Wisconsin Ski Resorts Ranked & Mapped
The Wisconsin ski season typically runs from December through March, with some areas staying open into early April. The snow in Wisconsin is typically wetter and heavier than the light powder of western ski resorts, but it still provides good skiing conditions when the weather cooperates. The amount of snow can vary greatly from year to year, but most resorts in Wisconsin average around 50-75 inches of snowfall per year.
List of All Wisconsin Ski Resorts
Wisconsin has more than a few ski resorts a part of the INDY network, which was created in 2019 to help independent ski resorts compete against the larger conglomerates like Vail Resorts or Alterra Mountain Company. When buying a season lift ticket from INDY, you can ski all the networked resorts with a single ticket.
The Vail Resorts all-resort ticket called EPIC has one resort located inside Wisconsin, called Wilmot Mountain.
| Resort | Pass | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine Valley | Elkhorn, WI, 53121 | |
| Camp 10 | Athelstane, WI, 54104 | |
| Cascade Mountain | Portage, WI, 53901 | |
| Christie Mountain | Bruce, WI, 54819 | |
| Christmas Mountain | Wisconsin Dells, WI, 53965 | |
| Devil’s Head | Merrimac, WI, 53561 | |
| Grand Geneva | Lake Geneva, WI, 53147 | |
| Granite Peak | INDY | Wausau, WI, 54401 |
| Hidden Valley | Maribel, WI, 53186 | |
| Highlands of Olympia | Ripon, WI, 54971 | |
| Little Switzerland | INDY | Slinger, WI, 53086 |
| Mont du Lac | Superior, WI, 54880 | |
| Mount Ashwabay | Bayfield, WI, 54814 | |
| Mt. La Crosse | La Crosse, WI, 54601 | |
| Nordic Mountain | INDY | Mountain, WI, 54149 |
| Paul Bunyan Ski Hill | Lakewood, WI, 54138 | |
| Standing Rocks | Stevens Point, WI, 54482 | |
| Sunburst | Madison, WI, 53718 | |
| The Rock Snowpark | INDY | Janesville, WI, 53546 |
| Trollhaugen | INDY | Dresser, WI, 54009 |
| Tyrol Basin | INDY | Ripon, WI, 54971 |
| Whitecap Mountains Resort | Upson, WI, 54565 | |
| Wilmot Mountain | EPIC | Wilmot, WI, 53192 |
Explaining Our ‘Difficulty Score’
Parks & Trips created a proprietary Difficulty Score that is generated by looking at the number 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.
The Most Difficult Wisconsin Ski Resorts
No ski resort breaks the 50% difficulty level (which would be the “average” across the US and Canada). However, Sunburst Ski Resort in Madison takes the prize here, but only barely. It and Camp 10 have virtually the same statistics.
| Rank | Resort | Green Trails | Blue Trails | Black Trails | Difficulty ScoreTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Sunburst | 20% | 35% | 45% | 42% |
| #2 | Camp 10 | 20% | 35% | 45% | 42% |
| #3 | Nordic Mountain | 15% | 50% | 35% | 40% |
| #4 | Granite Peak | 35% | 30% | 35% | 39% |
| #5 | Whitecap Mountains Resort | 33% | 28% | 39% | 38% |
The Largest Ski Resorts in Wisconsin
Granite Peak is considered the largest Wisconsin ski resort, but it could be up for debate how you look at the mountain’s stats. Granite Peak owns the steepest hill and most trails, but Whitecap Mountains has more skiable acres.
| Rank | Resort | Summit Elevation | Base Elevation | Vertical Drop | Acres | Trails |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Granite Peak | 1,924 ft | 1,224 ft | 700 ft | 200 | 60 |
| #2 | Whitecap Mountains Resort | 1,750 ft | 1,295 ft | 455 ft | 400 | 43 |
| #3 | Devil’s Head | 995 ft | 495 ft | 500 ft | 300 | 30 |
| #4 | Cascade Mountain | 1,280 ft | 820 ft | 460 ft | 160 | 35 |
| #5 | Mt. La Crosse | 1,110 ft | 594 ft | 516 ft | 100 | 18 |
