Cascade Mountain

I took my wife here for her first time on skis. This was actually a great place for her to learn the pizza and not feel bad about falling as most of the people out here were relatively new to the sport. We rented boots/​skis for $ 37 and got a discounted full day lift pass for $ 25. I presume the discount was due to the limited number of runs available. 3 by my count. 1 green, 1 blue, 1 black. It was a very warm December day and snow has been sparse this year I guess. They make their own snow here as well. The runs were fun and not icey for the most part. The staff was extremely friendly and lots of folks on the slopes were helpful to beginners. We will be back. Only knock on this place was the limited number of runs but for a quick car ride from Chi I can’t complain much.

The skiing was good. Everything for the slopes looked well maintained. There are many longer challenging runs. Some of the best skiing around. The bathrooms left a bit to be desired. What surprised me the most was the lack of decent food. There weren’t any healthy choices. It all seemed like cafeteria food at best. It gave a feel of a teenagers hangout more than an upscale ski lodge.

Summary: Good place for beginner/​intermediate skiing
Pros: Groomed slopes; Employees are actually working there; Nice view; Many slopes; Many places to rest; Variety of activities
Cons: Long drive from Chicago; No good food to purchase; Limited Parking;
Details: We purchased special deal from «Hilton Garden Inn Wisconsin Dells» with Cascade Mountains tickets. Check it out if you want to spend a night there. I loved many features in this ski resort:
* quick equipment rentals
* automated storage system
* guarded equipment storage outside
* express ski lift has a controller who optimizes the line
* variety of slopes
It was my first skiing in 2016 and I really enjoyed to open the season with this mini mountain.

Zero stars is actually more than they deserve. Overcrowded hill, no ski patrol in sight makes for dangerous skiing conditions. I got hit by an out of control snow boarder and when I attempted to get a refund for my second day of skiing that I had already paid for, they refused. They pointed to the fine print on the ticket that said it was non refundable. They also said that since I had not gone into the ski patrol hut and had instead a patroller come to me (I was in no condition to move at that time) that I couldn’t get a refund voucher. So here I am, concussion headache fully raging arguing with a manager who invited me to review them wherever I want. The takeaway? Cascade ski hill cares nothing for their customers well being or safety and only truly cares about making a buck. In addition, their food is terrible and the lines are insanely long. If you must come here, screw them out of every dollar and bring your own food. Have a nice day and go ski Granite Peak or any other hill.

What a great midwest ski resort. First let me say the weather was amazing, which always makes an experience better. It was BUSY today given it was all powder and 40 degrees and sunny. But they had lots of staff strategically placed keeping things moving along. We never waited in a lift line for more than 5 minutes. They have lots of seating indoor/​outdoor. Love the outdoor firepit! They have lots of chair lifts. Lots of nice runs for beginners or those that like to take a slow long run. Cannot wait to come again!

We went snow tubing here on new years eve. They had fireworks at 8pm that was not very much of a display. Lines to go tubing were very long. We waited well over 45 min to get to the top. On our first run my 5 year old went with our friend. She was trying to get the tubes situated and connected when the young girl in control of letting a tuber go, let my daughter go then a minute later let my friend go. She then said to my 2 older daughters «this is why you don’t go before I tell you to.» Well, SHE let go of them and they were far enough off the top that they went. Well, as my 5 year old stood up to get out of her tube, my friend, who had no control over the tube obviously, plowed right into her and she flew into the air and landed on her forehead. After 15 min one of the guys working at the base of the slope came in and asked how she was and since my daughter had cuts and was in a lot of pain, he asked if I wanted to talk to the manager. Another 20 min went by before the manager came over and he said he would have ski patrol look her over. He didn’t seem to believe it was their worker’s fault despite witnesses saying the same thing I did! A very serious accident occurred and he fluffed it off! Ski patrol was very nice and provided follow up instructions. I asked to see the manager again to request a refund since we only went down the slope once. It took almost an hour and me asking three times for him to come over and give us a refund. Their lack of caring about what happened tells me a lot about how they run their business so I’m not going back ever again. Thankfully my daughter was ok by the next day but if their disregard for safety is that bad, I’m not chancing it.

My first time here.
Went with my family for snow tubing at night. We all enjoyed the experience although there were a few hiccups. After paying and getting admittance tickets we discovered not enough tubes available for all the people there. They brought out more tubes in a short time and all was good.
We made use of the «magic carpet» up the mountain. Man, that’s the only way to go. Although we used the carpet to get up to the top, it broke down after out first trip down the mountain. They were able to fix it, but we still had to make an entire trip up hill by walking up the carpet. That was about a 1000 foot trip uphill –no fun. After they got it working again, there were no more problems. Snack shop was minimal at best. Just a few choices, but acceptable.
Kids LOVED going downhill FAST!
We will probably come back.

I am giving only two star because of bad snowboard teacher. Her name was Caidy and she admit that this is her first year she teach.
She teach us how to turn left and right and after that she took us on the hill and told us to strap two legs and try do slalom left right and that we are ready for it.
No we were not ready!!! All of us enough falling bad.
She didn’t say a word about safety, body position or most important how to stop without hurting itself.
My friends and I injured them self, the shoulder and knee due to idea that teacher told us that we are ready to run from bunny with two legs attached.
I decided to watch YouTube and practice rest of the evening with only one food attached how to stop the board and reduce speed. At least I did not fell bad again.

I’m almost afraid to let people know that Cascade Mountain is a great resort about 3 hours north of Chicago. If you complain about price, then skiing isn’t the sport for you. These el cheapos apparently haven’t skied western states or Canada. There are numerous slopes for every level including long green/​blue runs for beginners/​intermediates. The black diamond runs are fun and slightly challenging for us experts. The night skiing is pretty good. It is the best mountain in Wisconsin next to Granite Peak which is 2 hours farther north and a much larger mountain. I ski locally in Wisconsin to prep for my yearly ski trips to Utah and really enjoy coming here. Cascade also has a separate hill for those who wish to tube. We haven’t tried tubing which looks fun. We typically stay overnight at a hotel in nearby Dells for convenience. Oh and the cheese curds are delicious. I wish that the cafeteria had a wider food selection.

Cascade is great. Awesome trails, nice lodge, professional and friendly staff.
Make a weekend out of it and stay at one of the hotels in the area.

We have been to cascade on multiple occasions and have to say it is GREAT ski resort… if not the best in the area. There are numerous slopes for every level from blacks to several greens and even a super bunny with a magic carpet to transport newbies.
People say its expensive… but hell skiing is expensive… deal with it. This is the only place were kids under 12 ski free… you still have to rent ski’s…around $ 30 for 8hrs. The food is also relatively expensive, but the variety is good and they actually have lots of veg options. They have awesome cheese curds, pretzels, cheese pizza, fries, and onion rings. The bar is upstairs and serves a huge variety of local beers. The views from the 2^nd floor of the lodge are great and allow you to keep on little ones.
There are lockers through out the lodge offering small lockers for 50 cents. They also send lessons for kids and beginners. I would say there lessons are not the best… they usually cater to larger groups and people that don’t catch on, get pushed onto the mini-​bunny slope to fend for themselves with the magic carpet.
The lines on the weekends are very long, but the lines move fast and if you like the blacks you can use lifts that cater to the harder slopes. The lodge becomes very crowded on the weekends, making it difficult to find a spot to sit. It would be nice if they expanded the lodge a little to accommodate the weekend crowds.
There is also tubing available for an additional $ 10 on your lift ticket. I have heard it is fun, but I have never tried it.
Overall, its a fun ski resort with a good variety of slopes available for all levels. If people can find coupons or discounts to ski it obviously help to cut down on the cost.

Tube review only — not a skier.
I though thought the tubing area was very nice and well maintained. It was easy to ride up the hill and the wait was not long. The facilities at the bottom were fine. At $ 60+ for a family of four for unlimited rides, I thought the price was very reasonable.

fun place for the miidwest. maybe it was just the company I was with so I was distracted, but I had a blast. Next time I’m booked in chicago and it’s winter, I’ll be going back!

cascade is too expensive!
If you’re a beginner, they have lessons for both who want to ski or snowboard! If you’re renting and a first timer, do the learn to turn package which is expensive.
Lots of people during the weekends so avoid weekends! The slopes aren’t that bad, it is just a huge hill with different courses.

It was my first time skiing and I felt like the staff was very helpful. They suggested shoe sizes and for me to take lessons.
I had Bob as my teacher and he was very good. He teaches you the basics like how to turn, stop, and skiing etiquette.
After that, we went on our own on all the green trails and one blue one (Badger Bowl). It was so much fun. I wiped out so many times but still loved the experience.

If you’ve ever actually been to a mountain, then you would realize that Cascade «Mountain» is a total misnomer because it’s really just a hill. Before Cascade, I’ve only snowboarded in Lake Tahoe and the Alps, where there are actual mountains (think true-​up vertical descent of 2000+ ft vs 700 ft = Cascade). But as I’m now living in Chicago & didn’t seem to really have any other choice (unless I wanted to spend $$$$ and fly out somewhere), I decided to go ahead and check out Cascade anyway (with very low expectations) since it was better than sitting on my couch.
As I expected when I arrived, the hill was tiny and the runs were short. There is no ski ‘resort’, just a couple of buildings for food & rental. I went during MLK weekend, so it was pretty crazy packed, but I was told it’s usually a lot less people.
The snow was actually pretty good. I was impressed that it never really got icy (I suppose that’s also because it was pretty warm — in the high 30’s — while I was there).
No one ever checked our lift tickets until past 6pm when they were checking if people had night-​ski tickets. My friend & I had an 8 hour pass and we just kept skiing until one of the staff checked our tickets: P The night ski is pretty well lit.
Overall, the experience was mediocre, as long as you’re not expecting anything amazing (especially if you’ve actually skied on a mountain before). I can see this as a great place for beginners. My only real major complaint is that I spent more than half my time there in line for the lifts and on the lifts themselves. My friend and I actually timed ourselves — we were always taking the Mongul Monster and the lift took 5 MINUTES (not including time when it stops, which it ALWAYS does), and then it takes us about 2 minutes on average to come down the slopes (we were taking black diamonds coming down). Because of this, you barely get to enjoy your run before the rush & adrenaline is over and you have to stop and get back in line. For this reason, my friend & I cut our trip short and left after one day, instead of staying for 2 as we originally planned, because it just got too boring.
TLDR
–Not a mountain, but a hill
–Don’t expect much and you wont be disappointed
–Super super slow & old lifts and super super short runs

Very nice to have a larger hill considering the flat nature of Wisconsin. We went in a 40 degree afternoon with a lot of doubt of there being any snow at all. The hill had plenty of snow and due to the weather there was a low number of other snowboarders on the hill. The only complaint was that the food in the cafeteria was very much overpriced for the quality of food. That being said any other hill in WI has food prices about the same due to the location. Overall it is a nice hill with great runs.

The mountain itself is big and beautiful and if it’s not a busy day, the lift and hills are empty for your own personal use. The ticket lady, the bartender and the café people were all very friendly and sweet.
My reason for only 3 stars is when I went on the left side on the mountain to get on the «Far Out» green hill, these workers were waiting on top of the lift to VERY RUDELY tell us that it’s closed. When I said I can’t go down a black diamond they told me «that’s not my problem». Seriously? I was being nice and they were being complete jackasses.

My brother and nephew did the «Learn a Lifetime Sport» package in January and loved it. My older son snowboards, so I took my little guy out for the February session (one day/​week for 4 weeks) and had a blast. I had never been on skis before, so I was quite green. The instructors are VERY good (and patient) and before too long, we were skiing. As part of the package, you get an hour of lesson per outing plus rentals and a lift ticket for the night — so stay after the lesson and practice! That’s where I applied my newfound knowledge and got better for the next week. For the last day out, I brought my snowboarder and the three of us had a great father/​sons day out on the slopes.
There is a nice variety of runs. The green runs are very nice and not TOO easy. They’re challenging enough that you can work on your technique without killing yourself. The blue runs are decent, though in lesser conditions can be daunting to the noobs… I suspect earlier and mid-​season, they’re not so fast and crazy.
The food is okay — it’s there if you need it. There is plenty of locker space to stash your belonging without battling a crowd. If you rent, I recommend using the lockers by the rental equipment and not by the Lodge… That will save you some walking with your equipment…

Great, attentive snowboard instructors, thanks for the lesson!
My nieces were on the tube hill the whole time and loved it.
If you are a first timer, the learn to turn package is the best bet. All your gear, board and a lesson for 1 price. After you pay, go directly to the rental area and collect your gear, ask someone behind the counter for help. Even though there were mostly young people in this area, they were all attentive and helpful.
Next, go to the ski school area where the green flag/​marker is, every two hours or so there is a class. After your class, STAY ON THE BUNNY. I cannot emphasize this enough. Learn to skate, then stop, then turn, then carve. Do not go straight to a blue slope. You will regret it lol!
The food is expensive but who cares? The beer is fairly priced, with about 7 or 8 on tap. Starbucks café thing has a nice fireplace upstairs. Good place to chill. This place gets very crowded during peak hours but after 5pm it gets much smaller.