Resorts tailored to families and ski purists

change in operations.

At Cascade Mountain near the Wisconsin Dells, last season’s pandemic protocols highlighted the benefits of limiting daily ticket sales, leading them to continue to limit capacity regardless of COVID-19 moving forward, said marketing director Evan Walz.

“It makes for a better riding experience for our guests and a better operational experience for us,” he said. “It is significantly, significantly under what a typical Saturday would be in previous seasons. So the days of massive lift lines with nowhere to move – that’s over.”

Last year, the resort had a strict masking policy requiring guests to wear one at all times, even outdoors on the slopes. This season, with promising vaccination rates, they’re offering guests a choice.

“We are highly recommending them to wear masks for obvious reasons; there’s the chance to get exposed pretty much anywhere there’s people. But we’ll do our part, and just hope that guests are taking measures to be safe based on their comfort level,” Walz said. Employees will continue to wear masks.

Several ski resorts, including Cascade Mountain, have renovated their online shopping cart transaction systems for online sales, something Walz added was another product of COVID-19.

Even without the added stressors of COVID-19, picking the right ski resort takes some thinking and clicking around to find the best slopes, the most scenic glades and for newbies, the easiest terrain.

We’ve done the work for you, with eight resorts and ski areas reachable by car from Chicago, with options for families, ski experts, beginners and everyone in between.