was here with my buddy this season, i went to the side of the water because i didn't want to be wet the rest of the day if i had not made it across. when my buddy did the same, he was harassed by so called staff members who had no identification or proof that they work there. My buddy is not the same skin color is me and is a darker tone. seemed very racist and i even seen the profiling first hand. should never go here and they should be closed down. read more

Very cool spot. It feels like you're in CO or ID, WI without a two hour drive or plane ride. I really loved the fact that they reiterated masks and face coverings. I can't tell you how many times I heard that on the intercom. It seemed very organized which was impressive on a busy day (MLK). I recommend registering ahead of time between paperwork and tickets, prior to skiing that was lengthy. Huge hill, so it's not like you don't get the feel of a full experience. It was a lot of fun my son (age 8) loved it! We can't wait to come back. Might I recommend a hot coco station? Unless I missed that read more

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This place is a ton of fun! Love it so much, the staff is amazing and super knowledgeable! Definitely going back again.

It's a great place for beginners!!! They teach lessons And is a small place for exploring and practicing. Go on not a busy day like week days to avoid traffic while snowboarding Plus I use Groupon when I go FYI for cheap/ discounted tickets. read more

Four Lakes Alpine Snowsports - Ski Resorts Near Me - Lisle, Illinois

The snow turns into concrete ice which makes it extremely difficult for a beginner to stay upright, causing them to fall a lot. My two kids both fell onto the back of their heads and got concussions, my son ended up in the ER. Accidents happen, but there were no employees that offered to help nor were they first aid certified. My husband had to assist him and call an ambulance. The kids that's work there had no clue what to do as my son was losing consciousness. Beware!! And luckily they were wearing the helmets. read more

Four Lakes Alpine Snowsports - My son waiting for his CT results to make sure there was no bleeding in the brain, and x ray to make sure tailbone wasn't fractured. - Ski Resorts Near Me - Lisle, Illinois

Unbelievably slow service. No enforcement of mask policy. Unfair line policies. Never coming back

Best place on earth, with the best people and the best times Great place to learn how to ski or snowboard read more

Great value & convenient if you're starting your kids out. Would definitely recommend if located in Western Suburbs.

The manner in which Eileen handled our Girl Scouts group was so unprofessional! - she reply once a week - she did not pick up the phone to have a proper conversation and get all my questions answered - she wasted my time and the entire month of January of emails back and forth only to tell me classes are not offered on weekends. - their website does say group lessons are offered 7 days a week - I'm not sure if this was deliberate - I will be taking this up with management provided their venue has a management team. read more

I've decided to take my 6yr old this winter. It was a great night to show board but I hated the it had a tug rope & no lift. It was a nightmare & hard to move around in the ridiculous crowds. The lines were crazy long & it took us longer to fill out forms & grab boards. I'd try again if a lesson was available for him because the few times we went they weren't doing them. read more

Thank goodness for Doug. My family went for the first time and one son took to snowboarding but the other son (and I) did not. We never even got both feet in the board or up the tow! It was terribly frustrating. We asked if we could switch to skis and we kept getting the run around. Finally, after 30 minutes of going back and forth from each rental area, we were ready to quit and never come back. Luckily we ran into Doug. He got us skis and new boots and after a pep talk and some Norwegian babble (lol), we went back out and succeeded! My son was sooo proud of himself and I was to. It was a great lesson on never quitting. Now we can't wait to go back. thank you Doug! read more

Four Lakes Alpine Snowsports - Ski Resorts Near Me - Lisle, Illinois

Came here because got a Groupon deal. Very small, good for beginners. We went on Super Bowl Sunday, so not that many ppl. But I can definitely see that it can very crowded on regular weekends. So I'd recommend for beginners on weekdays. read more

Took my daughter for ski lessons. Was worried about it being busy and the tow rope. Lessons are on a separate bunny hill, so not too crowded & the instructors were lovely. The tow rope was fine, my kid did wipe out once but she was wearing a helmet. I will say that it was a Sunday & it WAS CROWDED. The parking lot felt very full. In general the crowd was a little ornery. Pros - close, small & cheap Cons -lots of yahoos, tow rope, crowded read more

I was really excited when I found out there was a place I could snowboard located closer to home (besides from Villa Olivia). My nephew said he liked it better than Villa Olivia so we decided to try it out. SLOPES The hills are better than than Villa Olivia. There are four hills of varying inclines and one hill for lessons. One of the four hills has varying moguls and ramps for stunts. However, there are only tow ropes to get up each hill. In response to Christopher B.'s comment "We know ropes are rough, but in the Midwest they're truly the best way to get the most runs in" I just want to point out the numerous reviews mentioning safety concerns as well as delays due to the tow ropes. I disagree with this response. If safety is your "main priority" I suggest adding a magic carpet, a ski lift, or helping people who fall and cut in line for the tow ropes over picking on a father trying to record his son on a COMPLETELY EMPTY hill. Moving on to the rest of my original review... TOW ROPES... Oh the dreaded tow ropes. Tow ropes are difficult for smaller children, beginners (guilty), when the snow is wet (less friction), and for people with very arm strength (hi, that's me again). The easiest bunny hill and the "steepest" hill had smoother snow on the way up, but the mogul hill and the medium bunny hill had all sorts of divots which make it even more difficult to get up the hill without falling. On the steepest hill, even with the smooth snow, I lost my grip towards the top and it was too late. No matter how tightly I tried to grab the rope, it just kept speeding past me (while water was spraying from my gloves). I really think knots on the rope would help for grasping the rope. Or perhaps a magic carpet for the easiest bunny hill at least. Plus, as another reviewer mentioned, the line to get to the ropes is quite long. There were so many people cutting in line, but nobody (meaning the workers) ever said anything to them. When people fell from trying to use the tow ropes (and they did...so many people fell...) the workers did not help or push the stop button. In fact, one of the male workers yelled at a kid and told him to get up. Now, I figure this was for safety. But seriously! STAFF Besides from letting everyone cut in line from the two ropes? (ok, seriously I'm pretty sure everyone knows how I feel about the ropes. I'll stop). About 15 minutes prior to closing (they close at 7pm. Another bummer. Why do they close so early?) there was hardly anyone left. There was absolutely nobody left on the easiest bunny hill. My nephew wanted to get a few more runs in and my brother wanted to record him. As my nephew took the tow rope up, my brother followed him (in his snow boots). A staff member (Louis?) saw my brother and asked him what he was doing. My brother told him that he was following his son so he could record him. The staff member told my brother, "People don't usually walk up the hill." My brother responded, "Well, I am. I am following my son." The staff member said, "Well, it's a safety issue for other skiers." My brother responded, "I can see when there are other people around. There is nobody here. Please go away." Now, I know my brother's response might have been snarky, but seriously. There was absolutely nobody else on that hill. What safety concern does it pose? The workers don't do anything when people fall or cut in line, but it bothers them when a dad follows his son up a hill (with nobody else around)??? The staff member came back around and went up to my brother for the second time and repeated, "I just want to let you know that it's a safety hazard..." at which point my brother just told the guy he is being annoying. The staff member responded, "I don't know how I'm being annoying. This is just my second time talking to you." That's two times too many. Overall, the food and hills are better at Four Lakes compared to Villa Olivia. However, the staff and tow ropes make me hesitate to come back. I'd rather go eat Olivia's subpar food, ride their skii lift, and deal with nicer, more attentive staff, and stay later. read more

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I am what you would call an EXTREME skiing beginner; I've been on the slopes (if you can call them that in the Midwest) about 4 times, and 3 of those times were probably 15-20 years ago. Four Lakes is the perfect place for beginners such as I. First off, if you are not a skiier, do not underestimate how EXHAUSTING skiing is. It would seem like you are just letting gravity take care of things as you coast down the hill, but this is not the case. Buns and Thighs of Steel keep you safe as you "snowplow turn" down the hill, Terminator-level grip and a low crouch enables you to make your way up the hill, and extreme cardio keeps you moving on flat ground. Anyway, back to this place. Lessons are run here all day, it seems, and they are simple but effective. The super-beginner hill is very moderately sloped and the perfect place for those oh-so-tentative first runs. I would recommend arriving right when they open, for it is not long before the place gets mobbed by more people than it can reasonably handle. There are also TONS of kids on the smallest hill, but they are generally closely accompanied by their parents, which is far preferable to the teens and pre-teens who generally like to hot-dog their way down the hills in places like this. My point is that there is less chance of death at this particular establishment overall, but you do have to be willing to put up with a large number of first-timers. The other drawback is the towropes. I would highly recommend getting yourself a pair of gloves with serious grip, or duct-taping a lesser pair. After I had skiied for a while and was ready to move on to the higher hill, my gripless gloves failed me--the steep incline near the top makes the process more work than the downhill part. Ready for the double-black diamond? This is not the place for you. But if you are a beginner, or returning to the sport and looking for a training ground, this is a good option. Prices are reasonable, hills are doable, and you won't feel so bad about stopping by the snack bar after all the calories you've burned on a sunny winter day. read more

This review is strictly about the Four Lakes Ski Hill, not the Lodge or Basecamp Pub- they are two very distinct things. So moving to Chicago from Colorado, I knew there's no such thing as a "mountain" in the Midwest. I was pleasantly surprised that there was this fun *little* ski hill in the middle of DuPage county, and even more excited when I saw there are 5 runs, including 2 bunny hills and a snowboard terrain park. Keep in mind- this is a hill as there are no mountains here... so stop with the reviews that say "it's too small".... well, duh, go to the Rocky Mountains if you want to ski on a mountain. Wait... what? You can't drive to the Rocky Mountains in 10 minutes from your house? Oh, I guess Four Lakes isn't that terrible after all... OK, point being here that there's a lot for your money here. It's ideal for teaching young kids how to ski BEFORE you take your trip out west- let them learn here and they can enjoy your Colorado or Utah trip even more. It's also a great place to drop my kids for an afternoon with their friends for a day of fun. The runs use a tow rope as the hill is too small for a chair lift, so be prepared if you've never been on one before. Overall the facility is very well maintained and safe. My kids LOVE coming here on weekends. My only knock is that they don't allow sledding or tubing... kind of a bummer for those that can't or won't ski or snowboard. 4 stars for being the best (and only) skiing in the Chicago metro area. read more

Where can you possibly hit the slopes in Chicagoland? FOUR LAKES! I call it fake Vail. Just for fun. It's obviously lacking the ritz and umm mountains but it'll do. It'll do. Four Lakes has it's fair share of smokin hot snowboarders. My 2nd favorite activity besides hittin the slopes myself is watchin the badasses do nasty tricks and flips in the air that makes my tail bone cry at just the thought. Maybe next season... I would suggest that you show up RIGHT when they open to get your bang for your buck. It's only 20 bucks for a day life ticket so it's already a steal if you ask me... BUT if you get there at 10, you could easily be carving down the slope by 10:10. It was my first time snowboarding. Ever. I had a lesson with Vince... after an hour and a half of HARD WORK and DETERMINATION, he was able to bid me good luck and farewell with high hopes that I wouldn't hurt myself. Great slopes, REAL snow, cheap rentals/life tickets, AMAZING lessons, friendly and helpful staff (instructors/service desk/rental/snow patrol). After this season, I'll be ready to hit real Vail! :) read more

We called and spoke with a young lady yesterday to ask about open skiing at 12:27 pm and asked about open skiing today. She told us we could come starting at 10 am, that lift tickets were on sale for $10, etc. and so we made plans to go. We spent an hour in the car and got there at 12:25 pm. When we walked in we were told there was no open skiing, no apology and no reasoning for an employee telling us we could come. My kids were devastated, and we wasted two hours in the car. No apologies from workers who basically said we were lying because no employee would have guarantee open skiing, even though we showed them the phone call with date and time and had the information she gave us. I have never had a business act like that period. read more

Great ski hill being so close to Chicago. Who wants to drive 3 hours to ski just for the afternoon? Not I. Snow conditions were typical for the Mid West. Lots of kids in the snow boarding area. read more

Strictly for the snowboarding/ski slopes Pretty cool place for beginners (me) to get acquainted to the sport. I really enjoy coming here and picked up snowboarding relatively quick from my buddy and watching the kids on the terrain. A few points: The bunny hill is way too packed and chaotic. Staff really needs to put their foot down on organization and stop watching kids fall or cut in line. They literally stand there. I've been here several times already and I can say with confidence that I have seen staff try and organize the lines ONCE. The second hill is awesome. No complaints. Doesn't get too packed at all. Maybe a crazy kid flying down like a bat out of hell every once in a while but that's about it. The hill on the left is also awesome. As soon as you learn the basic movements on the bunny hill, go to the slope on the left. Rarely any lines, smooth ride up, and not a lot of folks up there. I can't speak on the terrain slope. Haven't used it but it looks awesome. Tons of good kids tearing that place apart. Pretty cool to watch when you're resting or on the way up to the slope. The tow ropes can be a pain in the you-know-what to use. It can be extremely difficult for kids to use it. Not only are the ropes a pain but you have kids cutting other kids in line to get up the slope. Every time I'm here, there is a group of kids slinging back the rope like a slingshot and letting it go - sending kids crashing to the ground. Wake up STAFF and do something about that. Those kids are lucky I wasn't falling. Wow typing this all up made me lower the star rating.. The ropes leading to the second slope from the right is difficult to ride to the very top. I feel like your body gets twice as heavy near the top and my arms are killing me by third time I use it. And when the rope is wet (because of slush and warmer weather), you're in for a cold, wet night on the slopes. I also agree with the other reviewers that a magic carpet may be a good investment. If you plan to go, I recommend right when they open - it's so empty or towards the end of the night. If you go during peak hours with kids - they will fall or they will get hurt. read more

The staff was rude and not very accommodating. When we went there was only 2 slopes open, the bunny hill and an intermediate hill. The bunny hill was closed and only for lessons. Well there were a lot beginners that weren't taking lessons so they were left with a patch of grassy snow by the side of the bunny hill. The staff did not care about the other beginners that weren't taking lessons and I guess they want them all to take lessons. I believe they just wanted money. This place would have been nice if we were aloud to use the slopes. This place is a joke and would never come back here again. read more

Less than positive experience here today. Went here after 4 pm to ski with my son. It's open till 9 pm every night. My rub on this place is that they don't do a price reduction after 3 or 4 pm and charge full price at $28 per skier even from 4pm till close. Every other ski place 90 minutes North in Wisconsin or Michigan cuts their price in half after 3 pm. They also charge an extra 10 bucks to use their snowboard terrain park. No other place does that. The last complaint I have is the unprofessional local Ski Patrol guy who was terse with me after I complained about a kid who slammed into me and my 10 year old son on the tow rope , who told me I don't belong there if I can't use the rope. What a punk! He slammed into us, never apologized and went about his way. When I attempted to get the ski patrol guy's attention half way up the hill and he came down to meet us where we crashed. His 1st and only concern was how i got his attention by yelling up the hill at him. He completely disregarded my sons well being and mine with his primary concern was how I spoke to him and the punk ass kid who crashed us. He never once asked me if we were alright or were injured. He stated he knew most of the kids there which tells me he knew the kid and took his side vs doing his job. What a D bag After management saw my review a few days later, they offered me a free day lift ticket. That was nice of them and for one appreciate owners or management quick response. Sorry to say. Season ended about two weeks after that so we never got to use the free pass. read more

Was given a gift card by family member for ski lessons. Called up to make ski lesson appointment. Said to go through website. Went to website and submitted form. Waited 1 week. No reply. Tried again. Waited 1 week. No reply. Called up Alpine Sports and talked to "Jason". Said I needed to go through website. Explained lack of response. Said "well they're not in on Mon thru Wed. so you need to e-mail them when they are there". Seriously; GMAFB! I asked if I could speak to someone in ski school over the phone to make an appointment. Said to e-mail them at xxxx@gmail.com. Jason said they (ski school) do their own thing and they have no control over them. I said "so they're not employees of Four Lakes or Alpine Sports??" He said "well they are but we don't have anything to do with them". I said "so these employees are accountable to nobody and have no responsibilities to provide good customer service??". He said "all I can do is give you their e-mail address".. GMAFB!! This place is a clown show!!! read more

Pretty good, convenient location, good for 'learning the ropes' (literally) . Excellent friendly and caring staff (everyone looks happy and welcoming). Check in can be slow for 1st timers : recommendation : please set up your profile online (height weight shoe size etc). Plus a couple of great deals on Groupon. read more

Pros: - Relatively cheap Cons: - long line for bunny hill tow rope - tow rope not very safe for little kids / beginners - people cut in line for tow rope right in front of a ski patrol officer and he didn't care - two bunny hills but one was closed for "lessons" the entire time we were there even when no lessons were going on Suggestion - Install magic carpet PLEASE. read more

The skiing is great for beginners if you are sane enough to make it though the most inefficient and frustrating check-in process imaginable. It is very ripe for a consultant review. The management should try to check in two kids 5-7 years old for ski school and take notes. Plan at least one hour from walking in the door to dropping off the kids at the slope, plan longer if you didn't do any of the pre check in. Oh and if you want to get a lift ticket for yourself, need to wait in another long line. It is insanity, the employees seem frustrated with the process. My kids made it down the small hill twice for the one hour instruction. read more

It's stayed consistent since the new ownership ( I heard about how this place used to be ran and now the seam to have a real good handle on things-I'm defiantly rooting for them, I hope they check their yelp account and see what people are saying and who's going in the the most (do they live in the development, speed the word of hours, specials, and anything they might be doing.. There's always Facebook thought right? Hama.. I still think base camp is great times, clearly!! :) By the way I ran out of room because this was was originally supposed to be at "Tip" but I do want to say I wish that they stayed open a little bit later because a lot of nights me and my girlfriend both worked late and it would be nice to have a go to place, so to speak when you coming home because we usually have to stop it if you other places when we do actually come there to get something just pick up and take him and also it would be really really cool if they did something for brunch on Sundays and of course when football starts I know that they will have specials but a brunch on Sundays that's open till say like kick off on the first game would be really cool because for say 1999 but on the samosas must be reasonable of course and somewhat of a small buffet would be awesome for all the locals but we would have to show up and that's something that I think would be cool for everyone to get involved in and get to know one another and welcome the new owner so it would be a totally road simply a suggestion/proposal thank you for your time and attention read more

Four Lakes Alpine Snowsports - Ski Resorts Near Me - Lisle, Illinois

Worst experience I ever been involved in. Not enough space to stop. Ran over a person because it was my first time going down. My cousin torn his ACL. A kid fell on his head and couldn't move. After this whole disaster, headed back to the lodge, only to find out that my 145$ boots were stolen... and I wasn't the only one who had stolen items. I would recommend for the mananger to fire everyone working here. The guy supervising was watching YouTube while a guy was screaming on the ground. 2 people watching somebody leave with 2 extra pairs of boots in their hands. Nobody working in this place was able to see the footage on the camera because they had new cameras.. what type excuse is this?? You lost a lot of customers today ... read more

We had one of the most surreal experiences here. It was catastrophically terrible. My girlfriend and I are beginner snow boarders. Some of the staff was rude to us during the rental process and failed to educate us about proper binding and leashing. I was later scolded by an employee about that which was not my fault. But then the craziest thing happened, there was a wipeout on the tow rope line (we saw many as this place is where beginners learn) I grabbed the line and shielded my eyes from snow however I was unaware that the person in front of me let go of the rope and stopped. By the time I looked up, it was too late and I collided with another boarder. This was an ACCIDENT. The other boarder was a kid in his early teens. I felt terrible for running into this kid. We were both on the ground and before I could apologize the kid started swearing and threatening me with violence. He said he wanted to fight me and screamed profanities at me and my girlfriend. He tore off his gloves and said he was going to beat me and my girlfriend who did nothing wrong. Before I knew we were surrounded by teenagers threatening us with violence. I was dumbfounded...I couldn't believe that such a minor accident escalated into such a dangerous and potentially VIOLENT situation. In the midst of this we could not tell ski patrol apart from the angry teenagers. Finally an adult from the business came and ESCORTED us away from the danger. To our knowledge the enraged teens faced no consequences and we were given a free day pass. This business operation is a joke. My girlfriend and I were mobbed over an accident on a beginner hill. I'm hindsight we should have called the police. We left and don't plan on returning. Be vigilant of terrible people and staff here. There's a potential lawsuit here but I'm sure the market will dictate the future of this child's playground. The owners and staff should be ashamed of themselves. read more

This place is ok for kids or someone who has never tried skiing before. The slopes themselves are way too short. The tow rope tires out your hands and arms within the first hour and destroys your gloves. The kids who are constantly jumping on and falling off the rope don't help the situation either. Beware of the lodge! We were there on a busy Sunday and wanted to take a break from "skiing" but there were no seats available. We found a group of 3 people sitting at a table for 6 (3 small tables for 2). We asked them if we could separate the end table and they didn't mind. We sat there for 15 minutes and waited for someone to take our order but the waitresses avoided us. They did come to check on the tables around us but never acknowledged our presence. So we finally asked one waitress if we could get a couple of beers and she told us no because we really weren't supposed to move the tables. Apparently sliding a table 3 inches over was a big crime. So we just got up and left. read more

Okay. Four lakes is fine for the extreme beginner or for somebody who doesn't have a car to drive north 3 hours. Before you even get on the hill you ought to realize that you need to master the tow rope......and you need to have some gloves that don't get torn up by the tow rope...eek! Once you get to the top and drop down into the "hill", count to 7 and you are at the bottom. They always make their own snow and sometimes they can't even keep it up to par. Honestly, travel up north to Devil's Head or Christene Mt. read more

Rope lifts are UNSAFE. My kid got really hurt during a pileup on the lift. They are dangerous and inadequately supervised. The monitors should be stopping the lift every time there is a pileup, but they're eating shit instead. I'd rather drive an extra hour and spend an extra 20 bucks for a ski lift that actually gets you up in one piece. read more

great for beginner's - especially if you want to try snowboarding for the first time nice staff, clean runs, and yes, they are pull ropes read more

Signed up for lessons over Christmas break last year for our 6 year old - three lessons over the span of a week. Turned out to be a big waste of money - instructors provided very little "instruction" - they prefer to just let the little ones flail around with no tips on how to snowboard. Also, the rope tow is very difficult for youth to manage, and based on my observations during the week-long lessons, staff are not active in helping the little ones when they fall down at the rope tow, or fall off the rope tow over and over and over... I'm sorry that I spent the money for lessons here - I would have been better off taking my son to another hill for one outing and teaching him myself. He would have gotten much more out of it. Management at Four Lakes did not even bother to respond to my several attempts to contact them. The youth group lesson at Four Lakes was a big waste of money. read more

We had a great time today. Having skied in several local areas and in bigger slopes out west, I have to say this place is decent for easy, local, beginner skiing. Pricey without a Groupon/Living Social (then again I am comparing it to other places) but I would hate for it to lower its prices and close down. Yes, patience is required for advanced snow-folk because A LOT of beginners come here. I mean hey, we've all been there struggling in the beginning, so I don't mind waiting for the tow. Registration was excellent if you register in advance, which I highly recommend for smoother service. You can purchase everything online and when I called with questions they were very informative. Otherwise, like all other ski areas it will take a little more time to sign up, sign waivers and pay. Food was ok, fairly priced and the service was good. Best advice I could give is to register prior, have some patience and arrive early. read more

My overall rating of 4 Lakes is strictly based on its location and what anybody would expect from a ski area in the Chicago burbs. I learned to ski here in the late '60s and my 10 y.o. learned here too. For beginners, and those that may want to ski in the evening or weekend for an hour or 2, it is great. Not terribly expensive and the "Lisle Alps" are enough to have some fun on a run without having to drive at least a couple hours. I don't snowboard, but the terrain park looks pretty good. The ski school programs for kids are very good and well run.There's restaurant and a small snack bar with picnic tables as well. My gripes: As an adult I can only handle the rope tows for a couple hours. They are a bit old and worn and impossible to grip after awhile toward the top of the hills. The other thing is the out-of-control kids, mostly on weekends. They cut into the tow lines, create big pileups and otherwise are very much in need of supervision, which is not to be found here (neither from primarily parents nor staff). read more

Long lines and some staff at the payment counter who appear to be flustered with the holiday crowd today. They did not plan for the holiday rush today! There are huge lines at the equipment rental with over an hour wait times! read more

If you're looking for some extreme winter "sports," then the tow rope at Four Lakes is for you. Imagine the moving walkway at an airport, gone vertical, full speed, while you hold on for dear life to a rope that's been dipped in crisco. Constant wipe outs along the way make for some treacherous territory on the way up this "mountain." Then, when you finally make it to the top, it's like Walmart on Black Friday trying to find a space to go down for about 5 seconds before you reach the bottom. And then, back to the rope of death. OHHH and this is AFTER you spend nearly 45 minutes in line just to rent a snowboard, to have them tell you they are out (luckily they found two that were apparently our size but were probably made for a 5 year old). Oh and that's AFTER you spend a half hour trying to park in one of their two "lots" that have space for about 10 cars when they over-sell lift tickets to hundreds of people. We finally parked on the side of the road, and were luckily leaving after only 1 1/2 rides down what is a bunny hill at any real ski area (the rope of death actually stopped working on our second try and we had to go back down and just finally gave up because damn) when it was announced all cars parked on the road would be immediately towed. Too bad for everyone who actually made it up the hill, because with the crowd there's no way they'd return their equipment and make it to their cars in time before the Lisle police, surely happy for such excitement on a Saturday, towed their cars away. Do not go here. Spend the extra time and money driving to Alpine Valley, or Devil's head. You'll thank yourself later. If not, beware the rope of death. But it won't be the only thing leaving you burned. read more

So I wished I had read the Yelp reviews before we went there, as our experience matches many of those already posted here. We went here on Friday 1/16/15 to ski 4 Lakes for our first time. My wife and I wanted to teach our 6-year old son to ski before we go to Utah in a few months for true mountain skiing. We figured 4 Lakes would be a good introduction for him. Right from the start, things didn't go smoothly. Their website said they'd open at 10am, so we casually got there around 10:30. However, they weren't open yet. The doors were locked and we couldn't even get in. Finally a nice waitress from the restaurant part came and told us they open at noon. Another potential customer had gotten there a minute before us and said he just checked their business line and it also said 10am open. One of the managers Harlan spoke with us and apologized for the mixup and offered to let me talk to his boss Chris and see if maybe he could do something to make things better. So long story short (and after a pretty good burger and fries in their pub area), we stuck around until noon when they finally opened. Getting the rental equipment and all wasn't much of a hassle (esp. since we were first in line), but when I spoke with Chris, he gave me the runaround about the website and phone line not updating and said that the night before they moved the opening time back to noon from 10am. However, again, the website and phone line still said 10am open time when we got there at 10:30 that morning. He didn't offer any compensation or anything, but I did let him know we were disappointed about the time change and lack of notification on their part for whatever reason. Anyhow, on to the skiing. I didn't realize they used a rope pulley system to pull the skiiers/boarders up the hills. I thought it was at least a T-bar system. This was a massive letdown. Our 6-year old son certainly wasn't able to cope with this system, and my wife and I actually struggled with it as well. Going up the steeper part of the hills, the rope was just whizzing through my fingers and hands (actually not my bare hands but through my new ski gloves!). I actually never made it to the top of any hills besides the beginner hills, which was certainly disappointing. My wife and I each took turns trying to put our son between our legs to help him balance while we held on to the rope to get us up the hill. But this didn't work well at all. And we certainly noticed many other beginner skiiers/boarders who fell right off the rope system as well, though to be fair, this was mostly younger kids who REALLY struggled (like our son). Our son struggled so much with the rope system that he lost his initial enthusiasm for even going down the hill, which is what we really wanted to teach him. After about 45 minutes (on a really nice day, too, I might add), he had had enough. Major, major bummer! All in all, it was basically a wasted excursion and a waste of $72 (3 Living Social deals). We won't go back and I wouldn't recommend it for any true beginner as well due to the difficult rope system used to pull folks up the hill. The pub area is good though, so there's that. But two thumbs down on the actual skiing part. read more

Slopes are good, especially for beginners but that rope lift is unbearable! Your hands hurt trying to hold on to the rope as it pulls you higher up and many people had to abandon and get off early. It is especially hard if someone ahead of you falls and stops the line or you have to let the rope run through your hand until the fallen person is out of your way! They need another method, anything would be better, even a plate or anchor that you put between your legs so you stay steady and don't have to work so hard to get to the top of the hill. Really my arms got way more of a workout than my legs... read more