Have been to Chestnut both in the winter for skiing and in the summer for the alpline slides. The ski resort is a staple to the midwest. They offer multiple slopes with different levels of difficulty. It's a great place for beginners and those wanting them or their kids to learn. This resort is year round so they offer summer activities as well. There's a lodge with a cafe that offers simpler items like nachos and chicken tenders. There's also a restaurant at top with a bar if you're wanting something more sit down. Such a fun place to visit among the rolling hills of Galena! read more

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June 2026 - I should have done some research before booking. No elevator. You have to carry your belongings up spiral staircases. Our room had furniture that looked like a beaver chewed the bottom of it. Bathroom very small, tub was plastered and painted, badly. Shower water pressure was a trickle. Floor was not solid. Could hear everything upstairs. Did not try food. Looked like cafeteria quality. Very run down "resort". Would not stay here again. Gave it 2 stars because our room looked like it had new carpeting. read more

We didn't stay here, but we stopped by to take a ride (or two) on the Alpine slide! It was so fun we had to go a second time. Such a fun and unique experience. And my 4 year old twins and 85 year old grandma even loved it. We also did the rock mining. Had a great time with both activities! Definitely recommend if you're in the area. read more

Chestnut Mountain Resort - Ski Resorts Near Me - Galena, Illinois

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Horrible sleeping experience, horrible food, way too expensive for some random ahh lodge. The only good part was the activities outside the hotel. read more

They need to remodel the entire building. It's like going into a time capsule. Very expensive for the quality of the place. We paid extra to get a view of the river and the windows were filthy and full of spiders and bugs. If you're going to charge extra for the view why not cleaning the windows so we can actually see it. The Tv was a tiny thing and hair dryer didn't work. read more

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Resort Denied Our Reservation! When we arrived at Chestnut Mountain Resort to check in, the hotel manager, Shera Chumbler told us that we were not allowed to stay in the room reserved for us because our pet dog was not a certified support dog. Note that we never claimed we had a support dog as even the itinerary stated "guest will be bringing one pet dog". Ms. Chumbler told us that the Resort has only two rooms for pet dogs [Sidenote: therefore, this should not be advertised as a "dog-friendly hotel"] . She offered one of those rooms but for only one night as the rest of our desired stay was already booked. Rather than staying just one night with uncertainty of being able to stay for our New Year's Eve plans, we begrudgingly accepted the offer for a reservation refund. Ms. Chumbler, instead of apologizing, complained that we should have booked our room directly and not via a third party. I find it interesting that the refund request from the resort itself was only 60% of the total reservation charge. Perhaps this 40% difference that the booking agent received is why the manager did not wish to honor our reservation as, being within the very popular New Year's Eve timeframe, she could make that extra 40% by giving our room to someone contacting her directly. It makes me wonder if we discriminated against by booking through a third party while the third party is clearly an agent for the Resort. It's important to note that this was not a cancelation on my part but a decision by the resort manager to not honor our reservation. The third party did give us a full refund of our reservation; however, that did not compensate us for the resort's breach of honoring our reservation and the resulting inconvenience of our 3 1/2 hour drive from Chicago and then the 4 1/2 hour drive back home the same day, as well as our disappointment for a New Year's Eve vacation. read more

The Wings were huge. And they call this a starter? Victor was very nice. Wife had Reuben which was a good size also. She's picky but loved this one. read more

Chestnut Mountain Resort - Wings. $15 Appetizer - Ski Resorts Near Me - Galena, Illinois

We didn't stay at the Chestnut Mountain Resort but we wanted to do something fun while we were at Galena and after doing some research online, we've decided to stop by for a while and ended up playing for hours! Weather was perfect for some miniature golf for $5 a person and we spent about a couple hours laughing and enjoying the nice day. Then we walked around the resort and took some pictures. At last we did the Alpine Slide for $15 a person and took the little ski lift back enjoying the view. It was a great experience and we all had a fantastic day! read more

Chestnut Mountain Resort - Ski Resorts Near Me - Galena, Illinois

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Lovely vibe it's a ski resort so expensive food per usual but food was good regardless. Slopes were decent as expected of Illinois they don't compare to actual mountains. Cheap enough it's worth it to go. Lots of rude people not the resorts fault but very entitled lot. Workers were awesome and had good vibes. read more

Segway was completely cancelled but they wanted to charge me. Someone was looking out for me and got me my money back. Not the best stay at all. read more

This is our 2nd visit. Both times we have visited in the summer months. We've only spent a couple hours each time walking around, shopping and riding the alpine slide. This time the young lady in the ticket booth was clueless on the pricing & explaining it. I feel like the gift shop is expensive - this place is in a remote location and they really aren't that busy. We actually heard about it from a friend who reminded us again when we mentioned we were going to Galena. The Alpine Slide is fun. It takes about 2 minutes down the hill. You then hop on a chair lift to get back to the top which can take about 10 minutes depending on how many times it stops. The view is beautiful! Suggestion: Lower your prices for your branded merchandise - it's free advertising! We would have remembered this place if we had a t shirt from it. read more

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This property is a winter ski resort, that also offers some summertime activities like mini-golf, Alpine slide, trail walks, Segway tours, and an indoor pool. Great views. But the property shows it's age and is both musty and worn-down, with very small/crowded rooms. Tiny bathroom, too. The beds were comfortable. The carpeted halls and stairwells smell so musty, I brought my M9 odor spray with me when leaving my room. I never got used to the smell. There is no elevator!! So if you have a mobility impairment and have difficulty with stairs, this is not the property for you. I was able to manage, but it was not ideal, especially lugging baggage up the stairs. The pool was nice though and not musty. I was the only person there on a Saturday morning. We also liked walking the trails. We wore masks indoors, but no one else aside from the bus-staff in the restaurant were masked. The check-in staff had masks, but we're not wearing them all the time. No guests were masked indoors. No covid precautions enforced, to our dismay. The property is a 20-minute drive from downtown Galena, so keep that in mind if you plan to eat or shop in town. There is a restaurant on the property, and we ate two breakfast meals there, but I would have preferred a café in town. read more

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Fun activities for a summer afternoon--we did the alpine slide, zip line and mini golf. A bit pricey but fun.

Great runs with lots of snow. Lifts are fast and view is beautiful. Love coming here with friends for a quick day or 2 of boarding.

The fresh man made snow combined with the little bit of real snow we got during our visit was perfect. Everyone was very friendly and helpful with us being Novice skiers. Wonderful experience for all!! read more

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The perfect getaway during winter for this city girl!! My gym has put together a ski trip for years now! It's an event I look forward to every year! The drive from Chicago isn't too bad. The ski lesson is very thorough. I did end up getting hurt. But it was my fault haha. Ski patrol was phenomenal, very helpful & kind! They were there to assist minutes after my fall!! Excited to be back next year!! Have to redeem myself haha read more

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Wonderful ski resort for the family, especially good for learners as there is a rookies hill which has a lift. It is longer and higher than the magic carpet but not so intimidating so that the beginners can learn comfortably there. Helped my seven years ago to gain confidence in two days to go down a proper downhill! The resort accommodation is clean and spacious. Nothing to complain about, we thoroughly enjoyed the stay. Located on top of the skifield is a bonus, instead of the bottom, so that the lodge provides a better view ,especially for those that did not ski in the group. The swimming pool was another highlight. Not cold at all so don't worry! So good to be able to chill and enjoy a warm swim after a long day of ski! read more

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After a few years of cutting my teeth at Wilmot Mountain, I decided to find a different set of slopes to careen down at a high rate of speed, and my research told me that Chestnut Mountain had the steepest top to bottom incline of all the "mountains" in this generally flat, midwestern area. That height was definitely noticeable, as many runs can get steep, and they are all plenty long. The exhilaration becomes palpable as the wind whips off the Mississippi and catches in your jacket, and it crescendos any time the path before you falls out of view, the slope dropping beyond whatever crest you're fast approaching. I might feel more at home on Wilmot, but it was nice to expand out of my comfort zone. Nice to go down runs with actual trees. Nice to criss-cross between intersecting runs, adding variety no matter where you went down. I sprung for a snowboarding lesson as well, since I'd only ever watched YouTube videos as an intro. It went well, over the basics nicely, though the hour went by before we really ever felt challenged, but at the same time, the others may have needed a slower pace to figure things out. It wasn't wildly expensive, though, so I ain't mad. read more

This hotel was so outdated and the rooms online looked nothing like we walked in to. The hallways had carpet on the walls, the room furniture looked 40 years old, carpet was frayed in the room, bathroom tile looked ancient and overall appearance was old and dirty. read more

Went here mid July to the Alpine slide and zip line. What I loved was the lift chair ride down. The Mississippi was covered in gorgeous water lillies at the base of the chair lift. Next visit would take the boat ride offered from the dock. read more

Chestnut Mountain Resort - Water lillies on the Mississippi. - Ski Resorts Near Me - Galena, Illinois

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We picked Chestnut Mountain because of its proximity to us and it's ratings for skiing in the Midwest. I enjoy skiing, but had never done it so close to home. We bought a two-day lift ticket and ski rental online. I found the website a bit lacking, but it got the job done. The first day we skied was a Friday, which was great. There was almost no one there. We could park close, there were no lines for really anything and there runs weren't very crowded. Signage could be improved a bit; we were a bit confused about where to store our skis overnight; they do require you take your boots with you. Saturday was a totally different story. We slept in a little later than usual and it was pretty crowded when we got there. I didn't love Saturday, there were lots of people, which made the snow pretty icy and as someone who usually prefers the greens it was littered with people who didn't know what the F they were doing. Prime example, someone out of control yelling "behind you". I was lucky enough not to be hit by them, but saw so many people who were frankly dangerous and scary. The other problem with Saturday was the lifts. One of the main lifts was down and one of the other main ones was experiencing issues which caused some really long lines. I don't fault them for this, it just sucks to spend a lot of time in line getting cold. Overall, we'd definitely come back. My husband who has usually gone to Wisconsin in the past much preferred this. read more

Nice gem in Galena Illinois. Note, this review is not for the skiing, as we went here for the Alpine slides, during the summer. The room we had was cozy and comfortable. The Alpine slides was fun and safe. They also have this cool zipline that took you across the valley and zipped you right on back, and a great boat tour. All fun things to try while you stay at the Chestnut Mountain Resort. A halfday and night was plenty of time to partake in the summer activities as well as check out nearby downtown Galena. read more

We stayed here while there were some Covid restrictions going on, so I'm keeping that in mind while doing this review. The views around this place are spectacular in the Fall. The colors, the mountains, everything is just beautiful. That being said....this place is in the middle of nowhere. Very hard to get reception out here and also incredibly difficult to navigate at night. There was no dine in service allowed while we were here, but they did have some outdoor dining available, which was great because we had a hard enough time finding the place without having to go out again and search for a place to eat. They also had a limited room service menu available for those that didn't want to eat outside. Obviously, there was no large buffet continental breakfast either. A bag was left at your door with fruit, a muffin and water for your free breakfast. The hotel itself has a lot to offer: skiing, miniature golf, etc., which would all be really fun stuff to do with families and groups. But the hotel itself is very dated. There is no elevator and there are even steps to get to rooms in the first floor, so bare that in mind. The bathroom in our room was in some serious need of updating. There was even a sticker in the shower explaining how to work the shower which was out of date and didn't apply to the model in our room. All in all, we would definitely come back and try some of the activities and have more of a look around once restrictions are lifted. read more

Chestnut Mountain Resort - View from our room - Ski Resorts Near Me - Galena, Illinois

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I. Love. This. Place. While I visited nearly a decade ago for snowboarding activities, I had NO idea all the fun to be had during the summer. We went on the sled ride and had a blast. I wore a long skirt not anticipating that we were stopping here, so I tucked it in, but it may have slowed me down a bit. The hotel alone was beautiful on the outside, with a dining area in one of the sections with outdoor seating that had a gorgeous view. They have a zip lining which doesn't seem scary, and I believe you sit in a seat. They have Segway tours with a guide showing you the proper techniques. I can't wait to bring others here in the future to see the looks on their faces. There's also a nice photo opportunity in a huge blue seat with a great view. read more

The sunset views were spectacular. The resort itself is a bit worn down and tired. No elevator, all stairs. No maid service. Didn't seem worth it for the price. read more

Whatever you do, don't follow the directions of your GPS completely. When you start seeing signs for Chestnut Mountain Resort, make sure you follow them. Do not follow your GPS. Our GPS took us to a residential neighborhood which was totally wrong. We tried the soaring eagle. Michael strapped us in and let us fly. It was amazing! A tip though: make sure you hold onto your phone tight when you get to the end (going backwards). The view is fantastic and we wanted to take pics but there was a stop and then a bit of a jerking motion that is unexpected. We had a lot of fun on this ride and Michael was awesome in helping us and making sure we had a good time. We also tried the alpine slide. Going down the slide was awesome but I can see how someone could go down too fast and wipe out. read more

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I'll start with the "Pro's". The location is beautiful and not too far of a drive from Galena and a few wineries. The views are spectacular (especially from the restaurant/patio). The zipline ride and alpine slide were super fun. Didn't do the boat ride because it was cancelled due to high water. The food at the restaurant was top notch - broiled shrimp dinner, walleye strips, spicy chicken salad wrap, burger to name a few were all good. "Con's". Overall the hotel needs a good refresh/update. Looks like it hasn't seen much change since the 80's/90's. Carpet in hallways is worn; lobby is bare and uninviting; walls, doors, door frames are pretty beat up. There is no elevator so if you're on the fourth floor like we were, take that into account. The pool was okay but the whirlpool was stained and the water level so low, the jets were shooting out above the water line. We didn't use either. No mattress or pillow protectors which is pretty gross. The room was small . . . I mean SMALL as was the bathroom (no sink cabinet just a small shelf for two people to put their things on). It was 'clean enough' but just the overall 'feel' was not that clean. Carpet was old and worn and the TV appeared to be about 10 years old. Didn't even have 'stereo' just mono and was hard to hear. Picture was awful . . . not HD and while I'm not a big TV watcher, you really couldn't enjoy watching anything because it was so fuzzy. I imagine if you are coming here to ski/snowboard, you might not care about the accommodations. Still, I'd come to ski and stay elsewhere. Final Take: Go there for dinner, the alpine slide or zipline ride or to ski but no reason to stay there with so many better options available. read more

The alpine slide at Chestnut Mountain is on many "must do" list for Galena. I was with a group of kids ranging from 7-13 years old. All of them enjoyed it! My biggest tip is don't show them any videos of it prior to riding the slide. The videos make it seem like it goes much faster than it really does. You sit on what is basically a small scooter with a handle to control the speed. Everyone in our group found it easy to control and wanted to go down the hill more than once. After the side you ride the ski lift back to the top of the hill. The lift ride is included in the price of the ticket. read more

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I was nervous about this place but was recommended by a friend. Any hotel will have bad reviews and many reviews say the places are aged. At first I booked the queen and when we arrive we were placed in 249. A double with a sofa and older carpet. I went to speak with staff and a man named Les let me look at 409. The room was updated. Toilet are low so if you are tall or elderly. No elevators. This didn't bother me, but worth the mention. Pool area looked amazing- forgot our suits. The hotel bar was nice. We did order pumpkin cheesecake and took to our room. Our room was clean. Staff was nice and helpful. And we appreciated getting a updated room. read more

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Always glad to be here. The amenities are somewhat rustic, but the people are nice and the views on the Mississippi are out of this world. We did the eagle soaring zip line too, which was less scary than it looks, but giving even more impressive views. Definitely a family favorite. read more

My friends and I just had the best Segway tour with Steven. He is very knowledgeable about technique and the trails. He was funny and entertaining. He made the tour very enjoyable. He also hunted us down after when my friend left her phone in the storage compartment of the Segway. Steven is wonderful. We were so happy with this tour. Thank you read more

Chestnut Mountain Resort - Ski Resorts Near Me - Galena, Illinois

Ok resort. Needs some updating. Certain areas were a little "dingy" smelling, but not bad overall.

The resort is dated, but the staff is wonderful and there is slot of great activities. Such as zip line, mini golf, alpine slide, Segway, boat rides, frisbee golf and biking for the summer activities. Although the rooms are dated,they are clean and spacious. Beautiful views. read more

Beautiful ski resort for all seasons. They have a bar and restaurant in the resort overlooking the mighty Mississippi River. There is something to do for all ages. After a long walk I wanted to get in the hot tub but is was being repaired. Hopefully it will be functional during ski season. It's a 20 minute ride to downtown Galena and near Galena wine vineyard Blaum brothers distillery and in Elizabeth town breweries. read more

I couldn't find how to update my previous review, so this is an amendment. Chestnut contacted me after my issues, though, not immediately. They got the situation figured out with the gift card in the end. I am only not leaving five stars because of how their system put a hold on the gift card funds and caused the hassle. Also they followed up with me with very little urgency after I reached out to them to advise of my issue. read more

Came for the zipline, stayed for a cocktail. Zipline was anticlimactic, kind of set up awkwardly, but the views were great. I don't know if they always do, but there was a very short line, so the zipline guy was letting people go twice in a row. Definitely not something I'd do again. Probably a great spot to take your kids if they're getting restless with all the boutique shopping downtown. The slide thing looks super fun! Easy enough to get to without a GPS because it's pretty heavily marked on the roads as to where to turn. read more

This is only my 3rd mountain to ski at ever so I can't say it's the best one in the world. What I can say is that our entire experience from start to finish was just fantastic. But also it helped that my bf has snowboarded all over the U.S. and he also agrees that while Chestnut is a smaller mountain, they do so much with what they got. Even though we were skiing on man-made snow (boo December) we still had a blast. Not to mention that every single employee that we encountered every day was so nice and welcoming. The rooms were clean, beds were comfortable and the food and drinks they served, at least at the Sunset Grille, were decent and not too expensive. Considering how this place is so close to Chicago, I for some reason was preparing that the experience was going to be lesser. But it was perfect for what we were looking for. 10 thumbs up. read more

The views and surrounding area are simply gorgeous. They did talk a lot about mountain bike trails, which is why we chose the place, but the trails were just in the woods and not true mountain bike trails. Our room was okay. The bathroom was not cleaned well when we arrived and there was a dead bug on the floor, but it was quiet. The lift view and view from our room was very pretty. read more

Just spent a relaxing 4th of July weekend at the resort. All the activities were on the resort's ground, no need to drive anywhere. The activities were fun for all, and for all age levels. The restaurant was very good, and the wait staff was very accommodating to those with dietary restrictions, and children. The rooms with the mountain rooms were worth it , could see the sunset every day, as well as the variety of birds and hawks. The only reason for 4 stars was the family rooms were a bit worse for wear, but the rooms were clean. i would love to go back not only in the winter, but in the fall as well. read more

Awesome place to stay. Only flaw is the prices, no free breakfast, and no elevator. Really mad it hard to get coolers up to the room on the 4th floor. read more