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Afton Alps Ski Area
Category: Hotels & Travel Ski Resorts Ski Resorts [Edit]
6600 Peller Ave SHastings, MN 55033
(651) 436-5245
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 9:30 am - 9:30 pm
Fri-Sat 9:30 am - 10 pm
Sun 9 am - 9:30 pm
14 reviews for Afton Alps Ski Area
14 reviews in English
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Review from Alexis A.
Hennepin, MN
1/21/2012 1 Check-in Here
Afton Alps hasn't always been on the top of my local hill list, but after hitting a few this year, it has earned an extra star in comparison.
My only complaint is that I wish they had more (all) their ski lifts open on a fairly busy friday night.....but, it wasn't amazingly crowded (I just don't like having to shuffle so far to get from the chalet to a decent lift).
This is a great place for beginners, since they have a nice bunny hill with a lift and very helpful and friendly attendants. They also have lessons (sometimes free).
The staff was actually outstanding. I had my (rental) skis taken from the meadows chalet (which has excellent free wifi) and right away someone was there to help me out and take me to get replacements. No hassles, no fuss. The rental gear is decent. There are also plenty of patrols.
The server in Paul's Pub was nice, and the rental folks were quick and helpful.
The concessions were reasonable ($1.25 for a hot chocolate VS $2.50 for the same product at Wild Mtn.).
There is a lot of hill options, and a lot of land to travel. I would expect it to be the largest in the area. They also have tubing (but I haven't tried it). -
Review from Salinee H.
Minneapolis, MN
3/4/2012
For Minnesota, Afton is my favorite place to ski. Each run takes only about 15 seconds, but the place is pretty spread out and there is some decent selection of runs (especially in comparison to other ski areas around here)..
There are a couple of restaurants/bars with typical bar food. The one in the main chalet seems to have live music whenever Im there. The burger is decent. My friends seem to love the french dip since they order it every time we're there. -
Review from Chris E.
1/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
I don't understand how this place has the rating it does. I'm guessing people that frequent Alton Alps haven't been anywhere else and have no frame of reference to what good ski/snowboarding conditions are. It could also be because I'm an avid California snowboarder so I'm used to a certain standard of runs and park.
Simple put, Afton Alps did not do it for me at all.
Snow was supposed to be made and machine groomed with a large base. I can tell you, it's not more than a 3 inch base in 80%-90% of all areas.
The park was -good- the first couple hours of the day. As traffic increased and more people used it, the drop in at the start was almost destroyed (by around 4pm, almost 25% of the top was gone) and the boxes/rails needed some serious attention; it literally became dangerous a couple hours in (I saw several people get injured, 2 of them seriously injured).
If you want people to come to your "resort" then take care of your features.
I'll never come back here again. -
Review from Bronson M.
Minneapolis, MN
1/18/2012 10 Check-ins Here
Afton Alps is quite possibly the best ski/snowboarding location closest to the cities and your best bet to get some quality shred time. The hills can get really busy during the weekends but are relatively quit during the weekdays and nights. Lift tickets are purchased before you park and can run anywhere from $29 to $42 depending on when you go. My friends and I like to go on Sunday nights after 4:30PM when lift tickets are $29 and the weekend crowd has mostly left. If you have your college ID, you can also get another $3 off your lift ticket on Sunday nights.
The food served at all three of their chalets is pretty standard bar fare, although the bar at the alps chalet has the most variety to choose from. The main alps and highland chalet also serve beer/alcohol if you're looking to kick back and relax. -
Review from Allison S.
Ames, IA
1/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
For Minnesota, this is a great ski area! I go almost every year, and will be going again. It's worth a call or visit to their website to see how many lifts are open. If all of them are open, it's wonderful. But if 1/2 are closed, it really makes the amount of space you have to ski much smaller.
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Review from Eric B.
1/2/2010
Acres of Fun
Afton Alps sits along the rolling hills of the scenic St Croix River Valley and is surrounded by Afton State Park. The ski area is spread out along a wedge-shaped ridge overlooking the river valley, and is pretty extensive for a Midwest ski area. Afton Alps offers 48 trails, four terrain parks, 18 chairlifts, and a 350 foot vertical drop. The longest run is 3000 feet.
It almost seems that Afton Alps has as many chair lifts as they do slopes and it can get crowded. I have skied here a few times and didn't find my experience to be particularly inspired. Personally I would ski here over Buck Hill, but only after I had spent some serious time at Welch Village. -
Review from Brenda B.
Twin Cities, MN
7/10/2009
It's super hot today and I'm thinking of snow. Cool cool white stuff and my skiis. After a virtual skiing hiatus of more than a decade (why? I ask myself, and answer, well grad school and a baby'll do that to ya) I'm back into it with a vengeance before I have to have a knee or hip or something else replaced in my middle-aged years. Simply smitten again with the schussing.
Okay so I'm biased since I've been skiing here on and off since a youngster. We always pack a lunch (tho I agree with the other yelper, sandwiches in the bar are good) and yep, skiing is expensive no matter where you go. The mountains it ain't. But I love Afton Alps because it is so close to home and it's a pretty solid upper midwestern ski hill and it is just what it is.
And there is a variety of runs and chalets to choose from and it's pretty well staffed, old yet clean, and they have a great swap meet/sale/family event in the fall.
I'm sad that I will never ever get to try snowboarding, because there's too much getting up and down w/ it and I'm pretty good at meeting the goal now to stay upright the entire time.
So I'm beating the heat thinking of the slopes today.Listed in: Upper Midwest Skiing
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Review from Kelly I.
Dublin, CA
12/31/2007
It is here I learned to snowboard. And by snowboard I mean, I sat with the rest of the beginning snowboarders at the foot of the chairlift dropoff on the bunny hill known as Nancy's Nursery, contemplating the meaning behind this stupid "sport" and whether or not I really wanted to make it down this mini-slope because that would mean I would once again have to land on my butt about a dozen times, strain my arms attempting to get up and mutter many explitives under my breath, because we must think of the children. Yeah, that's what it was like.
I hated every minute of it.
I did end up making it down this tiny little hill about five time in almost as many hours. After that we gave up to do a little tubing, atleast it takes no skill to hurl onself down an icy, bumpy slope and plow into buffers at the end.
For being a large hill in MN, Afton Alps is expansive (I should know, I looked at the map) with a lot of runs and lodges. The price was right for a lift ticket, $37 and full rentals of snowboard and boots was only $23. A steal for what it costs in CA or CO, or so I am told. Tubing offers a moving conveyer belt that brings you and your tube up the top of the hill. The attendants are not super attentive and were slow to react when two members of a group of 12 ended up with a split lip and bloody nose after plowing into the fence beyond the buffer bags.
The food in the 21 and over adult lodge was pretty good. The hubby and I had a pulled pork sandwich with barbeque sauce and cole slaw. The fries they served were good but really salty. It was actually a surprising selection from salads to brisket to grilled chicken sandwiches.
Don't know if I will ever be back, because we all know how the snowboarding went. But if you like that sort of thing and need something to do in the St. Paul area (and who doesn't), you could do worse than Afton Alps.Listed in: A San Franciscan In Minnesota
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Review from Chris M.
2/7/2010
I can really only find two faults with Afton Alps.... and one of them is not its fault. Mother nature did not bless Minnesota with anything resembling elevation (screw you glaciers), but what Afton lacks in elevation they more than make up for with their layout. They have approx. 15 lifts spread out across the park which usually keeps things moving along pretty well even during the busiest of times. And seeing how it's the only hill worth a lick near the Twin Cities, it gets busy (especially on the weekend mornings/afternoons). That said, you can usually find a few underutilized lifts, especially on the Highlands side, that will make the crowds a bit less noticeable.
The other grievance is the price tag. I've elected to go with the season pass the last couple of years, but still get sticker shock every time I drive up and see the daily prices listed. Expect to drop around $40 for a full day of skiing. At least they're setup well for taking your money - you buy your lift tickets from your car when driving in instead of running to the chalet which lets you hop right on the hill from your car once you've found a spot to park.
There are also 3 chalets setup throughout the park for whenever a pit stop is needed. 2 of them contain bars that serve up some decent grub and pour a decent drink. -
Review from Dan S.
River Falls, WI
1/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
I was a first-time skier and I had a lot of fun. If you pay for a lift ticket and rent skies, they will give you a free hour lesson. That was awesome and extremely helpful. For skiing in MN it is a "fun" place. The views are nice and considering it is just minutes from the cities, a convenient place to ski.
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Review from Norm W.
River Falls, WI
2/16/2010
My wife and I had a nice time skiing at Afton Alps. My only complaint all day was the fact that we had to pay the Holiday rate on Presidents Day! What other non important holidays do they screw you on besides Presidents Day? For us the cost was $128 for both of us to ski all day. That was lift ticket and rentals for both of us. Now I know that skiing is not a cheap activity but $128 seems a little outrageous.
I was very impressed with the excellent staff. My wife took the 1 hour beginners class. After 1 hour she was making good time down the easiest slop. We are planning on taking a few more classes so that she can improve enough to tackle some of the larger runs. Everyone was very friendly and helpful.
If you go to Afton Alps make sure you get back into the highlands area. It goes on and on and some of the best skiing in the place is in the far back of the property. I have never been out west to ski on a real mountain this is probably the best Ski slope I have been down here in the Midwest. -
Review from Jeremy C.
2/14/2011
We make it to Afton a couple of times each year. We were out there this last Sunday and they handled the large number of people well. We generally had to wait about 10 - 15 minutes to get on lifts but it seemed to go fast. The parking was handled well with plenty of attendants. As you will find with their website they have a good number of runs. They all seem pretty short but hey, we only drove 30 minutes from the St Paul area to get here.
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Review from Joe M.
Burnsville, MN
8/19/2009 1 photo
As good as it gets.... In the Twin Cities. Compared to any other location in the 30-45 minute area from Minneapolis, there is no question that Afton Alps is the best. I ski here around 3 times a year and always have a great time. They have many runs and loads of chair lifts to get the people up the hills. Face it, Skiing is spendy, but Afton is worth it when you consider it is only about 5 bucks more than grossly inferior ski areas in the twin cities like Buck Hill or Highlands.
When it is busy (weekends) I would recommend hanging out in the Highlands area of the ski area, as it usually is less busy than by the main chalet's.
**On another note, Afton Alps works great for wedding receptions. I would know, as mine took place there. The staff was really friendly and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed for our special day. It was also very affordable, compared to many of the locations we investigated. -
Review from Cortney S.
Saint Paul, MN
3/12/2011
My personal favorite place to board in the Twin Cities. There are a ton of runs, just be careful around the kid hill, the snow gets super packed over there!
