Timber Ridge Ski Area facts for kids
Timber Ridge is a fun ski area located in Pine Grove Township, Van Buren County, near Gobles, Michigan. It's a great place for families to ski and snowboard! Timber Ridge has eight ski lifts, two cool terrain parks, and a tubing park where you can slide down hills on a tube. The trails here are for everyone, from beginners just starting out to advanced skiers and snowboarders. Most of the trails are easy or medium difficulty. The Timber Ridge Ski Patrol team was even named the best large patrol in their area by the National Ski Patrol in 2007-2008!
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History of Timber Ridge
When Timber Ridge first opened in 1961, it was quite small. They only had one lift, which was a simple tow rope. This tow rope was powered by an old 1949 Chevy car! Back then, it only cost 50 cents to use the tow rope.
By 1967, the price went up a bit to $3.00 during the week and $3.50 on weekends. If you needed to rent skis, it cost $4.00. Snowboarding wasn't popular yet in those days.
The first three people who volunteered at Timber Ridge were very important. They even have ski runs named after them! All the other runs at Timber Ridge are named after different kinds of trees.
The main building at Timber Ridge is called the lodge. Inside, you'll find the Snowshoe Bar and Cedar Chalet, where you can get food and drinks. There's also a picnic area if you bring your own snacks. The lodge building itself has an interesting past: it used to be the Shelbyville Train Station Depot and was bought for just $1!
Ski Trails at Timber Ridge
Timber Ridge has 15 ski trails in total. Seven of these trails are easy for beginners, five are medium difficulty, and three are for advanced skiers and snowboarders.
The highest point at Timber Ridge is about 850 feet (260 m) above sea level. The lowest point is around 610 feet (190 m). The longest drop you can ski down is 240 feet (73 m)!
There are 50 acres (200,000 m2) of skiable land, and they can make snow on every single acre. The mountain usually gets about five feet of natural snow each winter.
As we mentioned, some trails are named after the first volunteers: Dean's Pass, Burt's Road, and Harry's Hollow. The rest of the trails are named after trees.
Easiest Trails
- Pumpkin Patch
- Deans Pass
- Burt's Road
- Harry's Hollow
- Crossover
- Willow
- Pine Rope
More Difficult Trails
- Oak
- Tamarack
- Sycamore
- Lumber Jack
- Sequoia
Most Difficult Trails
- Hemlock
- Walnut
Ski Lifts
Timber Ridge has eight ski lifts to get you up the mountain:
- 2 double lifts (for two people)
- 1 triple lift (for three people)
- 1 quad lift (for four people)
- 3 towropes (you hold onto a rope to be pulled up)
- 1 surface lift (you stand on your skis and are pulled along the snow)
Cost to Visit
Tickets
You can buy tickets for a full day or just for night skiing. Prices for adult tickets usually range from $18 to $35. Junior lift tickets, for kids aged 8-11, cost between $15 and $25. The best part? Children under seven years old ski for free when an adult buys a ticket!
If you plan to visit often, you can buy a season pass. These passes let you ski all season long. They come in groups from one to seven people and cost from $239 to $1339. With a season pass, you not only ski for free at Timber Ridge but also get half-price lift tickets at Caberfae Peaks and Shanty Creek ski areas.
Rentals
If you don't have your own gear, you can rent it! Snowboards can be rented for $5 per hour (with a two-hour minimum) or for a full day for $25.
Adult skis can be rented for a half day or a full day. Prices range from $15 for a half-day rental on a weekday to $19 for a full day on holidays. Junior ski rentals, for skiers aged 8–11, cost between $10 and $16.
Tubing Hill
Timber Ridge has a fun tubing run for anyone over 5 years old. You can slide down the hill on a tube! A tubing ticket costs $15 for both adults and juniors.
Fun Events
Timber Ridge hosts many exciting events throughout the ski season!
Kalamazoo Ski & Snowboard Festival
This event happens early in the season. It's a big festival with an open rail jam competition where skiers and snowboarders show off their tricks. There's live music, booths with cool gear, discounts, and prizes. The festival ends with a ski video show.
airZ and railZ
This event usually takes place in early February. It's a terrain park competition for experienced skiers and snowboarders. But don't worry, there are also categories for intermediate (medium skill level) skiers and riders!
The intermediate competition happens in the Pumpkin Park and is a single elimination event. The advanced competition is held in the Timber Park, where each rider gets two judged runs. The top eight snowboarders and skiers then compete against each other. There are categories for intermediate freeskiers, intermediate snowboarders, advanced freeskiers, advanced snowboarders, and a ladies' category.
Kids Rule the Ridge
This special event in January is just for kids! There are kid-friendly ski races, a bouncy castle area, face painting, and lots of other fun activities.
Winterfest
Winterfest is a three-day celebration held in February, packed with activities! On Friday and Saturday nights, there are theme nights with local bands playing music. During the day on Saturday and Sunday, you can watch ice sculpting, snow sculpting, and even sled races!
Friday Night Fights
This is a cool competition between two ski areas: Swiss Valley Ski Resort and Timber Ridge. Snowboarders and skiers from both places compete in the terrain park to see who is the best! This competition happens over six different nights, with the location switching between each ski area. The winning ski area gets to keep a special traveling trophy!
NASTAR Races
NASTAR is an organized ski-racing league that holds some of its races at Timber Ridge. It uses a special system that lets skiers of all different skill levels compete fairly against each other. Timber Ridge also has a practice track for local racers to train on.
