Easy to find, no lines, friendly staff, cheap tickets, safe equipment, and tasty hot chocolate. If you're a beginner or intermediate skier, this is a nice homely ski resort for you, your friends, and your family.
We have a vacation home in SW MIchigan that we keep open year round. During the winter months, the ski hill is a big attraction. Bittersweet has great classes for little kids (beginner and intermediate). The smaller hills are totally manageable for beginner skiers, and advanced hills are available for the more experienced skiers. I am delighted to have the chance to ski and give my kids the exposure, all while living in the flat Midwest! No, this is not Utah or Colorado, but you will be pleasantly surprised by the experience. My only criticism is that it is very packed and I wish the picnic area wasn't on the second floor! Such a pain to climb stairs in ski boots!
I took my family skiing at Bittersweet in February 2015, toting a 10, a 9, and a 7 year old. They had skied before, but it had been over a year. When we arrived, I immediately enrolled them in ski school to freshen thier skills and make them more comfortable. The process was easy and I was thrilled to see that they had 3 or less per group. This gave the kids more one on one time. Plus, the lessons were 2.5 hours long, which gave my husband and I a nice break to ski alone. The entire place was a great set up for kids. Because the resort isn't huge, I watched young kids break away from their parents and feel comfortable skiing alone without getting lost. The slopes were well groomed and I was pleased that there were no icy patches! Makes skiing more enjoyable, especially with younger children. Although the hills were short, it is a very good place to ski in this area! We were very happy with the trip. The only hang up I would have is the overall price. It is a little hefty for such a small place. :-(Thanks for the memories!
It's great to day trip to bittersweet. Though it does not have as many runs as northern michigan skiing, it's closer to home and has nice hills for beginners and intermediate skiers. Great way to spend a weekend!
Taught some people how to snowboard here! Great little place. Wonder carpets for super beginners all the way up to black diamond runs for experienced folks. Great food, super helpful pro shop, rescue skiers and boarders on the mountain regularly. We love it:)
Took our 2 kids ages 11 and 12 skiing here for the first time ever. Took advantage of the ski Michigan promotion where $40 gets lift ticket, lesson and rental gear. My wife and daughter took ski lesson, my son took snowboard lesson. I had only been skiing in Utah but that was over 20 years ago. I was skeptical of the midwest ski resort initially but was pleasantly surprised with this one. There is a high speed quad and some nice runs. The family stayed on the beginning hill for most of day one and they were quite content there. There is a magic carpet for those that don't want to jump right on a chair lift. That is great for beginners. It was busy on the holiday weekend that we went, but heard others say that it normally isn't busy at all. There is a good restaurant and lounge and they had a smoking 3 piece band that was VERY good. They were more of a jazz, blues act but extremely talented and under-appreciated to say the least. Food was not too expensive, but noticed many people going out to their cars to grab a quick bite. Rental gear was not too bad. Someone took my skis while I was enjoying a beer in the lounge. The rental guys were very friendly and cool about it, gave me a new pair without any hassle. Whew, I thought I was going to have to replace them. We will definitely bring the family back as we live in Northwest Indiana and this is only a 3 hour drive. Really enjoyed it!
Went there in Jan during the snow storm. Took private lessons for skiing. Spent 2 days there. Fell down a few times and had a ton of fun. Totally worth it.
We are trying to find a ski resort in Lower Michigan. And we think Bittersweet is quite good. the place is quite easy to find, and the tickets is cheap, we payed $66 perperson with one-day pass and the equipment. we ski in the afternoon and then come back during the night. I am a total rook for ski, this is my first time, and this resort is perfectly good, it's not too crowded, and has a friendly atmosphere.
Bittersweet has decent lift capacity although lines for the high speed quad can get very long on weekends. Snow is quickly skied off so it can be quite icy. Best to go early in the day if you want actual snow. Trails are narrow and landing areas at tops of lifts are generally small and crowded, making strapping into your board hazardous. Food quality is OK and not outrageously priced for a ski area. Service in the restaurant for us was incredibly slow and we couldn't even find a manager to complain to. I would recommend bringing a picnic or sticking with the cafeteria of you don't want to waste 1.5 hours of hill time. Not a destination resort, but fine for a day of close in upper Midwest skiing or riding.
I have been to Timber Ridge ski resort , based on this I could tell the staff at this place were very unhelpful and didn't care much about beginners. No help whatsover!! especially the guysitting behind the desk at the skiing lessons table. he said the ski instructors would arrive at 5, we waited for over hour and half and no one arrived. he made no attempts to contact us. If you are a beginner avoid this place!!!!