Afton is a solid resort within a half hour drive of the Twin Cities airport and downtown St Paul…read more Part of Epic for pass holders (Afton was acquired by Vail Resorts in 2012). The teaching staff is excellent, as are the group lesson ratios, especially if you're in the ARC ski-racing program. Big airy bright base lodge with reasonable prices. And no one this close to the metro has this much terrain to choose from. Afton's not Kitzbuhel, but the snow just might be better.

A beautiful area right next to Afton State Park. I am not a skier but this is the third ski area…read moreto review based on looks and amenities without being too generic. A few years ago I was fascinated with the multitude of machines making snow and thought more movie production companies should be using these machines to make a more realistic snow scene. At any rate the chalet is top notch there are scenic slopes and they are constantly updating the site. Urban development is creeping down from the north into Afton so enjoy the ride out here as a respite from cookie cutter developments and another Applebees before the snow hilly countryside is gone.

When we say we grew up at Trollhaugen, and have lived our lives here at times - we mean it…read more For pete's sake we've had people married here. (The most beautiful wedding and experience.) The hills are alive with the sound of a Troll's call. Everybody who works here is just wonderful - part of the family. Trollhaugen pizza is the best pizza for you and me, positively. Snowboarding and skiing is an amazing experience here, love tubing too. If you're nervous about going, don't be, you got this. Love this place, highly recommend. GO TROLL - Now and always. -The Tight Squad

Five star rating for a ski hill out here. This is not the type of mountain you'll find out West,…read morebut for a $24 evening ticket I couldn't say no! The ticket was valid from 9pm - 3am. It was the busiest around 10-12 and was pretty much cleared at around 1230-1am. If you're willing to stay out that late, it made for an almost non existent wait line! The hills were well lit and the chairlifts moved quickly enough that the long lines at peak time weren't so bad. When you needed refuge from the cold, they had a multi story lodge to warm up in. They offered a variety of foods with one more concession focused and another room dedicated to more of an actual restaurant. When I went inside the restaurant was not serving food so I got a small fry from the concession and it was very reasonably priced at $3.50. They also had a bar upstairs where you could get beers and I believe cocktails - they also had a live band playing the night I was there. Overall very cool hangout spot whether you are indoors or outdoors - but be sure to reserve your passes early. The passes were sold out to those who tried to get them at the door, so plan ahead!

We golfed here for the first time and the views were well worth a road trip. A free pass, won at…read morethe Golf Expo in Minneapolis from Treasure Island, brought us here. A couple of switchbacks on the road bring you to a ridge overlooking the Mississippi River. The tee boxes, fairways, and greens were in great shape. The forward tees were around 4800 yards which is a bit more on the shorter side but the many narrow fairways created plenty of challenges. Staff was friendly. Carts did not have GPS. We had a great experience and would gladly return for another round.

amazing one of the best golf courses amazing views amazing service and just in general amazing golfread more

FYI I am not a skier and I've only snowboarded once. This review is for the hiking opportunity…read more First time I did this was with friends in a fitness group. It was late summer and hiking uphill in the heat, I huffed and puffed like an out of shape smoker. 2nd time I came by myself on a cooler fall Sunday afternoon and I walked it twice. There are 2 ways to tackle this. Start on left and hike by a water tower or start by tubing hill on right and walk up. The views overlooking the highway and crystal lake are awesome. They are now closed for hiking til spring due to ski season ramping up. The trails are also mountain bike trails but I never encountered anyone. The hike only takes 30 minutes to get up and down. More if you doddle and stop to take pictures. Bring a bottle of water along and dress light. I carried a fanny pack as I didn't want to leave my phone and money in my car.

What Buck Hill lacks in terrain it makes up for in personality. The staff is excellent and most of…read morethe beginning to ski group lessons end up being private or 2:1. Our two youngest kids both learned to ski at Buck and we wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Wild Mountain is right. My god, what an experience. I purchased tickets through Group On and heard…read moreits a nice place for kids/teens. We packed lunches and left early. Drove a quite a ways to get here, celebrating my daughter's birthday. What a wash, it was very disappointing. Pool was disgusting, bouncy house was nasty however they did enjoy the go karts. It was a cold, nasty and the facility such a disappointment. Great thing we had backup plans. I wouldn't come back.

Today was my first time ever skiing. Got private lessons with Karen who made it a fantastic…read moreexperience! It's clear when someone does their job with a passion. Completely converted me into this sport. 100% worth the drive from Rochester! I only did the two easiest green slopes this far but I will say this place is very beginner friendly. Great teachers, polite people on the slopes. There's a lil cafeteria here and the options are decent and a tad pricey. Restrooms are clean. Will come back

We had four of us there going there today. All four of us are a little bit computer, illiterate and…read moresigning into their website to save the money on the lift ticket. Prices was absolutely the worst thing I've ever done in my life. It was so bad we packed up our year and left Welch Village left missed out on over 500 bucks today lift tickets a couple beers food They have to make the systems easier somehow

If I could rate it zero stars I would. I took my friend to Welch on 11 January 2026 to teach him…read morehow to ski. We got there at about noon and we had paid for a full day pass (totaling $90 per ticket) and he had also paid for ski rentals to learn (totaling another $45). Everything was going good up until a few hours in my ski lift ticket had fallen off of my jacket due to the flimsy plastic zip ties they give you to put the lift ticket on your jacket. instead of continuing to ski I decided to do "the right thing" and go inside to get a replacement. once inside I dealt with a rude woman at the front desk and had asked her if I could get a replacement ticket because mine fell off. Keep in mind once a ticket is purchased via Welch's website you are given a barcode to get your ticket. I had the barcode pulled up on my phone while I was asking to get a replacement ticket and the woman looked at me like I had 2 heads refusing to scan my barcode.. then asked for my name not 30 seconds later she comes back to me and says I can't get a new one without buying one or I could have my friend (who is learning how to ski) ride the chairlifts to "track it down". I've gone to Welch for over 10 years now and have never had something so ridiculous happen while I was there. Do better Welch...

Fun family ski hill with beautiful views and multiple runs suitable for teaching the little ones…read more Cozy chalet with all kinds of snacks and fun for all.

Great for families. Very affordable and super friendly staff. The food in the chalet is not only…read moreaffordable too but also delicious. Early 2019 they started upgrading their rentals which would have been my biggest complaint because they were getting pretty worn out. There isn't a ton of runs but the ones they have are fun. It's never been extremely busy which is great too.

We went tubing today!!! We had a fantastic time. I suggest getting there early for a closer…read moreparking spot...but no matter where park you'll still have a great time. It was $20 for the time and the bus ride. We were dropped off and provided twine to lock our tubes together. We had so much fun; highly recommend.

I enjoyed the river float here. I wish they had an updated website with info regarding what's…read moreneeded, float times, etc. A few things that would have been helpful to know: - You will likely park across the bridge, be prepared for that. - CASH ONLY. And you will need an ID to leave with them for your tubes. - water shoes are recommended - I think there are only biffies avail for bathrooms - float times vary based on water levels. The "long" 4hr. trip took us just under 2 hours. Call ahead! to find out how long your trip might take. - they provide twine to tie your group of tubes together, but you may want to plan ahead and bring your own rope or bungee cords. Overall it was a good time. I didn't see any groups getting very rowdy or vulgar - I think I'd be fine bringing kids here (which I have NOT heard about the Apple River/River's Edge).