Welch Village Ski Area Review

Great skiing just south of the twin cities. Lift operators are great and they have plenty of runs for the whole family. The back bowl is a great area to get away from the crowds.

Drove thru - didn't stop. Looks like a small, old village. Beautiful scenery.

Great place for downhill biking, nice runs. Fast flowy well maintained. Could use a few more runs though

I started going to Welch last year, and this year I have a season pass. I enjoy the variety of runs, as a new skier it has been a great place for me to practice technique and challenge myself. The views are also spectacular! Atmosphere is very laid back and crowds are never too bad, so you can really hit the hills all day and have fun.

Great place, tons of runs, terrain park, halfpipe, all you need for a good time.

Welch Village is by far the best ski area close to the Twin Cities. Lots of runs, plenty for all levels of expertise. The only drawback is during the weekdays, they offer a limited at best, choice of food items on the menu.

Welch Village does an excellent job grooming their hills and providing a very good place to ski

I had a blast... Late season skiing with no crowd and plenty of good snow

This place has very nice chalets with one being for the regulars, and the other has a bar in it. This place shines for verity it has flat green runs for beginners and hard double blacks for more experienced skiers and borders. Also the marked tree trails, and terrain park aren t to bad.

Very disappointing race day. Kids asked to leave who were late registrants.

Such a great place to learn. . I taught my gf how to snowboard here after consulting a instructor. . He was kind enough to just give me some pointers on how to. . Runs are fun and seemed well groomed on days we went. Would definitely recommend over Afton Alps.

I recommend Welch ski village to anybody it's fun and I do skiops there it's a wonderful job I'm having a blast this morning God bless.

Lots of options for beginners and advanced riders. Never a line and is great fun lacks in terrain parks but has good food.

Wide variety skill levels. The best place to ski in the Twin Cities.

Poor customer service by race registration staff and leadership. The race was well run

Great place, great staff. Only gripe is that most of the time, the back bowl seems to be closed.

Great environment for serious skiers and those new to the slopes.

A great place to visit during the winter and summer.

Had a great day of pre-season skiing. The staff here is always helpful and friendly. Once there's more snow on the ground this will be a perfect place to take the family skiing. They have runs for every skill level!

Fun skiing area for Minnesota. Varied tails with some challenging short runs. Prices are ok.

Super nice place in very short distance from the city that has feel of mini Swiss Alps!!!

This is probably the 2nd or 3rd best place to ski in Minnesota, low key, and black diamond hills are not busy, usually no lines. People are friendly and helpful.

The conditions and service are spectacular in late February. However the resort charged full price for All day Adult lift ticket and only had 50% of the runs open and only 3 main lifts. Covid should not be an excuse to swindle.

Had a spartan race here, seems like a great place to go skiing though.

Welch Village is a great place to ski. Their food is fast and the bar area is good even during covid-19 times. Of course the slopes are excellent for this region.

Great local ski resort. Fantastic Ski Patrol staff.

Solid spot for a Spartan race. I would much rather snowboard some of those hills.

only fell two times. need to hit the back bowl next time!

Had our wedding here and it was absolutely amazing! So beautiful, wonderful food & the staff is the best and most helpful around! So happy we picked Welch for our special day as it did not disappoint!

Lots of sad dumb skiers and there mentally challenged kids but besides those losers it's pretty great.

Close to both the Twin cities and Rochester. It is a big hill and has an okay amount of runs, albeit very differently categorized. Besides being close to these places there is not much to say about here. People are nice and they have a place for freestyle, they give out lessons and they even habe a halfpipe, but you can't expect much being there are no mountains in the area. If you keep your expectations low, you will have a good time. Keep in mind you will spend more time trying to get up to the top of the hill than actually skiing down.

What a great time...runs for all skill types and a pretty good set up overall!

Very fun place to mountain bike, I plan to go back again soon

Better than Afton! Sweet bar on the far side. Friendly staff.

Family run ski hill. Very family friendly. Alot less crowds than Afton--and cheaper!

We love going to Welch! It's family friendly and fun for the whole day. The staff is great and the runs are a blast!

Best ski area in southeastern Minnesota (yeah, Afton, I said it!)
#skiWelch

This is one of the best ski areas adjacent to the Twin CITIES, MN.

Best ski lifts ive ever been on. Great runs. 5 stars for that. If I had to go back in time I would've brought my own lunch because the cafeteria is pricey and not a lot of healthy options. Great staff .

If you live somewhere within a 1hour range to go to welch, I would recommend going. Welch is so awesome for beginners! It has a lot of green runs if your a beginner. It has a wide range of blue and blacks too. There are a few reasons I rated this 4 star. One, the chair lifts are pretty slow. I timed one time I whent there and I spent way more time on the chair lifts than on the slopes. Two, the cafe food is a bit pricey so I would bring your own food. Three, all there really is is just slopes. Yeah there is moguls and other stuff like the terrain park. You see I like that stuff but what I love is tree trail runs. Now those are fun!! They only have minny ones not full ones like at Colorado, Big Sky, and other big resorts. Hope my review helps you guys. Believe me, it's fun, it just need a few changes!

Had some great skiing at Welch today. Great place for kids since there's only one main lodge so they can't get lost. Seems like they try hard to keep as many runs open as possible, they were making snow like crazy when we were there. Food and drinks of course are a bit pricey but not crazy. We bought backlavas in the ski shop that were priced same or better than amazon. Enough variety in runs so we didn't get bored and rarely had to wait in line at a lift at all! We bought a family season pass in April which is a great value!

Welch Village is one of the premier Midwest ski resorts I have skied at. There are a descent variety of runs from almost flat greens, to descently steep blues and blacks. (For the most part, the blacks are just that because they are more narrow). Lots of area to ski for the Midwest as well. It isn't the tallest hill around, but it gives you enough time going down to make it worth it.

The ticket prices are a little high for the Midwest, but you can usually get a pretty good deal on advanced tickets on their website. When it gets crowded, they have overflow parking in a field which gets muddy in the spring. All in all, a good place to go skiing in the Midwest.

Newer rentals and lots of runs to make turns on... just wish they where labeled clearer. Overall great place kind employees!!

Welch Village is a decent Minnesota ski hill for beginners and anyone who isn t too serious about terrain parks and steep inclines! I went during COVID and there was no inside chalet available to warm up so I lucked out going on a warmer day! I really enjoy the views from on top of the hill looking down at the valley!

VERY GOOD PLACE TO HAVE FUN, IF YOU LIKE IT IS THE ESKIAR

How can you run a ski resort and not answer the phone .

Very icy, on President's Day they had only 4 lifts open, three of which were old and very dangerous. Nearly every time I was in line, someone either had fallen off or lost skis. These chairs need to be replaced asap. I did not enjoy my time. Last time I was here, the lift tickets were $20 less. Now, nothing has changed for the better yet they charge premium prices. I am disappointed, Welch used to be one of my favorites. Also, there is no cell reception at the chalet, just everything in general is outdated and needs TLC

Welch Village is our favorite ski area near the Twin Cities. It is family owned and operated and has both the best terrain and shortest lift lines of any area around. The staff is always friendly and personable and the snowmaking and grooming are excellent. These are some of the reasons why we get season passes at Welch Village even though there are several ski areas closer to our home.

A beautiful drive into the river bakery reveals a fun hill with some good steeps.

Probably the best place to ski for twin cities folks. Have a decent variety of runs. For anything better than this, you will need to go to lutsen mountain.

Never went here in my life but I know what going to a ski hill does for the mind, body, and soul. It's one of the closest way a human can fly with the wind rushing by them. I recommend going. Never been there but I recommend it regardless.

They have great trails, and a good selection of them. The people there are friendly and helpful. They have reasonable prices, and exceptional prices for large groups. And they have a decent Lodge, decent food, and decent equipment. Overall a good place; I've gone there twice , and I would definitely go there again!

Staff so nice/knowledgable and helpful. A very good experience.

A great ski resort...it's the only one I've ever been to so I can't compare, but the runs were all nice, and I had a great time self learning and going down a variety of beginner runs. There were a lot that were more advanced as well but I can't comment on that.

Amazing skiing in the heart of Minnesota! I kept feeling like this was a Mini Vail Colorado obviously it is no where near the size of Vail it has an immense amount of various terrain. What is nice here is the vertical has you skiing almost as long as you are on the lift. This is not something many Minnesota Ski Resorts can deliver. We will most definitely be back. Your chairlift was extremely bouncey might want to see if there is anything that can be done about that. I have never been on such a bouncey lift and it was unnerving for the less experienced skiers that I had with me. Thanks for being here!

Fantastic ski area! Be sure to hit up jaxx for lunch before setting out again.

Great place! Need to upgrade chairs but overall alot of fun!

Friendly staff. Great times. Till i fell and broke my wrist. But thats my own fault.

Love it! Excellent terrain with a great variety. Fantastic Jr. Development team training program! We drive further to go to Welch, passing other ski hills on the way, because we like it that much better.

Bad staff at the ticket booth, had to get the manager to get tickets.

The skiing, by MN standards, is good. The Busch Light specials are great!

Not usually crowded. Decent season pass prices if caught on sale. Best terrain in the area. They have a number of areas for improvement, as follows:
1. Food in the cafeteria is pretty bad if you are looking for a healthy or vegetarian option. Definitely pack a lunch. The one time I did not I was wishing for my pb&j.
2. No high speed lifts. At small ski areas, you spend a high proportion of your time riding lifts. While they have plenty of lift capacity, none are high speed, so the small hill phenomenon is not improved. (Not sure if back bowl lift is high speed, but it is rarely open, so...)
3. Seating in the lodge at noon on Sundays is limited. Eat your lunch either early or late on weekends.
4. Lift seats pretty hard. Some are unpadded, some poorly padded. As a skinny guy, they do me no favors, but overall this is a minor grievance that simply speaks to the age of the infrastructure.
5. Season pass holders must obtain window tickets. So there is no way to skip the lift line. If Welch invested in the technology to scan your season pass it would save some time for us pass holders each visit.
Hard to know if they have the capital to make these types of improvements, or if they have the will to. People are going to come here anyways given the lack of decent terrain alternatives in the area. Oh well, one can hope. I promise to add a star if you significantly improve one of them! That should do it.

I've been skiing/riding here since the 70s. Great terrain for the area. Great local vibe at the backside bar. Where else do you get to meet "The Legend?!?"

Cool place where most of the hills come down at one central place, but good lord, no cell phone service if your life depended on it!!!! Food was pretty decent, no restaurant but cafeteria style.

Best ski area in Minnesota! Great runs for beginners, as well as for expert skiers!

I rate this a 4,just because I work there . otherwise I would rate it a5. I really like this
Place. People are freindly polite , the terrain is exelent. It's all out .outdoors fun.

This place is amazing great hills good food I had only been to buck hill and this is a monster