Snowboarding

Michigan, the home of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum in the Upper Peninsula city of Ishpeming, is also the birthplace of the Snurfer, a forerunner of the snowboard. In 1965 Sherman Poppen of Muskegon joined two skis together so that his daughters could “surf” a snowy hill near their home. The girls and their friends loved the “snow surfboard;” Poppen put his invention into production and in the first year sold a million Snurfers.

Over the years the sport, equipment, and name evolved and today snowboarding attracts world-class athletes and winter sports lovers of all ages. With 42 parks and resorts offering a range of experiences from the southern reaches of the Lower Peninsula, to the resorts of the Top of the Mitten, and extreme backcountry of the Upper Peninsula, boarders are never bored in Michigan. Ski resorts and many public parks have created special terrain parks with a variety of slopes, pipes, rails, boxes, tabletops and other challenges, also offering equipment rentals and private and group lessons for adults and kids.

If you hurry you may still be able to take advantage of the annual Discover Michigan Snowsports promotion, which runs through January 31 and offers beginners a special package price on rental equipment and an introductory ski or snowboard lesson.

    

Where to ride:  Lower peninsula

From starter parks to challenging terrain, snowboarding destinations are scattered throughout Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.  >more 

    

    

where to ride:  upper peninsula

Thanks largely to the proximity of Lake Superior, more than 200 inches of natural lake effect snow falls each season, making Michigan’s Upper Peninsula a great destination for snowboarding.  >more