Snowboarding Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

Ever since I first heard about some of the Upper Peninsula ski areas a few years ago (hey, nobody lives up there so I just assumed nobody snowboards up there, either!) I’ve been intrigued. I am pretty sure that next year’s gnargasm is happening in Michigan’s U.P. In fact, it was basically the runner-up this year, but we decided to spend a bunch of money and go to Park City, instead.

Here’s how it would go down:

Getting there…

We’d drive from Detroit straight through is like 11 hours to Houghton, MI. I’m going to assume one full day each, to drive to/from Detroit. Allowing for 5 days on the slopes, that makes for a 7 day trip. Can we fit 4 people and gear in my Jeep? Maybe. It will suck. Last February we put 5 people in an F150 for a 12 hour drive to Mont Tremblant. With a roof rack, I think we could fit 4 in my Cherokee.

Lodging

Houghton is a college town (Michigan Tech and Finlandia University) which means there are plenty of lodging options and 25-cent beers on Wednesday nights, somewhere. Options are relatively spartan, which is good. I think we’d end up staying somewhere like the Ramada Waterfront (pretty close to the action) is $95/night for 2 queen beds, the rate includes standard amenities like continental breakfast, sauna, hot tub, pool, free wi-fi, etc., an on-site restaurant and sports bar.

Shredding Gnar

There are three ski areas within reasonable driving distance from Houghton, the smallest (and closest) of which is Mont Ripley, conveniently situated on the campus of Michigan Tech University. Allegedly there is a good park area at Ripley. This is not a priority, but since it’s in-town, it’s good for “take-it-easy” day or maybe a “I had one too many afterbangs last night” day. Lift tickets are $36 for a full day, $28 for half day.

Mount Bohemia is approximately 1 hour away. It is renowned as the Midwest’s gnarliest ski & snowboard area. Bohemia boasts the longest runs and highest vertical in the Midwest (over 900 feet), and features 100+ acres of inbounds “backcountry”. It’s the only place in the Midwest that has chutes and cliff drops. No beginners allowed! Lift tickets at Mount Bohemia are $49/day.

The Porcupine Mountains are about 1:45 away. In addition to a few chairlifts, the Porkies have 787 vertical feet of Snowcat serviced runs. Daily lift tickets are going for $48 but they are running a recession-proof twofer discount every day this season, so $24/person if you have a friend. Unlimited Cat skiing or boarding is available for an additional $20 (still cheaper than most lift tickets out West).

Summing it Up

Houghton is a shade under 550 miles from Detroit, which works out to about $115 each way in gas money. Double that, $230. Add gas for getting to/from the ski areas, I’ll estimate $400 worth of gas for the week. I think a conservatively high estimate for total lodging expenses is $700 (realistically it would be more like ~$600).

The entire week would cost about $250/person — less than the price of a round-trip airfare from Detroit to anywhere. Ride a few days at each place, I think budgeting about $200/person for lift tickets is pretty fair.

Budget some money for food, booze, and maybe playing some table games at the nearby Casinos, and you’re looking at maybe $700/person for the entire week, and you get a totally one-of-a-kind ski or snowboard vacation.