Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Ski Snowstar Winter Sports Park that rank the ski resort and mountain town on a scale of one to five stars for attributes such as terrain, nightlife and family friendliness. See how Ski Snowstar Winter Sports Park stacks up in the reviews, on and off the slopes, from skiing and family activities to the après scene. Read up on pros, cons and other comments in reviews left by fellow skiers and riders. Don't forget to submit your own Ski Snowstar Winter Sports Park review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.
Reviews for Ski Snowstar Winter Sports Park
Total (3.0)
A ski resort's overall star rating displayed here is not calculated based on a simple average but takes several factors, including the age of a review, into account.
Ok but check website before going place is closed a lot during the ski season
Jacob Rabe
Glad places like this operate in the midwest so we dont have to drive hours away just to ski
Clara
Super staff and a very family friendly environment. Great place for any first timers to come and take a lesson.
dylanfogel1
awesome
Snow star was a great little resort for my husband and I to visit for the weekend. While the slopes were pretty short, that means that the ski lift rides were pretty short. Because the resort had nice long hours, we could definitely get our money's worth. While I didn't spend any time on the trick runs, the advanced skiers looked like they were having a blast.
I went to Snowstar on 2 successive days in February. The set-up of the resort is very nice. The ticket/rental office is right next to the parking lot and it will only take a few minutes before you're hitting the slopes. The staff is all very friendly and helpful and the ski-patrol is made up of a bunch of true veterans who will gladly help you out and give advice.
I went in February and there was not a whole lot of snow, but what snow there was was groomed to perfection. Snowstar has a nice variety of greens and blacks. The bunny hill is great for beginners and the blues are just right. They are nice and gradually steep and long. You could progress from the bunny hill to the blues in a day or, if your more advanced, still have fun on them. The blacks are very steep but also very short. The terrain park has a nice variety of features. Rails, boxes, and kickers can all be found.
Snowstar may not have really long runs, but you can lap them all and get in a lot of snowboarding/skiing in a day because lift lines are non-existent or very short. I never had to wait more than 3 minutes on a busy February saturday.
Reasonable life tickets and pretty good food make Snowstar a great day trip. I'll definitely be going back again.
it's a blast!
Eric M
Yes it is ranked #2 in Illinois but it should be noted that there are really only 2 ski resorts in illinois that are not a terrain park only or small hills outside an apartment complex in the Chicago burbs. The beginner area was great for our first timers. My biggest complaint would have to be the exit ramps from the chairlifts. I have been boarding for 4 years and by no means am I an expert, but to me the exits ramps from the lilfts were very short, steep, and icy. If I didn't fall myself, someone else on the chair with me would and shove me down in the process. The only lift that was reasonable broke down for the duration of the time I was there and there was no attempt made at all to make the other lifts more usable. It made me really not want to go down the hill knowing I would have to ride the lift back up and try and get off with three other people scrambling to stay up also. Next time I will likely just take the extra time and go to Chestnut or any of the resorts in Wisconsin. That being said, it is a very reasonably priced location and to be fair you get what you pay for.
My 6 year old son (who never skied before) and myself went to Ski Snowstar on Tuesday, December 22, 2009. Based on Ski Snowstar calendar it was considered regular weekday. It was my first time skiing in the US, so I can't compare it to other ski resorts.
Parking lot is next to rental/ticket office so if you don't want to pay 75 cents for the lockers, your car is just outside.
1 hour group ski lesson for my son cost $45 which included ski rental and lift pass for all lifts for the rest of the day. My ski rental cost $17 + $10 for lifts with food pantry donation (it is $17 without).
Since nobody else was taking kids group lesson, Wendy started a lesson around 11:30 am and ended it at past 1pm. So, as you can see, my son got individual lesson for the price of group lesson and Wendy was very generous with her time (Thanks Wendy!). Afterwards my son stayed mostly in "magic carpet" area practicing his new earned skills
I was able to do around 20-25 runs down during our time @ Ski Snowstar. All but 1 lifts were open (I do not think they needed it since it was not crowded) and longest line during our trip was about 1 minute long. The runs are pretty short (in my subjective view, it took up to a 1 minute to go down on any of the runs).
Employees were very friendly and took their time to stop lift when my son struggled to sit on the lift during his first trip up.
70%-80% of the crowd were teenagers on their winter break, remainder consisting of families with kids.
Food and drink: we had hot dog, chili soup, nachos, chips, cookies and the rest of the food was similar fast food fare. I guess it is OK for one day trip. They had domestic beers on tap which was just what I needed after few hours of skiing. Total food and beer bill was around $14 for both of us. First floor of cafeteria had fireplace going which added cozy feel to it.
Over all it was fun day trip and I would recommend it for the beginners. I would go again, this time for both skiing and snow tubing (it was supposed to open during Christmas). I think you can pay additional $8 and exchange your skiing lift ticket to tubing ticket for the rest of the day.
Can't comment on a nightlife since we went back to Chicago same night. Can't comment on freestyle terrain park either (it was there), since it is not my thing.
J
Although I would say Chestnut is the best place to go in Illinois, this place would definitely have to be #2.
I have no complaints to say about this place considering its location near Chicago.
It's a nice, small place to get away for a day
Visited Snowstar this past weekend. Upon arrival, the parking lot was packed and we all looked at each other and said oh no. So we went in with a bad feeling that soon left us. Ticket window went fast rental went fast and soon we were out on the slopes. Little one took a lesson and wanted to spend rest of the day with the instructor. Enjoyed lunch on the patio and skied ourselves silly. Despite the huge crowd, lift lines moved quickly and and the liftees were good spirited. What a pleasant ending to what looked like a crazily busy day. Fun was had by all.
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