Alpine Valley is the closest, best ski area to Chi...

Alpine Valley is the closest, best ski area to Chicagoland. There are some larger places in Wisconsin if you're willing to drive a bit farther, but Alpine's only about an hour and a half outside of Chicago, and for that, it's great. The service is consistently solid - lift tickets and rentals go super fast. The lift lines can get long on weekends, but you don't wait for more than a couple minutes at max capacity. Restaurants can get crowded at lunch and dinner time, but service is always given with a smile. I wish they had a couple more runs just for experts, but it is what it is.