If you’re looking for affordable January skiing and riding deals in northern Michigan, check out Shanty Creek January offerings.

Sardine Specials are available this Saturday, Jan. 7, $100 carload; Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Jan. 16 from 9 a.m-4:30 p.m, $90 carload; and Saturday, Feb. 4, $100 carload.  Pack as many friends as you can into your car and pay one price for everyone to receive a Schuss Mountain lift ticket.  No busses please. 

The fourth annual Beer & Boards Microbrew Festival takes place the weekend of Jan. 14, from 3-6 p.m in the Grand Ballroom of the Lakeview Hotel and Conference Center.  Tickets are $10, which includes 10 pours.  Enjoy some of Michigan’s best microbrews while chatting with the brewers after skiing and riding.  This event is taking place with the 2012 Michigan Brewer’s Guild annual conference that’s being held at Shanty Creek.

January midweek ski packages at Shanty Creek start from $75 per person, per night, based on double occupancy, which includes complimentary skiing and riding the night of arrival, as well as the next day, group ski clinic and breakfast.  Children eight and under ski/ride free, and children under 12 eat free when staying with parents.  Weekend packages start from $129 and do not include “kids eat free.”

Shanty offers 53 runs on two ski hills, four terrain parks, half-pipe, tubing and cross country skiing on groomed trails with a portion of them lit for night skiing.  There are also dog sled rides, weekend sleigh rides, and a children’s center.