Hit the Slopes
Pure Michigan, Michigan's travel and tourism website, boasts the Upper Peninsula has over a dozen downhill skiing areas with vertical drops of over 900 feet and ski runs as long as 8,300 feet.
Shanty Creek Skiing Resorts is a popular spot. In fact, onthesnow.com gave it the best-downhill-terrain-in-the-midwest award in 2008. Skiers, snowboarders and tubers are all welcome. Last Christmas, the resort offered special holiday packages which included lodging, food, lift tickets and a visit from Santa.
Shanty Creek Resorts
One Shanty Creek Road
Bellaire, Michigan 49615
800-678-4111
shantycreek.com
Go Snowmobiling
With more than 6,000 snowmobile trails in Michigan, there is plenty of terrain to choose from. What better way to get in the holiday spirit than by visiting Christmas, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula.
The Christmas Sports Outlet rents snowmobiles fittingly called reindeer, and any parts or repairs you need are at Santa's Sled Shop. Nearby, riders can hop on the Grand Marais Sno-Trails and enjoy 125 miles of trails. No need to worry about enough snow. Pure Michigan says Christmas is one of the snowier areas, seeing 300 inches of snow in a typical year.
Christmas Sports Outlet
E7805 W. State (Hwy. M-28)
Christmas, MI 49862
906-387-3409
upperpeninsulaonline.com
Dog Sledding
Treat your family to a Christmas vacation unlike any other with dog sledding, otherwise known as mushing. Not only can you watch the sport, you can take part too! Russ-Stick Acres in Mancelona, Michigan offers Dog Sledding 101. For $250, you can be in control of your own team, which is 4 to 6 Siberian or Alaskan Huskies. Plan on taking 4 hours to learn the ropes, or harness in this case, and then the day is yours to explore 40 acres of Michigan's back country.
Russ-Stick Acres
470 E Simpson Rd
P.O. Box 903
Mancelona, MI 49659
russ_stickacres@yahoo.com
russ-stickacres.com
Cross Country Skiing
cross country skiing image by Andrei Filonov from
Fotolia.com
If you want to combine skiing and enjoying nature during your Christmas vacation, Michigan is the place to do it. Hudson Mills Metropark, located in Dexter, offers 6 miles of groomed trails for novice and intermediate skiers. Equipment rentals are offered on weekends. Skiers can also enjoy a warming shelter and trail maps.
Dexter is just 12 miles from Ann Arbor, which features its Christmas and Holidays Around the World celebration from November 24, 2010 to January 9, 2011. Visitors can enjoy horse-drawn carriage rides, carolers, and 300,000 Christmas lights.
Hudson Mills Metropark
8801 N. Territorial Road
Dexter, MI 48130
734-426-8211
metroparks.com
Pure Michigan Travel & Tourism
888-957-1580
michigan.org
