Afton is a solid resort within a half hour drive of the Twin Cities airport and downtown St Paul. Part of Epic for pass holders (Afton was acquired by Vail Resorts in 2012). The teaching staff is excellent, as are the group lesson ratios, especially if you're in the ARC ski-racing program. Big airy bright base lodge with reasonable prices. And no one this close to the metro has this much terrain to choose from. Afton's not Kitzbuhel, but the snow just might be better. read more

Afton Alps - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

A beautiful area right next to Afton State Park. I am not a skier but this is the third ski area to review based on looks and amenities without being too generic. A few years ago I was fascinated with the multitude of machines making snow and thought more movie production companies should be using these machines to make a more realistic snow scene. At any rate the chalet is top notch there are scenic slopes and they are constantly updating the site. Urban development is creeping down from the north into Afton so enjoy the ride out here as a respite from cookie cutter developments and another Applebees before the snow hilly countryside is gone. read more

Afton Alps - Ready soon. - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

Spent the last month and a half trying to coordinate a client appreciation event on their snow tubing hill. Contact and email have been sporadic but the person who had given me her direct number seemed nice. Made multiple attempts to connect with them and kept getting blown off. Frustrating, because I love this resort and the ski hills are wonderful. read more

These are my favorite hills to ski locally as they have so many runs and it is very kid friendly with their slopes. They have many chalets that offer hot food and drinks. The French fry deals they have are cheap and worth trying. The burgers are always good also. I like that we can hangout in the parking lot for breaks and watch the skiing hills. read more

See all

Not the Afton Alps of my ski-loving youth...but that's not such a bad thing. We were here on a Sunday afternoon (so not too many insane bombers coming down the runs). Afton is now part of the Vail Resorts, which has committed the environment with their EPICPROMISE: advancement towards a zero net operating footprint. So, there are recycling & compost containers by the trash, as well as compostable plates/glasses/silverware. When we visited, the Covid restrictions had been lifted. read more

See all

Three reasons for not going five stars: 1) there are times of year when racing shuts down normal customer access to a reasonable number of trails, and this is in no way made clear by their website, or on the parent company's websites (EpicMix / Epic Pass / Vail / etc). 2) There's not beginner (green) ways to get between the various beginner trails; i.e. Meadows to Alps, Alpine to Meadows, Highlands to Alpine, etc. 3) The parking lot turns into a mud pit on warmer days. I'll also say that this is a far cry from mountain skiing, but I'm not taking points off for that because anyone visiting here should already know that and have set their expectations properly. I visited recently to give my five year old some time on a less intimidating hill compared to Colorado, where even the bunny slopes can have a couple hundred feet of elevation change. It worked perfectly; she felt more comfortable and even did a black run after three days. Parking gets interesting; if you show up on a weekend after probably 9am, you will likely be parking in an area that involves walking through mud. This is not as big a deal going to the slopes, but if you were not prepared for this, your vehicle is going to have its carpets / mats covered in mud when you get back and take your gear off. Regarding my #1 (at the top) comment; I learned from people I talked to, and other reviews, that the resort will sometimes shut down several runs for racing, not just De's Dive, which was only racers for Fri/Sat when I was there. I flew to Minneapolis for no other reason than to spend three days at this resort with my kid; if I'd arrived and was told several of the runs had been shut down, I'd have been really pissed given I'd spent a lot of money in advance to do the trip. Their website doesn't mention any of this, and it should, prominently. Other than that, seemed to be well run, and was a lot of fun. The concessions are not too bad unless you want booze, then you're at full resort pricing, but I've become used to that anywhere snow and people mix. I did see some complaints about the lines at the Epic Pass check-in. You can buy a pass online in advance and have the card mailed to you; I already had one for my kid and simply bought the lift tickets in advance, never even set foot in the Epic Pass office. No reason anyone needs to unless going to Afton Alps is a last minute decision, in which case, you may have to wait if you've never been to any Epic resort even once, in which case, you would have a card and can load it online. read more

Afton Alps - Prepare your ski boots and car floor mats accordingly for the parking lot that can turn into and end of day mid pit. - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

It seems like most of the negative reviews for Afton are due to a vaccination card requirement for the food court. Coming from Los Angeles, this is pretty standard for me so wasn't an issue. This is my favorite ski resort I've been to in the twin cities area. The staff was so friendly, from purchasing the day pass to the folks working the slopes. I came on a Friday morning and it was pretty empty which meant I got to ride every available slope with almost no wait time. The park was also really well maintained - I was worried it'd be a bit slushy with the warmer weather, but they did a great job making there was enough snow for a smooth experience. They also have a nice fire pit out front if hanging out in the chalet isn't for you. Ample parking, wide variety of runs, and immaculately kept slopes. I'd strongly recommend! read more

The location is closer which is nice, but we paid close to $65 each to go down twice. It was the Saturday after a relatively big snow, aka they should be prepared for the influx of people purchasing tickets, showing up, coming just to take pictures for Instagram, etc. Only got to go down twice before we got tired of waiting for 45 minutes for the lifts. Each line had almost 200 people waiting - I actually counted because I was bored. The employees working that day were nice and I'd be open to going at a less busy time (after work on weekdays), but otherwise, I'd maybe check out somewhere else until Afton starts running more efficiently. read more

Afton Alps - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

It's less an hour from the St Paul/Minneapolis area. Especially from St Paul. It's large enough that one day is barely enough to run down every slope. The runs are longer anything Illinois and Wisconsin has save maybe Devils head and Granite Peak. But both of those is no where near any major metropolis. Here you eat and party anywhere the St Paul/Minneapolis area - that's a definite plus read more

Afton Alps - Afton Alps - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

My husband and I decided to get season passes here as opposed to any other hill and the Twin Cities area because of the epic discount and because it is one of the largest. We've been going since December and find that usually a new hill opens up as they are creating more snow and grooming it. There are a couple different chalets that you can visit, and though the lines can be long, the staff is friendly and fairly efficient. read more

My first time skiing anywhere. My husband and I traveled to Minneapolis for his birthday and he wanted a skiing weekend. The day we visited the Alps was sunny and cool, perfect for a winter outdoor day and it wasn't overly crowded, no long lines at all. The staff were very friendly and helpful, especially with getting me the right equipment to rent. We spent the day there, me mostly in the chalet with hot chocolate watching the skiers through the large windows facing the slopes. Highly recommend for families and couples. read more

Afton Alps - View from the chalet. Nice selection of food and beverages - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

Been skiing here since 1988 as a wee lad, but after the most recent experience its doubtful I will ever return, not just this year, but any year after. Actually, maybe I'll come back a few times this year to hand out free food in the parking lot since Afton Alps is discriminatory against people who have decided to engage in freedom of choice regarding their personal health. This place is the biggest rip off you could ever experience at a ski hill. Super long, super slow lines. Draconian, fear filled COVID restrictions. There was actually some employee guarding the door to the cafeteria and harassing some young kids as they walked in about COVID cards. Great experience for the family I'm sure (not). They are straight up stealing from people to be charging what they are when it takes 15 minutes to get on a chair lift. This place needs to be investigated for selling as many tickets as they do without providing nearly enough chairlifts. Has to be something illegal about providing such poor service, not to mention overly crowding the hills and making it that much unsafer. So they're worried about COVID and the health implications, but they're not worried about packing in as many people as possible and having crowded hills and crowded lines with people in close proximity while they spend an hour to go on one or two dinky runs? Makes no sense. Terrible place, terribly run, unscrupulous business practices all around . read more

Winter: I was able to take snowboarding lessons after being fitted for a helmet, boots and a board. The practice hill was right outside the main chalet and parking lot. There were 4 other people in my practice group and the instructor was very helpful. I believe it lasted about 1 hour. There are many hills for people to ski or snowboard. One of the chairlift attendants told me there are 18 lifts. Summer: This place is open for many types of events during the warmer months! I know there are races, runs, golf, and mountain biking. I attended a wedding here in June. We parked in the main lot to head over to the outdoor ceremony. It was down at the base of a ski hill between some trees that offered shade for guests. There were only a few rows of chairs for family to sit during the ceremony, the rest of us guests stood. The reception was held inside the chalet restaurant, Pauls. The best part for guests, was to be able to ride the ski lift to the top of the hill. The view was spectacular! read more

Afton Alps - Chair lift - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

See all

Yeah, it's expensive, yeah it's freezing, but that's basically the standard with skiing. My kid and I had a great time and were very tuckered out afterwards. Definitely some great hills for beginner-intermediate skiers/boarders and they even have a fun little terrain park! If you've got the gear & are looking for a fun hill, stop in! Just be sure to eat first cuz the food is so-so and the drinks are double priced. read more

Afton Alps - Ski hill - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

Great ski area! Drove from kc with my 9 year old for a couple days of skiing. He had a great private lesson. Snow grooming is impressive and the resort is huge compared to any other ski areas in the Midwest. read more

Poor park management and maintenance, poor overall management, and lack of consideration to pass holders and customer. Sucks to see how vail ruined aftons community with great people. read more

Have to show a vaccine card to get access to the only food venue that there is. Those who do not have one, for whatever reason, left it at home because I'm skiing, not vaccinated, what ever the reason, Are not allowed to enter the food area. I do not agree with this and i am vaccinated. I think a business should be able to set its own procedures and we all have the right to decide if we want to patronize the business or not. This information was not as far as i could find made clear before arrival. To not allow people access to food other than a water jug with plastic cups is terrible. Figure out a better way!!!! Get some outside food trucks, something!!!!! read more

Several other reviewers note that nothing you find in the Midwest will compare to the incredible resorts of the Western U.S. That said, at least the acreage at Afton Alps gives you lots of options to reduce the boredom of 5-minute lift rides followed by 30-second runs. There are only two somewhat steep slopes (to the far right as you face away from the base lodge area), which I gravitated to after exploring much of the rest of the mountain with its beginner/novice slopes (using Western ratings). The lifts are pretty old and pretty slow, with one or two triples and a quad serving the steeper slopes. Fortunately, the RFID skiier scanning technology seems to work pretty well and eliminates the hassle of a lift ticket flapping off your pocket all the time. My son-in-law called me on a Saturday morning to see if I was interested in joining them that afternoon given that few of the locals wanted to head downtown the day before Super Bowl LII. A light snow fell pretty much all day, which didn't impact driving too much and helped keep the runs a bit fluffier. We got on the first lift at 1:30 pm after renting gear ($35 for the basic package; $50 for pretty good demo gear), buying lift tickets ($60 for the entire day, stretching to 9 pm I believe) and schussed for 5 hours (the last 90 minutes under the lights) before deciding to head home. Crowds were pretty reasonable, with no more than a 10-minute wait that declined as the afternoon light waned. I would still encourage folks to head out West for 4-7 days of skiing on prime terrain, but Afton is a decent warm-up and much more accessible that Lutsen to southern Minnesotans. read more

I have never met a more pandemic fearing and paranoid business. You are an outdoor venue! Why don't you have a great Wi-Fi system? You have nothing. Parents hang out at ski resorts and spend money! Imagine that! My kids are annual pass members and they come home saying: "this place is messed up and doesn't know what it is doing" This is a management issue. Management is vacant and invisible. You need to step back, evaluate and change. read more

I go every day but there's one problem the terrain park never gets a new setup I just want a different setup and I'm pretty sure everyone else agrees read more

So close to the cities , was a pleasant experience Slopes are serious here and there, so it cannot s not boring at all read more

Horrible lines and poor customer service...this place has gone down hill. Make sure to go at a non-busy time if at all. I would recommend Welch or wild mountain instead. read more

100 People Deep Lines, Can't be Bothered to Open Lifts, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE Multiple year season pass holder. Enough is enough. Went to Afton Alps today, December 26th, 2021. Peak season. Lines are literally 100 people deep. Veil is too cheap to run all the lifts. These clowns only pay $12.50 ah hour to man the lifts and they still dont have them open. Lines are 100+ people deep trying to queue literally 4-6 roped off lines into one. Even though the hills next to the open lifts are open, they still don't open the lifts. Takes 30 minutes to get through the line to go down a 40 second "run." For what this place costs, this is a completely unacceptable customer experience. For others thinking about going somewhere local, try Welch Village or Trollahugen. Afton has become a money grab and they don't care if you have a terrible time despite charging $69 for a single day ticket. Unbelievable. read more

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. read more

I hated this course beyond words Was curious/skeptical about playing a golf course on (what in MN passes for) ski slopes, and it was worse than I could imagine. Hey, I LOVE elevation changes, but this course was just brutal. Tiny skinny fairways and greens, a number of which have slopes into the woods that I'm not sure how you're supposed to avoid unless you play the entire hole with a pitching wedge . . . There were some nice holes, but by the time I got to them I didn't care, I'd already given up the will to live. They would need to pay me to play there again read more

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. read more

Avoid this place until they can assure you won't wait for 2 hours to pick up your lift ticket card that you paid for online. They should go back to bar code tickets if the new system is so slow! Grrrrr. I will stick to smaller hills for the rest of this season. read more

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. read more

Afton Alps - Map of the runs at Afton. - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

I have never been told so many times, on so many different occasions, that I am not welcome to sit in specific places. Race day? I get it. Can't sit there. Paul's? Yes, I am aware that I must buy something to sit here. Reserved for non-race participants? Can't sit there. I could have bought far fewer Epic passes to have someplace not to sit. I could have flown to Vail and not sat there instead. Take 1% of a weekend's chicken strip sales and buy some chairs. read more

The skiing was decent. The staff was friendly and helpful. There was no place to leave our belongings, boots etc.. after renting gear or to keep some food we had brought. There are walls of cubbys and lockers but they are Closed due to Covid. There is no reason from an infection control standpoint to do this and all the other area in MN we have visited do not have this policy. So, rent your ski boots, then wwalk back to your car through the muddy parking lot in your ski boots carrying your other boots and gear. When you are done skiing, walk back your car in ski boots again, get your regular boots, walk bak to rentals and drop them off. Passing empty boot storage left and right while you do this. Was also funny getting the automated text telling us to be prepared to leave or reserved table on time as "at this busy time there are people waiting for your table". we were the only ones in the dining room at the time. Corporate automation at its best. read more

This place is astounding, I've seen other things that people have said, like they had to wait over two hours to get their lift ticket that they paid online or they weren't able to sit where they wanted if they weren't going to buy anything, for my experience it was amazing, my friend and I went earlier today, we had a wonderful time, unlike other places the skiing was great, there are so many cool hill to go down. Make sure to pay online, and be ready, spend your time here, it's amazing, read more

Been living in Afton my entire life and this is worth coming to see. most people don't know this but it's a golf course in the summer. Wonderful people. good food. literally never crowded. Perfect for all skill levels. Also, my dad used to work here and at night the back door is open. bring sleds and have some fun with this info. From Afton to you enjoy Afton Alps! Oh P.S. Afton inn is nice but the food is gross. if you need some food eat at the lumber yard pub. So good and family-friendly. Even at happy hour! I'll get a photo of the back door later. read more

This is the best skiing in the twin cities. The friendly staff does what they can with the elevation. However, the ski racers routinely shut down half of the best runs, among other minor annoyances like leaving their skis scattered all over the ground. Today they had 5 of the 8 runs coming off Afton's tallest peak shut down for racing. This included the only accessible green run from the only four-chair lift at Afton. Not knowing this run was closed due to racing, I brought my three friends up there, including one who hasn't skied once in 3 years until today. Perhaps if they charge $60/day for weekend tickets, they should 1. tell people ahead of time that many of the best runs are closed and 2. discount this ticket price by the percentage of runs closed to the public. read more

Horrible skiing conditions, seems like they don't even care. Inside was nasty and stunk and staff was rude.

Listen up Minnesota. You are flat as f*ck so your options for any kind of downhill skiing or snowboarding that don't require a flight or days long drive is quite limited. Realize that no where in this state is like even the shittiest resort in CO. Runs will be short and "steep" runs are...really not that steep. Temper your expectations to this and you'll have a great time. As a life long boarder who regularly visited Vail, Mammoth, Tahoe, etc, I always have fun when I go to Afton. When the weather is good and they're able to blow snow, you'll get to sample pretty much all of their runs with decent coverage(IE not crunchy, icy, slushy, or sticks and rocks coming out of the snow). Everyone from the people in the bar, selling tickets, and running the lifts are all friendly. Afton is bigger by far than say, Buck Hill, so it's easier to stay away from toddlers bombing straight down the runs. Pretty good beer selection in the 2 chalets and I appreciate the better quality meal options. A bit on the spendy side? Sure, but not outside the norm of literally all of the other ski resorts out west. So quit your bitchin. True we're not out west, but Afton is owned by Vail, so there you have it. Personally I prefer going after noon and paying the half day rate. Afton is great for what it is but it's small enough that after a few hours I've pretty much gone on all the runs several times, had a couple beers, gone on the runs again, etc. While I miss the amazingness of the resorts out west, if I want to get a bit of boarding in, Afton is definitely my go to. It's just enough to satisfy the itch. read more

Afton has been an extreme let down this year. I bought my season pass in September of this year and was expecting the mountain to be open early December which was what happened. What I didn't expect was that they would have 75% of the mountain closed. Their big reason for this? They couldn't hire enough people to work and open up the rest of the mountain. They have had months to prepare and make sure that things would be running smoothly once the winter rolls around and the snow is consistent and it seems as though they are extremely understaffed and underprepared. They knew how many passes they sold, they know how busy it gets there on the weekends, none of this is a surprise to them, they just didn't put in the effort to get it done. $12.50 is not a livable wage for people who would work for them. They gladly took everyone's hundreds of dollars for their season passes and have let everyone who has gone this year down. I will not be getting a season pass here next year and ill be sure to spread the word to everyone who will listen that Afton is no the place to go if you want a variety of runs and a consistent and enjoyable experience. Lines that are 60-70 people long while half of the lifts are closed in unacceptable. Like i said, I'll be telling everyone i know and posting on every review site that this is not the place to go. If they decide that they want to improve their service and fully open the mountain as they should have 3 weeks ago, I'll change my review but until then this has been the worst experience with any ski resort I've ever had. read more

A amazing time last year and can't wait to ski tomorrow it is just so good for beginners and good skiers.

Just finished a fantastic family ski day at Afton Alps! The most recent reviews almost prevented us from heading there today. We are so glad we ignored the haters! Yes - only half of the resort was open but almost all of the local ski hills are in the same position as we have had an unseasonably warm December. We had skiers of all abilities with us and there was enough terrain open to entertain everyone. Each employee we interacted with was nicer than the next. Their Covid restrictions made us all feel safe and actually made lunch a very easy and enjoyable experience. We will be back!! read more

Stood in line to get a lift ticket for an hour before deciding to leave because the line wasn't moving and the rental line was two hours. The person in line told us vail purchased Afton and uses RFID lift passes and it takes longer to register them. read more

Afton Alps - Stood in line for an hour to get lift tickets. The line wasn't moving so they sent is to LMZ (also wasn't moving). We left. - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hastings, Minnesota

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. read more