Giants Ridge is a

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

, which hosts a collection of

ski Skis are runners, attached to the user's feet, designed to glide over snow. Typically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins c ...

and

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

trails, located along Wynne Lake in the middle of St. Louis County, east of

Biwabik, Minnesota Biwabik ( ) is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 961 at the 2020 census. State Highway 135 (MN 135) and Vermilion Trail (County 4) are two of the main routes in Biwabik. Its name is derived from t ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History

In 1959, the main hill was cut consisting of one complete run on the west side of the road and a single-line rope tow. The chalet was a structure purchased from Erie Mining Co. This building was converted from the Evergreen Trailer Court into a warm-up building. After being closed for several years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the IRRRB purchased the property from the bank, which satisfied an earlier federal Small Business Administration loan. In 1984, the IRRRB provided an original financial commitment of $6 million to $7 million to create a Nordic training facility and an alpine skiing complex.

Location

Giants Ridge is located in Minnesota's

Iron Range The Iron Range is collectively or individually a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by the Giants ...

, in St. Louis County, east of

in the

Ski runs and terrain

There are skiable at Giants Ridge. The ski hill has of vertical drop. Giants Ridge often uses

artificial snow Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

for maintaining the slopes. There are 35 trails with 7

chairlifts An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tr ...

. There are two

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-su ...

s, the Burnt Onion Chalet and the South Chalet. There is also a yurt, restaurant, grill, and a hotel. During the summer, Giants Ridge operates two golf courses, the 18 hole Legends course, and the 18 hole Quarry course.

Activities

The following are activities included at Giants Ridge: *

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

Night skiing Night skiing is the sport of skiing or snowboarding after sundown, offered at many ski areas. There are floodlights – with metal halide, LED or magnetic induction lamps – along the piste which allow for better visibility. The night ski ...

Snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Re ...

* Snow tubing * Snowshoeing * Fat tire biking * Adaptive skiing *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

External links

Giants Ridge Homepage

References

{{reflist Ski areas and resorts in Minnesota Buildings and structures in St. Louis County, Minnesota Tourist attractions in St. Louis County, Minnesota