Snow River Mountain Resort is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Wakefield Township, Gogebic County. Indianhead Mountain is in an area called "Big Snow Country", so named because of the annual 200-inch (5.1 m) average snowfall, courtesy of the lake effect[1] from Lake Superior. It consists of the Jackson Creek Summit, formerly Indianhead Mountain, and Black River Basin, formerly known as Blackjack.
| Jackson Creek Summit | |
|---|---|
  Jackson Creek Summit Location within Michigan | |
| Location | Wakefield Township, Michigan, United States |
| Nearest major city | Wakefield, Michigan |
| Vertical | 520 feet (160 m) |
| Top elevation | 1,760 ft (540 m) |
| Base elevation | 1,240 ft (380 m) |
| Skiable area | 195 acres (0.79 km2) |
| Trails | 28 |
| Longest run | 1-mile (1.6 km) |
| Lift system | 5 chair lifts, 1 PomaLift, 2 T-Bars, 1 Magic carpet |
| Lift capacity | 10,131 skiers/hr |
| Terrain parks | Yes - 1 Big Chief Natural Terrain Park |
| Snowfall | 17 ft (5.2 m) annual |
| Snowmaking | Yes (90%) |
| Night skiing | Yes |
| Website | www |
| Black River Basin | |
|---|---|
Black River Basin Location within Michigan | |
| Location | Bessemer Township, Michigan, United States |
| Nearest major city | Bessemer, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 46°30′08″N 90°00′17″W / 46.5021°N 90.0046°W |
| Vertical | 490 feet (150 m) |
| Top elevation | 1,675 ft (511 m) |
| Base elevation | 1,185 ft (361 m) |
| Skiable area | 126 acres (0.51 km2) |
| Trails | 22 |
| Lift system | 4 double chair lifts, 1 rope tow, 1 handle lift |
| Terrain parks | Yes - 3 |
| Snowfall | 17 ft (5.2 m) annual |
| Website | snowriver |
History
editThe roots of Jackson Creek Summit tie in closely with the past and current economy of the area. In the late 1950s, Jack English, an amateur pilot from Chicago, flew over Indianhead Mountain. After seeing the abundant snow and area conditions, he developed "Indianhead Mountain Resort". This was the impetus for the local ski industry—in the following years, other resorts opened and the area became a skiing hotspot. English is credited with creating the ski industry in the area, and shifting the local economy away from the failing iron mines to one of the most popular ski destinations in the country.[2] An indication of how important skiing has become to the region is Gogebic Community College's ski area management program,[3] one of the few in the country.[4]
In 2008, Indianhead announced they were acquiring nearby BlackJack Mountain and Big Powderhorn Mountain.[5] although Big Powderhorn was spun off to a new owner at the end of 2009.[6] During the summer of 2016, the parent company of the two resorts renamed itself to be "Big Snow Resorts".[7]
During the spring of 2022, it was announced that Midwestern Family Ski Resorts had acquired Big Snow. The family owned company also owns Lutsen Mountains in Minnesota and Granite Peak Ski Area in Wisconsin, which are the largest mountains in each of their states. He also announced that both of the mountains would undergo rebranding, and close snowmobile trail 2. In 2022, it was announced that "Indianhead Mountain" and "Blackjack Resort" would be respectively rechristened to "Jackson Creek Summit" and "Black River Basin" for the start of the 2022 season.[8]
Winter activities
editThe area offers snowshoeing, ice skating, cross-country skiing[9] and other winter activities. The area is best known for downhill alpine skiing. Jackson Creek Summit itself only offers downhill alpine skiing.
Skiing
editJackson Creek Summit
editJackson Creek Summit features runs from very easy greens through double diamond.[10] Over 95% of the hill is groomed, and although there is no official tree skiing, adventurous skiers manage it anyway. There are 10 Beginner Green runs (the largest, Voyagers Highway is in itself the size of many Midwest ski areas),[11] seven More Difficult Blue runs, seven Most difficult Black runs, and four Expert Double Diamond runs primarily because of moguls.
The facilities normally found at the hill base are on top of the hill at Jackson Creek. This means that all skiing begins at the hill top, so your last lift ride for the day is up and off the hill. There are no accommodations at the base of the hill, but there are numerous trailside condos, hill top condos, and rental cabins in the area.
Jackson Creek is considered to be a family friendly ski area.[12] Youngsters under age nine years ski free with a paid adult.
Amenities include the typical bars, snack areas and restaurant at the top of the hill, and a large restaurant / snack area at the base of the hill. There's also a ski shop, ski and board rentals, and lockers throughout the lodge.
The mountain is serviced by three double chairlifts, one quad lift, one triple lift, one Poma lift, two T-bar lifts and a towrope. The T-bar lifts are at the base of some Expert runs.
The hill also offers NASTAR racing and has a ski school with private and group lessons. The NASTAR run has permanent course start and end structures for registration, start, timing, etc. on Sundance.
Black River Basin
editBlack River Basin has 22 downhill runs across 126 skiable acres. The runs are 20% Beginner, 40% Intermediate and 40% Expert, with one double black diamond expert trail. The area is unusual in that has three terrain parks[13] and two glade trails allowing tree skiing for both adults and children.
Summer activities
editHiking
editThe mountain is popular in the summer months with many hiking clubs and groups. Many clubs consider it a difficult, albeit enjoyable hike.[14]
Wildlife
editIn May, the slopes become home to herds of Whitetail deer.[15]
Waterfalls
editThe mountain is near the Black River, which provides access to some of the most well known waterfalls in the Western U.P.[16]
Events
editAmsoil Championship Snocross 2013
editBlackjack Mountain hosted one of the 2013 Amsoil Championship SnoCross Races this race occurred from 12/6/13 to 12/7/13 and the race was named Northern Clearing SnoCross.[17]
Snocross is the most exciting, fan friendly form of snowmobile racing. It combines the big-air jumps and exciting action of motocross with the crisp winter environment, providing snowbelt race fans with race action, world class athletes to cheer, and fun, family venues to visit. The action happens during a time of year and in geographic locations where it’s the premier race event of the season, on challenging, professionally designed and graded tracks.[18]
Fall colors
editThe views from the top of Jackson Creek Summit provide some of the best views of the Fall Colors. People travel from all over the world to see the varieties of Maple, Oak and other hardwoods change color. Jackson Creek Summit is on one of the many Fall Color Routes.[19]
Location
editJackson Creek Summit ski area is located in northwestern Michigan, 200 miles (320 km) northeast of Minneapolis St. Paul via I-35 to US 2, 110 miles (180 km) from Duluth, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Wakefield.[20]
Photographs
edit-
Trail Merge -
The Pomalift -
Part of the Terrain Park -
Guitar Playin' on the Slopes -
Cool shot of trees and run
References
edit- ^ "Lake Effect explanation". Island Net. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
- ^ "Local Ski Industry". LLw-ve.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
- ^ "Gogebic Community College's Ski Management program". Gogebic. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
- ^ "Area History". Hunts-Upguide. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
- ^ Staff Writer. "Three U.P. ski resorts merging operations". The Holland Sentinel. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
- ^ "Big Powderhorn Mountain Ski Area - What's New". December 2, 2009. Archived from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
- ^ "Big Snow Resort". October 21, 2016. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
- ^ Fisher, Greg (August 30, 2022). "A New Era in the U.P. - Snowriver Mountain Resort". Granite Peak. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
- ^ "70 Cross Country". Cross country Skier. Archived from Cross Country the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "Trail Map". Indianhead Mountain. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ "Run Information". On The Snow. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
- ^ "332 Reviews". On The Snow. Retrieved December 21, 2007. [dead link]
- ^ "Blackjack Resort". Pure Michigan. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
- ^ "Indianhead Mountain". Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2007. Summer Schedule
- ^ [1] Mountain Review
- ^ "Waterfalls". Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ "Amsoil Championship Snocross - Northern Clearing Snocross". Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
- ^ "Amsoil Championship Snocross - Who We Are". Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
- ^ "Fall Color Tours Northern Michigan - UP Travel". Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ "Indianhead Mountain". Archived from the original on December 7, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2007. Map and directions