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Lutsen, Granite Peak and Snowriver to open Friday

At Lutsen Mountains, skiers will be able to make top-to-bottom runs on Eagle Mountain for the first time during an opening weekend. The high-speed Raptor lift, which reaches the summit in about three minutes, will also begin operations.

Midwest Family Ski Resorts, operator of Lutsen Mountains in Minnesota, Granite Peak in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Snowriver Mountain Resort, announced Thursday that all three properties will open for the 2025-26 ski season on Friday, Nov. 28.

Resort officials said early-season cold temperatures have allowed for extensive snowmaking, giving the region’s largest ski destinations enough coverage to begin operations during Thanksgiving weekend.

At Lutsen Mountains, skiers will be able to make top-to-bottom runs on Eagle Mountain for the first time during an opening weekend. The high-speed Raptor lift, which reaches the summit in about three minutes, will also begin operations. The resort is promoting views of Lake Superior, après ski options at the new Lofty Gondola and dining at Charlie’s Alpine Bistro.

Granite Peak plans to open with two or three lifts and several runs, including summit routes, beginner terrain and features in the terrain park. The resort said its central location continues to draw skiers from Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis.

Snowriver Mountain Resort — formed from the consolidation of the former Indianhead and Blackjack ski areas — will open following a three-year, $15 million redevelopment. The Upper Peninsula resort will operate the Voyageur, the region’s only high-speed lift, along with a beginner lift and access to several popular runs.

Midwest Family Ski Resorts said all three properties will offer early-season lift and lodging packages, including a “Half Price Holidays” deal that reduces lift ticket prices by 50 percent on stays of three to five nights through Dec. 25.

More information is available at midwestfamilyskiresorts.com or by calling 715-845-2845.

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