 runs at elevations of over 10,000 feet (3,000 m). It is the southernmost major ski resort of the Rocky Mountains, and one of the oldest and highest in the nation.