Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience. View live ski conditions, snow totals and weather from the slopes right now with Sundown Mountain webcams. Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Sundown Mountain that rank the ski resort and mountain town on a scale of one to five stars for attributes such as terrain, nightlife and family friendliness. See how Sundown Mountain stacks up in the reviews, on and off the slopes, from skiing and family activities to the aprs scene. 16991 Asbury Rd. I should also mention that Chestnut mountain is a bigger and more spread out resort because it has onsite lodging, whereas Sundown Mountain does not offer lodging which did not matter to us since we have never utilized the lodging at Chestnut as it's a bit outdated. Ive had more experienced riders give me good tips, nearly every time I go there. The scenic slopes at the resort are open for night skiing and snowboarding. 1086 222nd Drive,Boone, IA 50036 Tel:515-432-9457. While I was researching winter activities for this ski trip, I stumbled across Sundown Mountain in Dubuque, just 20 minutes from Hotel Julien and 40 minutes from downtown Galena (who knew?) I found it ridiculously easy to turn left but struggled to turn right. Crescent is the perfect day trip for anyone who hasnt been skiing before and wants to try their hand (er, feet) at the winter sport. The Mountain Center has benches with space underneath them to store shoes. Sundown Mountain in Dubuque is 3 hours from Chicago. . I could go on and on about this placeand I did! When I return Ill be tempted to visit at the same time, even if it is slightly more expensive, just to avoid the crowds. Click here for our Frequently Asked Questions Page, Total Vertical Drop of 475 feet, with Runs Carved Among Picturesque Cedar Trees, 21 Scenic Trails with Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Runs, 2 Terrain Parks with Progressive Features, 2 Mountain Top Lodges Overlooking 100 Square Miles of Countryside, Kids Park Facility for Children Ages 3-11, Ski and Snowboard Lessons for All Ages and Abilities, Sundown Parks Video & Photo Contest 2023. Non-Competitive Team - $350.00 This level includes all training sessions. Harbor Springs MichiganDistance from Chicago: 370 miles; 6-hour driveSince youre already driving all the way up to Michigan, you might as well scout out a place where you can not only ski, but sleep, shop, and eat all in one place. Seven Oaks is located in Boone, just under a 50 minute drive North of Des Moines and very close to Ames. Fuji & Hakone 1 Day Tour From Tokyo (Return by bullet train in option, BEST Niagara Falls USA Side & Washington D.C. 3-Day Tour from New York City, Looking for the Howler Monkey in Beards - Bremen, Lamanai Mayan Ruins Tour from Ambergris Caye, 8-Days Tour in Grand Teton Yellowstone and Glacier National Park. I have skied before in the midwest (e.g., Boyne resorts in northern Michigan), but had not heard of Sundown Mountain. The 475-foot vertical drop mountain has over 150 snow guns and the runs are groomed daily. . sundown mountain vs chestnut mountain Sundown Mountain in Dubuque is 3 hours from Chicago. Troy is the third highest point in Netherlands at an elevation of 1,818 feet. Thanks for sharing great pictures. Dubuque, IowaDistance from Chicago: 188 miles; 3.5-hour driveAs the name suggests, Sundown Mountain Resort lets you glide down their cedar-lined slopes far past bedtime. Menu. I visited a second time and attempted to go down Sunbowl a couple of times, but I was miserable. So before considering all snow sports as a complete write off, I wanted to try skiing. (5 green runs compared to 2). We are not the most athletic bunch, but it was amazing how quickly the instructor had us feeling confident and manuvering with few falls. Dubuque's Sundown Mountain Resort opened for its first day on Thursday, December 7th starting at 4pm. Actually, it wasn't that cold outside, not like when you are skiing with several layers of protective gear on. Address: 8700 West Chestnut Road, Galena, Illinois 61036 Rates shown below are averages. This level includes all training sessions and entry and coaching at the 4 WIJARA Race League events (Chestnut Mountain, Sundown Mountain, Cascade Mountain and Tyrol Basin). more. Chestnut Ski Resort Galena, IL Boasting an impressive array of amenities, accommodations, comforts and activities, Chestnut Mountain is the choice Illinois travel destination. Mount Bohemia Ski Resort, Mohawk, Michigan, Chestnut Mountain Resort, Galena, Illinois, Perfect North Slopes, Lawrenceburg, Indiana, Giants Ridge Recreation Area, Biwabik, Minnesota, 10 Mountains You've Never Heard of but Need to Ski This Winter. Kristine Hansen is a design, food and drink, and travel writer based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. WIJARA fees are $32 per racer and must be paid online to complete your registration. Distance from Chicago: 188 miles; 3.5-hour drive As the name suggests, Sundown Mountain Resort lets you glide down their cedar-lined slopes far past bedtime. A post shared by Seven Oaks- Winter/ Summer Fun (@sevenoaksrec). Across the bridge in Galena, Illinois, staff at Chestnut Mountain Resort are also in deep producing snow. They certainly wont blow you away, but they wont totally bore you either. Website. I might be stuck on the green slope still but Id be up for that haha . Hidden Gem & Great Alternative to Chestnut Mountain, Especially for Beginners! Definitely recommend if you like to enjoy the outdoors in winter. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. What to Expect: Clearing US Immigration in Dublin, Ireland, Skiing In Iowa USA: A Guide To Iowa Ski Resorts, Dubuque Christmas Events To Get You In The Christmas Spirit: Iowa, Best Ski Resorts for Beginners - Campfires & Concierges, Real Life Route 66 'Cars' Movie Locations | The Places That Inspired Radiator Springs. snow was good people are friendly and the terrain park is good. And they have a lot of openings. Stop to eat at Fried Green Tomatoes! Since we've been going there forever, we never thought to look into other alternatives. Im a British repatriate who lived in Iowa USA for 4 years! Maybe next winter Ill come over and we can ski together! Mount Crescent has 9 ski slopes, 1 terrain park and a sledding hill. Haha my other half wants to go back again on Sunday now, hes been caught by the snowboard bug again! They have a few terrain parks, naturally, but how many resorts do you know that also house a full-on tubing park? He was so sweet and patient! Skiing is not for me, but at least I gave it a go! If you are required to enter a bib number to proceed with registration, just enter 599 or if allowed, leave the field blank. Just like skiing snowboarding is separated into many different categories including freestyle, freeride, and downhill. Conveniently located in the Midwest, Sundown Mountain Resort offers: Total Vertical Drop of 475 feet, with Runs Carved Among Picturesque Cedar Trees 21 Scenic Trails with Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Runs 2 Terrain Parks with Progressive Features 2 Mountain Top Lodges Overlooking 100 Square Miles of Countryside Tips Up Food & Spirits Split into two parks, the 85-acre resort features 21 ski runs, along with lodges and warming stations (this is the Midwest, after all!) Full Review Going out adjusting guns, making sure that we push down the snow we are making, keeping track of the guns and making sure they work properly. Very accomodating and friendly a wonderful experience for my family and friends. Would recommend it if you are looking for a nice inexpensive ski resort that isn't overly crowded. Still, Sundown remains a family-owned and locally operated company that has evolved into a fun and dynamic event center popular with area residents and visitors. Sundown Mountain 60 Reviews #16 Outdoor Activities, Nature & Parks, Ski & Snowboard Areas 16991 Asbury Rd, Dubuque, IA 52002-9493 Save GradAbroad Buenos Aires, Argentina 13 15 Please fix your operations and train staff; otherwise a nice place Review of Sundown Mountain Reviewed December 26, 2019 (563) 556-6676 The package will run until March 1, 2020 weather dependent and is only good for inn and courtyard rooms. usually go to chestnut, but decided to shake it up and hit sundown instead and won't be back for a whileOverall the snow was awful ,but this might have to do with the ice storm days earlier. they even have something for those that don't ski we had a good day. Youd be surprised what happens each time you go again! Hill is always well groomed considering the weather conditions make it tough. With this new mountain, the province has moved up 3 places in our mountain classification! Blessed with snowfall and cool wintry weather, the Midwest is ripe for skiing, whether your vice is zipping downhill or coasting along Nordic-style. 46 Top Things To Do in Dubuque Iowa, Recommended By A Local! As Jim our savior came to help us, he was an aid for the park. Galena, IllinoisDistance from Chicago: 162 miles; 2.5-hour driveOthers on the list may have more snow and better runs, but few nearby ski destinations are this damn fun. It's not Colorado, but the chair lift was fast and there were few lines. Food & beverage was very good and reasonably priced. Never for very long though, its always been a flying visit! Sundown opened for the season on Nov. 27, but has now been closed for five days because of high temperatures last week. Snowboarding. Share your experience at resort Sundown Mountain to help other skiers. Whether you are an advanced, intermediate or beginner skier or boarder we have terrain to suit your needs and ability level. If you see this Jim THANK YOU! We went Fri-Sun so we figured we'd check it out Fri evening and if it was dingy we could still have all of Saturday to ski at Chestnut Mountain. At Sundown, there's more than one ski lift and I found that to be a wonderful perk for beginners that wouldn't be an option at Chestnut. Cadillac MichiganDistance from Chicago: 283 miles; 4.5-hour driveThis 30-run resort features steep slopes, two peaks, five aerial lifts, and plenty of backcountry terrain if you're in the market for a snowy path less traveled. The volcano was established as a national park in 1998. Located 70 miles north of Duluth, this 202-acre resorts 35 ski runs are joined by little luxuries on-site lodging (a mix of 67 suites, from one to four bedrooms each, plus an indoor pool), restaurants, and a spa. A fun Olympic tie-in is that Putzi Frandl, a former alpine ski racer from Austria, once worked here as an instructor after competing in the 1956 and 1960 Winter Olympics. Warm Cabins great for groups and lovely restaurant and rental store. The Travel & Leisure article highlights the resort's 85-acre 21 ski runs, lodges, and warming stations as reasons for placing it in the Top Ten. Ive been a couple of times! The mountain attracts a large number of tourists mountaineering, and hiking. Chestnut Mountain--January 5 & 6. Bessemer, MichiganDistance from Chicago: 408 miles; 6-hour driveWith 253 skiable acres featuring one of the largest vertical drops in the Midwest, Big Powderhorn is a classic Upper Peninsula getaway offering a wide variety of terrain across 45 trails and three terrain parks. Sundown Mountain Resort in Dubuque, Iowa is one of the best Midwest ski resorts and the premier destination to take your family skiing and snowboarding this winter! Shhh. Practices Tuesday & Thursday 6:15- 8:30pm & Optional Free Nastar Runs on Saturdays 10am-1pm, $250 per racer includes Coaching for all practices & Unlimited Free Nastar Runs on Saturdays, Must be able to ski intermediate hills in control, Hard-sided helmets are required to race per USSA ski racing regulations, Racers need skis (no twin tips), boots & poles, Sundown Mountain Race Junior Race team is a proud member of WIJARA (Wisconsin/Illinois/Iowa Junior Racing Association), Contact [email protected] or [email protected], Medals are awarded each race to the top 5 racers of each age class, Free Nastar Timed Racing Saturdays 10am-1pm. There are 11 ski runs at Seven Oaks including a bunny hill for beginners and a couple of terrain parks. Youll also find a tubing hill with its own ski lift. Snow Report. It's certainly not Colorado, but considering it's the Midwest, it's very nice for a day, evening ski or weekend getaway at reasonable prices. The lower elevations of the Mount Scenery support dry evergreen forest with species such as white cedar, sea grape, and redwood, cacti, mountain mahogany, grassy meadows. Hope to see you back soon :). Chestnut Mountain Resort is Galena's premier hotel and resort near Chicago. Dubuque, IA 52002 Travel + Leisure is published by Meredith Corporation under license from Travel + Leisure Co. I decided to stuff all my belongings into my pockets and leave anything else in the car (possibly the only good thing about a cold sportyou have plenty of clothes on with space to store things!). South Lodges Bottoms Up will get you fed while taking in sprawling views of the runs, and Northern Lodge is your spot to sip adult beverages and caro-load on pizza and sandwiches courtesy of Tips Up Food and Spirit. As far as the building set-up, we took your advise and we are in the middle of making a new lodge that will house all ticketing and rental in ONE convenient location! Live cams give you a glimpse of the 60 runs' conditions so you can easily track and plan. Mount Bohemias vertical drop of 900 feet ranks second in the Midwest. The stratovolcano is located on the Sint Eustatius Island in the Caribbean. The mountain, though it has been dormant for a long time it is considered potentially active due to groundwater heating. Overall, very good for midwest ski area. Some of the areas have been protected for ecotourism to promote conservation of wildlife by the tourists. Field of Dreams Movie Site Guided Home Tour in Dyersville, Small-Group Vineyard and Orchard Tour with Wine Tasting in Muscoda, Canoeing and Kayaking in Mississippi Wildlife & Fish Refuge, Participate in a Fun Scavenger Hunt in Davenport by Zombie Scavengers, Cedar Rapids City Scavenger Hunt Excursion by Zombie Scavengers, Iowa City Scavenger Hunt: City of Literature, Adventurous Scavenger Hunt in Davenport by 3Quest Challenge, Adventurous Scavenger Hunt in Davenport by Crazy Dash, Davenport City Scavenger Hunt Excursion by Wacky Walks, Explore Cedar Rapids with a Unique Scavenger Hunt by Wacky Walks, Scavenger Hunt Adventure in Cedar Rapids by Operation City Quest. Along the St. Croix River 33 miles from downtown Minneapolis, there are 36 trails including a 350-foot vertical drop at the 300-acre resort. This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher. Compared to other similar sized ski/snowboard hills this is great. They do have some wraps and salads, although the super health conscious would do better bringing there own food. When it doesnt snow, the resort is maintained by 150 snow guns (believe me, its cold enough for the snow not to melt once it is there!) Putting this into perspective, a ONE day lift pass in Aspen Colorado is $164! OK, so Sundown Mountain is not quite in the mountains, its actually in a valley and there arent a million runs. Over in Galena the Chestnut Mountain Resort is also opening up its slopes to the public on . Mount Scenery is on the island of Saba in the Caribbean, which is now part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands after the . and the runs are groomed daily! Bens Den warms weary skiers by the campfire with smores and hot cocoa, while The Barn, located right off the slopes, provides drinks and bonfires. The teachers were very heplful to us new comers. The government has also designated these areas as parts of some national parks and reserves to protect its biodiversity. Location: Wijster Last year we were lucky and got a lot of natural snow, it stayed cold, so we were pretty fortunate, he mentioned. We had previously stayed at Eagle Ridge in Galena yearly to be close to the ski resort but a few years ago on an extended trip, we ventured into neighboring Dubuque, IA (less than a 30 min drive from Galena) and fell in love with the charming & historical Hotel Julien, where we now stay for ski weekends. Skiing in Iowa is most definitely a thing! Read up on pros, cons and other comments in reviews left by fellow skiers and riders. Last year will be a tough one to match, but we have got a lot more membership now, a lot of people got into skiing and boarding, and we feel like we will have a good year, he said. This 1 night package includes 2 lift tickets per room to Chestnut Mountain. Her instructor (a female snowboarder) was very positive and encouraging which I believe inspired my 12 yr old to not want to give up and switch to skis; she was determined to master snowboarding! The volcano supports animal species such as Saban Anole lizards. Each mountain has three food-and-drink options, from ribeyes and Chicago-style stuffed pizza at Indianhead Mountains Elkhorn Dining Room to pig candy (seasoned and sweetened bacon) at Blackjack Mountain. Netherlands is a country in Western Europe that is slightly less than twice the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey, covering an area of 41,543 square kilometers and bordering only two countries, Germany and Belgium. The Chestnut Mountain Resor t is among the best Illinois ski areas for people of all ages. Mount Scenery is on the island of Saba in the Caribbean, which is now part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands after the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. that include Tips Up Food & Spirits (with two fireplaces and bowls of hot chili), Mollys Mountaintop Coffee (in lieu of making smores, order the smores latte) and The Barn (ski-in only, with a firepit). It was my friend and I first time, we rode the bunny hills for most of the morning/afternoon. This is not Colorado, don't expect high speed lifts, and 2500 vert of fresh powder, but also don't expect to pay $150 dollar per lift ticket and a arm and a leg at lunch. On the weekends they do pizza as well. Have a wide variety of runs from Bunny hills to black diamonds with moguls to terrain parks with a wide variety of features from easy to hard. I can't believe she made it beyond the 1st bunny hill onto the second beginner area that let's you ride the ski lift up even as a beginner! Luckily, Sundown Mountain Resort and Chestnut Mountain Resort are nearby. During ski season the lodge is warm and offers a great variety of quick food for lunch. Glad to hear you had a great time! There is a lot that goes into snow making.. Wakefield, MichiganDistance from Chicago: 401 miles; 6-hour driveFormed in 2014 after a merger between two of the Midwests premier resortsIndianhead and Blackjackthis monstrous destination offers everything you need for a Midwestern ski weekend at its best. Grab a hamburger and coffee and pull up a chair to watch the skiers zip past or the bluffs (bring some binoculars) for deer. When I took my family to Sundown Mountain in Feb. 2017 for our first ski trip, I didn't know what to expect. All racers must be registered with WIJARA to be eligible to race. Chestnut Mountain perches high on a ridge overlooking the Mississippi River near the historic riverport of Galena. It never felt overcrowded and the staff was friendly. Published: Dec. 10, 2021 at 2:51 AM PST. I noticed that there were lots of families with kids. Lifts were never crowed nor were the slopes. After her lesson ended the instructor congratulated her on how well she had progressed and encouraged her to keep practicing on the bunny hill. Main lodge was very nice, large with tall ceilings, and I liked that you purchase tickets and get equipment in the same lodge, unlike at Chestnut. The mountains are important physical features and provide a unique landscape in Netherlands. When it comes to learning to snowboard the . I love winter but would you believe I havent tried skiing? Sundown Mountain Resort is a ski destination located in Dubuque, Iowa. 19 trails are in two parks Far Side Terrain Park (with a quarter pipe and two half pipes) and Chestnut (with a 475-foot vertical drop). Some of the locals will stop in just for the bar. On the Mountain . Lift passes are attached to a zip on your coat using a metal loop that the pass sticks to. Here are some Christmas events on during November and December! Conveniently located in the heart of the Midwest, Sundown Mountain Resort attracts skiers and snowboarders of all abilities looking for their winter adventure.