Last January I had a chance to go to Michigan and visit some old friends and we decided to make a 2 day trip to Searchmont. No other midwestern resort compares with this one! The snow conditions were excellent(a few inches of fresh powder on the first day). One thing I enjoyed was their 2 slopes back in the woods and the fact that you didnt have to stay on the trails. If you could find your way down through the unmarked woods, you were welcome to do so. Not much to do besides ski and ride, which was fine with me. When I pay money for a lift ticket I intend to get as many runs as humanly possible! Lift lines did not exist here (think the longest I waited was about 2 minutes). Second day was frigid with temps around 20 below, but I was having fun, so I barely noticed. If you enjoy skiing or riding without having to wait 17 years standing in a lift line, you owe it to yourself to visit this place. If you go midweek, you may just about have the whole mountain to yourself. Oh, yeah...they also have one of the midwest's best terrain parks.

Searchmont is arguably the best skiing in the midwest. Over 700 feet of vertical, real steeps, and far enough north that it doesn't get the freeze-thaw cycle that creates icy slopes. It's also rarely if ever crowded. If you usually ski in the lower peninsula of Michigan you owe it to yourself to drive another two hours north and give Searchmont a try. Once you get about 10 miles north of the Soo, the topography changes completely - it really feels like you're in the mountains. In fact, since Searchmont is on an escarpment rather than a moraine it's geologically distinct from anything found in the lower peninsula of Michigan.

At Searchmont, it's all about the skiing/riding. If that's what you're there to do, you'll love it. If you're looking for shopping, fine dining, video games, etc you probably want to head elsewhere.

Searchmont is a little north of the heavy lake effect snow zone; this means it doesn't get quite as much snow as Boyne Country, but it also means that it's more likely to be sunny at Searchmont than further south. Think about that next time you're skiing on one of those typical Michigan grey cloudy flat-light days.

One caveat: there's not a lot of truly beginner friendly terrain like you find at the Boynes or Nubs. Most of the green trails at Searchmont would rate blue anywhere in the lower peninsula of Michigan (and they'd be rated black at some hills.)

I live near Detroit, and Searchmont is the number 1 weekend ski destination.