Snowboarding in the Keweenaw Peninsula | Mount Bohemia | Mont Ripley

Everyone knows that the Keweenaw Peninsula gets snow. Not like "some" snow, but A LOT of snow. What does that lead to? Great spots to go skiing or snowboarding with a whole lot of natural snow! Not only is there great snow, the Keweenaw Peninsula also offers a great amount of terrain which you can experience at Mount Bohemia and Mont Ripley and that is what we did.

Let's start with Mount Bohemia first. This place is very unique and challenging and specifically states that is is not for beginners. For real, it is not the place you want to go without some pretty decent experience. Now that we are past that, let's get into it. This place is awesome! (Nick's 2nd time, Andy's 1st time). It is located at the very top of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the snow is all natural. We got there just before the lifts opened for the day, geared up and made our way up for our first run of the day. The area averages over 270" of snow per season and there was some solid lake effect snow coming down to start the day with fresh powder to be ridden. 

Mount Bohemia has a lot of different areas to explore. So much so that you are not going to ride the same run twice unless you really want to. The two lifts drop riders off at the same point and then the decision on where to go can be made. We made our way down a couple of the runs to get the day started and then started finding lines through the glades. Our favorite area of the day had to be the Outer Limits located in the area referred to as Middle Earth on the East side of the mountain. Here we had fun riding all of the areas named after the planets and is where we found some of the best powder of the day.

Mount Bohemia also has a Nordic Spa with a large outdoor hot pool, a hot tub, a Finnish sauna and a eucalyptus steam cabin. To go along with that is a cold pool and Nordic waterfall. The goal is to go into one of the "hot" areas then into a "cold" area and repeat that multiple times. 

Overall we had a great experience riding at Bohemia and can't wait to be back. Next time we plan to ride for multiple days in a row to be able to experience even more!

Check out this TikTok for more about Mount Bohemia!

@mi_playground 🏂 #mtbohemia #miplayground #mohawkmichigan #michigansnow #michigansnowstorm ♬ original sound - mi_playground

Next up we were headed to Mont Ripley, located in Hancock. Notice how "Mont" is spelled? It wasn't typed that way as an accident. That's how this place is spelled. Mont Ripley overlooks downtown Houghton and Michigan Tech University, who actually owns the ski area. From the top there are great views of Portage Lake, the canal and the lift bridge that connects Houghton and Hancock. According to their website, Mont Ripley is the oldest ski area in all of Michigan, which is pretty cool!

One of our favorite parts about Mont Ripley is the night riding. Catching a great sunset from the hill and watching downtown Houghton light up leads to a great night time activity. As tradition goes in the Keweenaw Peninsula, it was snowing during our time at Ripley so we had great conditions. If you are looking for another thing to do along with skiing and snowboarding, there are also tubing runs open on the weekends.

Check out this TikTok for more about Mont Ripley!

@mi_playground Views of downtown houghton #montripley #hancock #houghton #mtu #keweenawpeninsula ♬ original sound - mi_playground

The last thing to talk about that happened during this visit to the Keweenaw Peninsula is that we were told we had to go to the Ambassador for their Tostada Pizza. This specialty pizza actually got the Ambassador into the Pizza Hall of Fame. That seems pretty prestigious to us. The pizza was delicious and they had beers on tap from Keweenaw Brewing (which is right down the street). This is no joke, it was the coldest draft beer we have ever had that paired well with the Tostada pizza. 

Overall, our time snowboarding in the Keweenaw Peninsula was amazing. When visiting the area, we recommend making stops at both Mount Bohemia and Mont Ripley. Until next time, we will be dreaming of the powder!

Check out our full video from Mount Bohemia and Mont Ripley here!