Mount Holly

Surrounded by the Great Lakes, Michigan offers skiers and riders winter fun at locations like the Mount Holly Ski & Snowboard Resort. A winter venue that favors intermediate and advanced ski bums, the ski area is north of Detroit and south of Flint, Michigan.

The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne Country Airport is the spot to fly into before transferring to ground transportation. Motorists can use Interstate 75 and then exit onto the Dixie Highway to get to the resort. The Michigan Renaissance Festival location is a few miles to the north of the ski area.

Where the North Begins

The Mount Holly Ski & Snowboard Resort enjoys a lot of guests not only from the Detroit metro area but from Sarnia (Ontario, Canada) to the east and Grand Rapids to the west. Those looking to stay overnight will find lodging in communities like Holly, Grand Blanc, and Flint. Several businesses provide drinks, food, and entertainment all along the I-75 corridor, serving visitors year-round.

It has a Bavarian-style lodge that provides basic creature comforts for guests. These include two eating areas, a spacious lounge, a fireplace room, and a full-service ski shop with rentals or repairs/tune-ups.

The Mount Holly Ski & Snowboard Resort receives north of 40 inches of average annual snowfall, so supplementing with snowmaking equipment is a must. There are over 150 pieces of snowmaking equipment, something that the ski area continues to improve upon each off-season. The Mount Holly Ski & Snowboard Resort was one of the first ski areas in this part of Michigan to use snowmaking equipment. Its current system covers the venue and allows it to address dips in snowfall to provide a consistent base for guests to ski or ride.

Snowmaking Isn't the Only Annual Improvement

The Mount Holly Ski & Snowboard Resort has continued to build uphill capacities that, in the 1950s, maxed out at 2,000 to 3,000 skiers. Today's system uses seven lifts, three rope tows, and two carpets to get ski bums around. Lifties can move five times as many guests uphill as they could during the early days.

Over 17 trails are open on the Mount Holly Ski & Snowboard Resort. These are equipped with light so that guests can ski and ride at night. The runs cover about 100 acres of skiable terrain, with blue and black diamond ratings more available than greens. Around 44-percent of the runs are blue intermediate ratings, and 37-percent are black diamond ratings. That leaves under 20-percent of the terrain accessible by newbies looking for green ratings on the trailheads.

The Mount Holly Ski & Snowboard Resort trail map highlights the locations of three terrain parks. Snowstream, Snow White, and Mogul Mania are reached by rope tows and offer guests various terrain features that they can use for landing tricks. The Mount Holly Ski & Snowboard Resort school provides private and group lessons for first-timers and those needing further instructions. Programs through clubs that cater to youngsters and teens will convert the whole family into park rats.