afton alps

The good: - Afton is a short drive from the Twin Cities metro area. - The variety of terrain was great for our family, from beginner to intermediate to advanced and several terrain parks. - Quite a few runs that are much longer than other metro ski areas - The lift operators were very friendly and helpful. Not so good: - We went on a Friday and half the lifts were closed! We were still able to ski most of the terrain but it was inconvenient in several spots and the lines got long in the Highlands area. - None of the runs have any signage! I don't understand this at all. There was very vague, not helpful, signage as you get off the lifts pointing the direction to different chalets but nothing at all to help you make sure you don't accidentally go down a black diamond. You need to be very observant as you ride the chairlifts and pick out your next trail in advance. I had a trail map but didn't want to have to stop and study it every run. - Also, we bought our tickets online because we were told we could just pick them up in the "express" ticket line. There was nothing EXPRESS about it. There were only two people in front of us and we waited over 30 minutes! Ridiculous.

I have been going to Afton Alps this year since I purchased an Epic pass for CO skiing. A few free Afron Alps tixs come with the Epic pass since Vail now owns Afton Alps. A good central spot to park is near the rental/ski patrol area. For more advanced skiers stay on the Highland side for the longer runs. Since the area around is flat farm land the wind can be pretty strong (there is no protection), especially at the top of the chair lift. Be prepared.

Afton Alps is a good place to learn to snowboard or ski. The facilities are clean and well cared for. The groomers do an excellent job of preparing the slopes and the staff at the ski school are friendly, knowledgable, and inexpensive. With only 400 vertical feet, single speed lifts, and older rental equipment, you're not going to feel the burn from a long downhill run. However, for a beginner Afton Alps is a good place to start before moving on to the slopes of Colorado and British Columbia.

Enjoyed our day at Afton Alps. Pretty easy drive from Minneapolis, lots of runs, plenty of space and not too crowded. Food at Paul's restaurant was good, too, with nice beer selection.

Epic pass holders received a bonus when Afton came under the Vail umbrella.We went out today on a Saturday morning and were delighted with the early conditions.The lift operators were all friendly and paid attention to the lifts.Lines were non-existent or very short even with the limited runs open.It was a great first outing for the ski season.I've been skiing here for 40 years and it's better then ever!

My wife and I have been skiing off and on at Afton for more than 30 years. For many of those years we had season passes. My wife had always enjoyed the people that worked there as well as the skiing. I thought the runs were kind of boring, but also thought the place was well run by the staff. For us, it was also a bonus to ski there as we lived about 20 minutes away. We got season tickets again last year and I’ve got to say, I didn’t notice much difference in any of the runs, well, at least for skiers. For snowboarders, they really expanded the slopes for them with the terrain parks. I really don’t care who skis or snowboards on the runs as long as they respect others. By our count, the snowboarders by far outnumber the skiers in lack of respect and rudeness to others. As other reviewers have stated, they think they own the runs, even if you are ahead of them on the slope. They also are usually the ones who butt in line at the chair lifts. When I skied out west, the ski patrols and chair lift operators would pull the lift tickets from anyone who skied or snowboarded like that. I thought that when Vail bought out Afton, that type of zero tolerance would be shown here. Not so. It has gotten so out of control, I no longer feel safe. You never know if a snowboarder is going to come out of the woods and jump out in front of you.We went skiing on the last day they were open this past year. After skiing for a few hours, we decided to take in one more run. We boarded the lift and as we started up, my wife’s ski tip caught an edge of some ice that had been shoveled off to the side. As the lift went up, she started to get pulled down. The lift operator wasn’t paying attention and before I yelled out for him to stop the lift, my wife was flipped out of the chair and landed about 3 feet down onto her head. By the time the chair was stopped, I was about 5 feet up in the air but was able to jump down and rush to my wife. The lift operator called for the ski patrol and I will say they arrived promptly and took control of the situation. After assessing the situation, which included numbness in her arms and legs, they took her to the first aid building and then thought that she should go to the hospital. They called for an ambulance and took her to Regions. She ended up being okay, luckily there was no spinal injury. Later she called Afton to let the management know what had happened and wondered why the lift operators don’t pay attention to people on the lift. The manager was very rude to her and told her that it wasn’t the lift operator’s responsibility to make sure people stay on the lift, let alone get loaded onto the chair. They are only there to stop the lift in case of emergency. Wow!I guess that explains why some of the operators are very nice and polite and help you get loaded onto the chair and why some don’t. Well, this new management won’t get our business any longer. Welch Village may be over an hour away, but that is where we will go to from now on. Two years ago we would have given this place a rating of 5 but what has happened recently, I will now give it a 3. For over 30 years we had a lot of fun here and made a lot of friends with most of the friendly staff (especially by my wife) that I couldn’t forget the past and trash the place. Downgrading the rating is all on the new management and letting things get out of control.

The only skiing in the east metro. Nice for beginners but has some black diamonds.also has some lessons. Is owned by vail up in Colorado.

Our group of four had varying skill levels, from first-timer to moderately experienced. Afton accomodated us all, including basic lessons, and was a great place to spend a few days on the slopes without committing to a full-blown big mountain trip. The variety of hills suited everyone, and the staff was all very friendly and helpful.

Really wish Afton Alps had stayed under the same management. Upgrades they made are minimal (not sure what they did with all the money they spent) and now the customer service is awful. Very impersonal and ridged. And to top it off, it's now more expensive. Would recommend trying Welch Village over this place.

Its not Utah or Colorado but for recreational skiing in Minnesota (near the Twin Cities) Afton is okay. Of course the runs are short (its Minnesota remember...no mountains) and lift lines can be tedious but hey, where else ya gonna go for a day?. My son likes the terrain park area and I dont mind having a beer and sitting around the fire pit. Being familiar with the different chalets makes ticketing easier and the preferred program makes return visits easy. The food is not great but you can always bring own. There are a couple good micro-brews on tap. If you are expecting knee deep powder and mile+ runs dont bother, but if you want to get out of the house and enjoy a winter afternoon outdoors this fits the bill.

Pros:+ friendly staff+ easy runs for beginners+ close to homeCons:+ 2 hours from arrival to slope on January 19th+ old, slow, kid-unfriendly chairlifts+ short-short runsConcerns:+ lack of information on website. While waiting in our first 45 minute line waiting for lift tickets today, an Afton associate informed us that there were two other ticket offices. Too late. Info should be on website.+ after 45 minutes to buy lift tickets and equipment rental, we moved over to the equipment rental line, only to wait another hour behind people... buying lift tickets! So we waited twice as long as we needed to.In my 26 years skiing in Colorado and elsewhere, I've never waited more than an hour to hit the hill, even waiting for lift tickets and renting equipment. Afton is really inefficient and customers suffer for it. Unless you have a season pass and do not need to rent equipment, go north to Spirit mountain or Lutsen. You won't have the aggravation at those places.By the way, on our last visit, we waited 3 hours from arrival to slopes.

We skiied all the runs in a short two hours. There were not many challenges. Everyone was friendly. Food was not very good - about like cafeteria food.

I'm not sure where this 10million that Vail put into Afton went. I didn't see anything really that enhanced the place. It was over an hour wait for a lift ticket. Terrible!!! Lift lines were even longer with the scanning system. I think the park and jumps that they added were great for people that are doing that but otherwise nothing has changed at all just kind of a cluster. I wanted to do the preferred program so that the lift ticket was cheaper next time. Well I didn't have to do anything different. I even asked. She claims it will all work. I have my doubts b/c it's not what other friends told me they had to do and not even the same card. Seemed very unorganized.

Agree with others on the changes at Afton. Separating off a large sector for more snowboarding is a bad move. The hill never really had that much varied terrain as it was. Now if they corridor off the front 3 pitches as they like to do when they have racing events and then dedicate a full area that was recreational skiing to the snowboard crowd, it's really kind of a rip-off to the weekend recreational skier. New snowmaking, speeding up lift capacity and dressing up the lodge really doesn't cut it for those looking for more than a beginner hill. I had my fill of Afton last year when they closed off 5 hills on a Saturday for racing. Could have had more fun skiing my backyard. I'll continue to take my dollar down to Welsh Village. Better scenery, better and more diverse runs and a nice mix of racing, boarding and skiers. Swing and a miss so far Vail, but nothing a few tons of dirt to the top of a mediocre hill like Buck Hill did to help the terrain.

I write this post with a heavy heart as I have been a lifelong supporter of this once great regional ski area. It's strenths were it's close proximity to MPLS/St. Paul, it's wonderful scenic views of the St. Croix River Valley, it's excellent ski school and great family venue. Unfortunately, the last two attributes have been tossed away along with the efficient ticketing huts into a dumpster into the Dark Side of everything Terrain Park and Snow Boarding Culture.Don't get me wrong, there are awesome, respectful snow boarders out there, but the new park design and confiscation of great ski runs for both beginner and advanced skiers is going to result in two things: Degradation of a Great Ski School and a Magnet for the kind of Snow Boarders that we don't need in an already crowded area: The Balls to the Wall, Get the H%ll out of my way show offs who could care less if they run into someone else as long as they get decent aerials. The kind who hit you from behind after jumping off of a blind jump, don't even bother to say that they are sorry or see if you are ok and when confronted by ski patrols state that skiers need to get out of their way. If that's the kind of clientele that Vail wants here...boy, that is a very sad and concerning Marketing Vision.If you are a parent...I would not advise you taking your kids here anymore, it's just not safe anymore. There are too many out of control people and the staff seemed more concerned about scanning tickets vs. insuring the safety and enjoyment of the visitors. (Didn't see the wonderful old Yellow Jacket's who used to patrol to insure safety and customer satisfaction...hint to Vail, bring them back) 50% of the park is devoted to terrain parks, the rest is now over crowded and it's tough to find a quite easy hill to learn. In a Nutshell: If you are a Parent, save your money and take your family to Welch Village, Wild Mountain or Trollhaugen instead. You will have a much more enjoyable time.If you are an advanced skier...your best choice is Welch Village (Check out the back section) or travel up to Spirit Mountain in Duluth.The chances at Afton Alps are probably the best thing that ever happened to the neighboring ski areas...at least they haven't fallen to the Dark Side.