Even though I went to school in IL for two years, somehow I never managed to get out and try skiing or sledding (mostly I was in my apartment shivering). But something (perhaps nostalgia) has recently made me think about trying a real winter vacation in late December, early January.

I should be heading back to Minneapolis to visit a friend; neither of us have much money (more than we had as grad students, but still not a lot). Anyone have any tips for planning a nice budget variety ski vacation near Minneapolis? Which resorts/spots/parks do you like?

Not familar with those but I am very familar with all the CO and CA resorts, feel free to message me if you have any questions....

Thanks for the reply ballsandboards I'll message you even though we are still trying to keep it reasonably close to Minneapolis to keep costs down (no sense spending a huge amount when we will both just be learning). If we progress beyond falling down all the time and enjoy skiing it'll be nice to have other options.

Off this board I've been getting suggestions to check out Duluth. It's driving distance (so we avoid airfare). Definitely still open to other suggestions though.