Michigan Ski Blog – Skiing and Snowboarding in Michigan

Are you guys still allowing the dirtbike park open?

Out of touch/out of state greedy owners shut down snowmobile trail. Tearing apart the fabric of UP/Wisconsin snowmobiling one stitch at a time. Enjoy your winter, my family and I will buy our lift passes elsewhere. Pack sand.

Where does the snowmobile trail cross??? I don’t see it

It will always be Indianhead!

Indianhead has been there for longer than my 65 years on the planet. The new name change erases history for Wakefield and basically sucks. Removing the snowmobile trail also sucks. You lost our business at both hills. We’ll move up to whitecap.

This should have never made the news in this way if you had worked this out with the club. It could of been positive on both sides from the beginning.

Outstanding news 👏🏻 THIS is exactly what smart business is. Way to come to the table literally! Face to face with respect, collaboration and moving in a positive direction forward. Community partnership prevails. ❄️Let it Snow ❄️

I’d be the first to admit that I was very upset and also very concerned about trail 2, and the future of trails at Lutsen mountain in Minnesota. Was openly ready to boycott. I also ski and snowmobile. I have skied at both Lutsen Minnesota and two of the resorts by trail 2. Snowmobiled to both and met wife and daughters for skiing! Loved it. I hope this will be resolved. Thank you for coming to the table and discussing. This makes sense for everyone! I hope there is a resolution. Would still like to hear the real reason for the shut down to begin with. Trail was working perfectly fine!

Thank you for the effort to help find a good solution for everyone. I too was upset at first but folks making any kind of threat towards anyone is not the way to solve anything. I Snowmobile and Ski... in fact I learn to Ski when I was 6 years old over at Blackjack. Lots of fond memories and fondness for that region. Thanks for helping make it work.

We appreciate the efforts being made by both sides 👍🏼

Happy to hear there is progress being made!

Happy to hear that there getting resolved for all parties

Thank you for being open minded and working towards a solution for all.

Great job in going above and beyond!

Progress….thx

Bravo! Great job working with your neighbors!

As a current season passholder, we always stayed in the complex buildings where the trail was behind the building. I’m not a snowmobiler but I always enjoyed watching them go past and the snowmobile groomer. I’ve been skiing there for six years I’ve never heard any incident with snow mobiles, and quite a few of them also stopped in to have lunch or drinks. it will be sad to not see them.

BS response to cover their butts. Snowmobiling brings in More business to the hill. Just deciding it's an issue at last minute is really unacceptable and not a good way to start a relationship with a great community. Where is the data to show how many people have actually been hurt? So disappointing.

I support keeping private sleds off of ski slopes. Skiers and snowmobiles dont mix.

This is the dumbest thing I have ever read. Use your brain people. The insurance company wont insure them because a snowmobile posses an liability risk??? But skiing doesn't?? www.valuepenguin.com/health-insurance-winter-sports-injuries

I’ve been skiing at Indianhead for 60 years. Don’t like snowmobiles at all. They’re noisy and disturb the peace of a beautiful afternoon on the slopes. I support any and all efforts to keep them off the Indianhead property. Why do they have to be everywhere? It’s like we finally find a quiet place and then they have to be there, too.

Any chance the trail can be allowed this year? Then, poll the guest to see how unsafe they really feel? It’s a really crappy thing to do the local clubs, businesses and towns that depend on snowmobile revenue. Especially with 2 months to go till the season kicks off

The president of the company directly heard all the negativity. He is directly responding to it. This is positive for all the people who have expressed concerns. The dude just dropped major coin on the place. Based on Granite Peak, the company will re-invent and majorly upgrade the operations at Blackjack and Indianhead. A huge bonus for the region! I would give the company some time to come up with a short term and long term plan and certainly you know that ski operations are what will make or break the business, so short term that is where all the attention will be. Cut the company some slack for a year.

Stop it. It don’t even come close to people on your resorts. This is a horrible decision.

We always enjoyed stopping by on snowmobiles and supporting the ski resort. Wondering how many guests were injured by snowmobiles at these ski hills? Rerouting this major trail takes significant time and the season right around the corner😡

I've been skiing at Indianhead blackjack and Powderhorn for 44 years. My knees are shot, so now I snowmobile. I have always enjoyed going into Dudley's saloon even after skiing and while Snowmobiling. They better be working something out, or I will never attend there again

New owners should focus on new chairlifts that don’t drop chairs off the lift like the red triple a couple years back. The chairlifts at big snow/river snow/whatever it’s called are the biggest liability they have. E-brakes tripping off at blackjack just last winter almost flung plenty of people off that day too. Been coming here for almost 30 years and I can count on zero fingers how many times a snowmobile almost got in the way or caused a hazard.

Skidoo snowmobile open house at granite peak in Wausau how about that? Isn’t that a issue to your skiing guests a safety issue to your guests with the added traffic? We will see if money talks come spring when the new sleds come out if they’ll be on your property or not. I used to support you and the New Years celebration with the fireworks. Not anymore.

Hopefully a solution can be found soon. I use the snowmobile trail and also ski here. The through trail is a huge asset to the snowmobile trail system and all businesses.

Thank you for clarifying your position with this … makes total sense. Good luck to your operations here in the UP … we welcome you to our small community

I understand the business side of what you are saying and planning but like others this should have been part of the plan so there was no disruption. Everyday I snowboard at your hill I see easily 10-15 sleds parked in the parking lot, with the riders eating and drinking in your bar. We really hope you come up with a plan sooner than later. I appreciate your statement and at least hearing us out for a solution.

Hopefully everyone has had the chance to read the rebuttal to this post on m.facebook.com/GogebicRangeTrailAuthority/

@Charles Skinner There's nothing worse than a CEO who can't read the room. Your first move as a new owner is to upset the entire U.P. and put a strain on the economy. Rather then spending your time getting ready to open for the season, you just loaded your days with public relations damage control. So much for first impressions. Free advice, in the future start with the solution and work backwards.

People stay at the resort because it’s on the trail. Fix it.

It’s stated in the Michigan Ski Area Safety Act that private snowmobiles are not allowed on or in the vicinity of open ski slopes. It is Michigan State Law.

Should have had the foresight to come up with an alternative plan before hand. Now you all are in damage control mode.. I dont buy the liability excuse. If my insurance company were that fearful of a snomobile trail and perception of imaginary liability, I'd find a different underwriter. For someone who has been in the resort industry for many years, you all sure did make a mountain out of a molehill here.

My family of 7 will no longer be traveling and staying at your resort. This is a huge impact to many small family businesses. We will continue to visit and stay at neighboring ski resorts and support these small businesses.... another big brother wiper out the little ones

I like to do both. Looks like I won’t be at your resort, I’d assume a resort like yours would understand the synergy of all sports.

Find a new insurance company

Never going to visit your resort again. We would stop in when we were riding. Also visited to Ski.

Thank you for acting immediately to ensure safely for all guests.

Indianhead Mountain - Big Snow Resort why are you canceling the snowmobile trail 2? Some of us snowboarders like the fact of riding our sleds to the hill. Terrible start to new ownership. Hope you have a better plan then this. You should have reached out to your consumer base before ripping up the contract.

There’s no such thing as a “snowriver” so let’s start there —

Last time we will stay there. They are anti snow Mobile and closed the connecting trails in the area.

Will Snowriver Mtn Resort Honor the 2022/23 season Passes that were purchased last year from Big Snow Resort ?

I see your on the Ski Cooper pass too…woot!!

Molly Beth

Be prepared for HUGE price increases!!!