Hyland Hills Ski Area

I started going snowboarding here and I’ve had a great time. They haves beginners hill to experts and you get quite a variety. Wish the hills were longer. Just going straight down. The ski lift was a pretty good speed.
I went on the ski lift with one of the workers. His name is Glen and he remembers me. He’s a interesting guy. Love chatting with him. He even mentioned to apply here.

Small location conveniently located in the middle of the city. Decided to try it out during this past week’s 10″ storm and not even all that heavenly powder could convince us to stay for more than 1 hr. While it looks like they have plowed some serious money into the place, it’s just way too small to be taken seriously. You can probably go up and down every run in 20 minutes.
This place is mostly for kids and teenagers to get their skills going. If you are an adult and you’ve been to actual mountains you will probably find this place boring in about 45 minutes. There’s not even a bar to keep mildly bored adults entertained.
All the facilities are state of the art, with a pretty cool chalet that boasts large windows overlooking the tiny slopes. As for the slopes themselves, as I mentioned they are super short and the chairs are not very fast. They do have a large number of jumps, rails and boxes, which was pretty surprising. Parking is expensive ($ 12), however there is a free satellite parking with complimentary shuttle not too far down the road.
All in all not a terrible place, however you have to know what you are getting into. Afton Alps remains your best option in the Twin Cities.

Nice and clean facility not far from the Twin Cities. Runs are a mix of park, training, and some non-​park. Great place to bring your kids, very family friendly. Really young crowd, mostly kids with their parents. Weldon helped us out at the gift shop, really great customer service and great attitude. Thanks Weldon!

Went skiing on New Year’s day. Upon arriving, we had to get tickets — which is outside. They only had one window open, on such a busy day but the line moved quick enough. Gear rental was very well organized and the staff were super helpful in fitting the gear correctly. I was very pleased with the up to date equipment that was in good shape (better organized and better gear then the other ski places in the metro). I guess the chalet is newly remodeled. It was very nice, had some food options, and clean restrooms.
The chair lifts went quickly, and even with the people present there was plenty of room for us beginners to have fun. The terrain park area seemed to be full of Xbox pre-​teen brats but we didn’t have any business being over there. We stuck to the easier slopes.
Had a great time, and by paying on-​line for our tickets on the Three Rivers Park District website we saved $ 23 bucks. (You must do this two days in advance or more). Great deal, great time, great service, great equipment. I can see eventually out-​growing this place since the runs are so small and easy, but for newbies it really is a great place! This may be our families new New Year’s Day tradition!

Location location location… nice size kickers and rails in the middle of the city. Their terrain park guys are talented. The new chalet is awesome! Looking forward to another fun season.

Location, Location, Location.
The number one rule in real estate and why people come here.
Service is crappy. From grumpy adults to kids that think they are too cool to work. Major customer service training needed. Lifties need to not be hanging out in the lift shack and help the customer. This is the midwest and you can’t assume that all riders know how to board/​offload a lift.
Food is typical of a captive audience, expensive and crappy.
Slow, somewhat dangerous 1960s and 1970 lifts. I am a electrical engineer with experience in designing ski lifts out west and I think the decrypted old lifts are a safety hazard. At least you won’t fall far.
Im not sure if spending nearly $ 15 million on a chalet will help this place. The chalet needed replacing though, it was old and cramped. I would have got a much less fancy chalet and spent $ 1 million each on new lifts in addition to terrain improvements.
Snowboarders out of control and inconsiderate.
Can get very crowded.
Parking is limited and chaotic. You most likely will have to ride the shuttle which means its inconvenient to put your gear on at your car and store stuff there.
Good place to learn and try out skiing without spending big bucks out west. Here, you can easily get a lift ticket, lesson and rental for less then just a lift ticket out west.
I recommend driving a bit further to Buck Hill.

Hyland Hills is the ski area closest to the Twin Cities and part of the Hennepin County Three River Park (TRP) system. Like any government run entity it has shortcomings and downsides.
The Pros:
* Convenient location
* Adequate snow making equipment
* Reasonable hours
* New facilities are under construction and slated to open for the ²⁰¹⁵⁄₂₀₁₆ season
* Strong ski school
* Rope tows and chairlifts
* Nicely designed terrain park
* Varying yet limited terrain
The Cons:
* Thin Ski Patrol presence — it appears the TRP favors keeping a large police presence rather than ski patrol; one officer told me they have so many cops because of all the kids that ski there on busy days, apparently there’s a War on Children within the TRP system; cops are often heavily armed, which is unsettling and unusual for a ski area
* Prices are high for the amount terrain offered
* Chairlifts and rope tows are among the oldest in Minnesota
* Chalet menu is limited though they have been trying in recent years — adding healthy options
* Weekends and holidays this place is insanely busy and, as noted above, a lack of Ski Patrol makes one wonder how they could help injured skiers, cops on foot won’t be able to react in a reasonable period of time
* Staff acts with indolence commensurate with government work
* Police presence has a third world militaristic feel, cops are rude and act as if they’re enforcing a war zone or riots in Ferguson, MO
Overall:
Convenience keeps us coming back but, when time allows, I’ll drive hours to avoid Hyland Hills, it’s just not worth the expense and discomfort. Additionally, the martial law feel is contrary to the spirit of the sports of skiing and snowboarding.

Hyland Ski and Snowboard Area (HSSA) is a quick 15 minute drive from Minneapolis and the closest ski/​snowboarding hill there is in the cities. I’ve been going here on a regular basis during the weekends since it’s not too far from my house in SLP. HSSA has a decent amount of runs to choose from but can get really crowded during the day on Saturday and Sunday. If you’re looking for a good way to unwind before the work week get a lift ticket after 6PM on Sundays for $ 15.