The Most Challenging Ski Areas in the Midwest
The Midwest Region of the US is not thought of as a hotbed of great ski resorts. While none are as big as the slopes in the Rockies or Pacific Northwest, there are still a number of challenging resorts, especially in Michigan.
Explaining our Criteria
Here at Parks & Trips, we created a proprietary Difficulty Score thats generated by combining a number of metrics for each resort. Primarily, we look at the count of easy-intermediate-expert slopes by acreage and the maximum vertical drop of the overall resort.
Our algorithm compares each resort’s metrics with all others in North America, then gives each a Difficulty Score, which we use to rank them accordingly. Resorts with a lower score are easier than those with a higher one. However, a high score does not mean that the resort does not have any easy slopes, or vice versa. This is just an overall score given to the resort based on all its metrics grouped together.
Mount Bohemia: The Most Difficult Ski Resort in the Midwest
Mount Bohemia in Michigan is not only the most challenging ski resort in the Midwest, but it is also one of the top 20 most difficult resorts in the whole US (currently #16 at the time of this writing).
Mount Bohemia has actually made various Top 10 lists across the country for how difficult it is, and it has zero easy trails. With over 450 skiable acres, 93% of which are rated “Expert”, this resort is a destination for many avid skiers.
Second place goes to Snowstar in Illinois because of the high number of exert trails it has. Third place goes to Indianhead Resort in Michigan due to it having the highest summit in the region, as well as 50% of its trails being rated as “Expert”.
Michigan is an absolute powerhouse in the Midwest region, with 5 of its ski resorts claiming spots in our top 10 here. Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio have other ski resorts that make up the other five most difficult Midwest slopes.
Top 25 Challenging Midwest Ski Resorts
| Rank | Resort | Summit Elev. | Vertical Drop | Expert Trails | Difficulty Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Mount Bohemia (MI) | 1,500 ft | 900 ft | 93% | 74.1% |
| #2 | Snowstar Winter Park (IL) | 790 ft | 262 ft | 67% | 53.3% |
| #3 | Snowriver Mountain Resort – Indianhead (MI) | 1,935 ft | 638 ft | 50% | 49.1% |
| #4 | Cannonsburg (MI) | 1,100 ft | 250 ft | 55% | 46.3% |
| #5 | Boston Mills (OH) | 885 ft | 229 ft | 50% | 45.0% |
| #6 | Mont Ripley (MI) | 1,140 ft | 440 ft | 48% | 44.9% |
| #7 | Lutsen Mountains (MN) | 1,913 ft | 825 ft | 35% | 44.6% |
| #8 | Marquette Mountain (MI) | 1,357 ft | 600 ft | 35% | 43.1% |
| #9 | Snowriver Mountain Resort – Blackjack (MI) | 1,650 ft | 465 ft | 40% | 42.4% |
| #10 | Sunburst (WI) | 1,100 ft | 234 ft | 45% | 42.1% |
| #11 | Camp 10 (WI) | 1,739 ft | 230 ft | 45% | 42.0% |
| #12 | Mad River Mountain (OH) | 1,460 ft | 300 ft | 44% | 41.8% |
| #13 | Mt. Holly (MI) | 1,105 ft | 350 ft | 39% | 40.2% |
| #14 | Mt. Crescent (IA) | 1,500 ft | 300 ft | 37% | 40.0% |
| #15 | Mount Crescent Ski Area (IA) | 1,500 ft | 300 ft | 37% | 40.0% |
| #16 | Nordic Mountain (WI) | 1,137 ft | 265 ft | 35% | 39.6% |
| #17 | Big Powderhorn (MI) | 1,800 ft | 600 ft | 33% | 39.0% |
| #18 | Granite Peak (WI) | 1,924 ft | 700 ft | 35% | 38.7% |
| #19 | Ski Brule (MI) | 1,861 ft | 500 ft | 30% | 38.7% |
| #20 | Mount Kato (MN) | 540 ft | 240 ft | 37% | 38.6% |
| #21 | Whitecap Mountains Resort (WI) | 1,750 ft | 455 ft | 39% | 38.3% |
| #22 | Wilmot Mountain (WI) | 1,030 ft | 230 ft | 40% | 37.2% |
| #23 | Tyrol Basin (WI) | 1,160 ft | 300 ft | 39% | 36.7% |
| #24 | Cascade Mountain (WI) | 1,280 ft | 460 ft | 38% | 36.6% |
| #25 | Caberfae Peaks (MI) | 1,545 ft | 485 ft | 34% | 36.6% |
