devil's head resort

We got married in 1971 and have been going to Devil's Head from the beginning. Day time skiing, night time skiing, music in the bar, hot chocolate and hot chili in the dining area, ski lessons for our stubborn little kids who have kids of their own and fun clothing in the pro shop are on our list. We have even developed some good friends of the staff along the way and although no Midwestern ski slope compares to Out West, this is just the best place to have total fun.

Went with friends near the end of ski season. It was huge fun. The house we rented had great value/price ratio. One thing they need to improve is the food. Almost nothing there and it stops serving early.

As a snowboarder, nothing compares to the real mountains. There are no real mountains in the midwest. We live in northwest Indiana, and as far as local ski resorts, Devil's Head Ski Resort is probably my favorite. It is about a 5 hr drive, so we usually stay the weekend and board the slopes 2 days. I think that the quality of trails and elevation drop is the best in the local midwest. it needs some upgrades but there are slowing updating their lift and equipment. If you want to compare these slopes and lifts to the mountain resorts out west then you will be disappointed here. We like to visit Devils Head every year.

Over the years we have skied at most of the major ski facilities close to the Chicago area. This (January 2015) was our first trip back to Devil's Head in the last five years.Devil's Head has a pretty good variety of runs, from a large beginner area, two long "green" runs, several decent "intermediate" runs, and quite a few black/double black. Since we were last there, they have added extensively to their "freestyle" offerings as well. The skiing is good for where it is; although there are better hills farther north we cannot often find the time to make that drive.They have two new quad chair lifts (or, at least new since we were there last), which run smoothly and which help somewhat with the congestion at the bottom of the hills. They also seem to have done some painting in the lodge hallways, and although the prices are high the stock of their ski shop seemed good compared to when we were last there.Other than that, however, the facility is showing its age and has been somewhat poorly maintained. The locker areas are crowded and a little dingy, and since we last visited the price of locker rental has gone up to $2 (per access). The slopeside "Smokies" bar and the bar and grill at the foot of the hill are both a little tired looking, and the cafe is crowded, noisy, not well-cleaned, and very expensive (a bottle of water was $3, and my cheeseburger at lunch was $7; pizza slices were $5 each). When we arrived in the morning there were overflowing trash cans on the deck outside the cafe and outside the ticket/locker area doors, with considerable trash spilling onto the ground. During the day bottles and trash accumulated on the ground around barrels at the tops of the lifts, and was never picked up. One gets the impression that Devil's Head is understaffed.However, the staff which we did deal personally with - in the cafe, at the desk, and the lift attendants, children's instructors, and rental personnel, were generally helpful and friendly. I own my own equipment, and when my old ski boot snapped in half between the ankle and instep the rental staff let me borrow a pair of their boots without charge, and adjusted my ski bindings to fit their rental boot.That experience was the only financially favorable part of the visit; on the whole I find that Devil's Head overcharges for what they provide.I cannot comment fairly on the lodge and inn rooms, because although we have stayed on-site in the past, on this trip we chose to stay in Baraboo.It also seemed as though the other visitors were more careless than in the past - most especially after 7PM. Both my wife and I were hit from behind by people coming downhill very fast and not watching for turning skiiers - at a time when the slopes were relatively empty and there was more than adequate room for maneuver.For our family, it was, overall, a good skiing experience within reasonable reach of home. However, if I lived further north I would probably pass Devil's Head by on my way to somewhere else.

The Mountain/slopes are great, but the place itself could use a bit of maintaining. Could use more lockers too - so if you are going to need one, plan to head over early!!

Being from Chicago, my friends insisted on driving further in order to go skiing here because it's bigger than most skiing resorts. For Wisconsin, it was pretty big. There were double ski lifts to get even higher up the mountain. People were friendly and helpful. It wasn't that busy for a Saturday, which was my favorite part. The only down side was I felt it was a bit expensive for skiing in Wisconsin.

Keep your expectations low and you'll enjoy the day. We live near Chicago and wanted a ski place for a fun day outing. Granite Peak in Wausau is better but would have been a four hour drive one way. So we opted for Devil's Head. There was no natural snow on the ground, but Devil's Peak had made snow for most of their runs. The runs were well covered and not too icy.It is a long walk from the parking lot to the ski rental shop. Put your ski clothes on before you leave your car, walk to the rental location, rent a locker to store your shoes and ski directly from the rental location. The cafeteria above the rental area has pizza and chicken nuggets and fries. The food is OK. You may want to bring lunch with you. We rented boots and skis. The process was simple and efficient. Our boots were comfortable. Our skis performed well. We had one beginner with us. He found the "magic carpet" lift on the beginner slope to be very helpful. This really is a good place to learn to ski. The green runs are very easy. Our beginner was skiing the blue slopes within an hour. Basically the blue slopes would qualify as green runs at most ski resorts and the Devils Head black runs would be blue/ green runs at other resorts. The runs are relatively short but fun. There is a run with pretty large jumps. Devil's Head is not Colorado. Not even close. But it does provide a good spot for a fun day outing in the Midwest. You can ski short runs over and over. It is a good place to improve your skills in preparation for a trip out West. Keep your expectations low and you'll enjoy what Devil's Head has to offer.

Just a real dump. Lifts are old. Buildings are old. Staff at front desk and management terrible. Go to another place and save yourself time and money.

The slopes are a good time, just because they are within driving distance for me. If I wasn't within a few hours of driving, I probably would not go. The rooms are pretty outdated, but I do enjoy how the rooms are right by the slopes, and you don't need to book a separate hotel. Definitely enjoy the outside fire pit, where everyone gathers at the end of the day to cook their food. I'll definitely be back here again, but it definitely needs updating.

I discovered Devil's Head in February after years of skiing in the Midwest, and I was pleasantly surprised. The snow was good, the slopes were not terribly crowded, and the lifts were run well. But when I skied there the last day of the season, March 23, I was amazed at how awful the conditions were. Every run I did was riddled with dozens of large patches of bare ice like I had never seen before, which were dangerous both for skiers and for skis. I've skied many other Midwestern spots in late winter and early spring, so I knew better than to expect ideal conditions. But the slopes at Devil's Head were radically worse than anything I've eve encountered. The mountain should have been closed, or at the very least the ticket sellers should have warned skiers what to expect. The owners ought to be embarrassed to treat customers so badly. I doubt I'll ever go back.

We had two rooms at the Inn at the end of season--a suite and a king room. The kids asked if this used to be a college dorm, because it had an "institutional" feel. Still, it was convenient for skiing, and the end-of-season price of $60 was right.

Used a groupon we had just purchased a few days prior, no problems at all. Great help from staff with picking out skis, poles, etc. Enthusiastic staff all around. My daughter and friend did the skiing, while I caught up on some reading in the lodge's lounge with a roaring fireplace nearby. Glad we went

I've skied many places in Northeast, Colorado and Wisconsin. We brought a beginner skier with us today. What a nightmare. Lug all your equipment, bags and food, over the terrain more than 1 football field,almost 2 from the parking lot. Rent equipment (for the beginner), walk back to where you just came from, UPhill to the beginner slopes. Funny thing, going back to lodge to eat and return equipment is also uphill. The kicker is the first building at the parking lot and beginner slopes is the ski patrol building. Are you kidding me? Learn at Cascade!! There were short lines on cold (10 degrees) and snowy day, but given the hassle of the layout, not sure I'd even come w back with just my own family who are all intermediate/advanced skiers.

Exterior In need of some updates. Slightly worn and tattered (especially the interior of the buildings). Old lifts need to be removed and additional lifts could be added. But the slopes themselves were very well taken care of, groomed wonderfully, and were set up perfectly. We really enjoyed that the mountain had a separation for advanced skiers on the right side of the mountain (with all black diamonds) with separate lifts. We REALLY enjoyed this as it can become difficult to enjoy a good slope when it merges with inexperienced and new skiers. Service When stopping in for a beer, we were a little disappointed with the Bartenders lack of knowledge about the beers they offered! We wanted to try some new Wisconsin beers and he could not tell us anything about them or what to recommend. He even stated that he only drinks whiskey and knows nothing about anything else! Additional Info The bathroom in the ski rental area was SCARY! It reminded me of an underground subway restroom with flickering lights, old broken tile, and darkness. It felt like the scene of a scary movie! Recommended The setup is absolute nonsense when first arriving at the resort. We had to walk a good distance (mostly outdoors) from the parking area to the ticket counter. The tickets were hidden in the back of the lodge (having to go through a labyrinth to get there). I would recommend changing the layout so it is not so complicated! Overall We very much enjoyed our ski vacation at Devils Head. We tried Cascade Mountain for one out of the 4 days we skied, and chose to return to Devils Head because of how much better it was! Great Midwest skiing!

We called ahead and asked a lot of questions like are all runs open since its a Sunday but a Holiday weekend. They said yes on phone all runs open and we wanted to try the 1.5 mile run so we booked a Hotel room. When we arrived it was a mess for parking as there is none unless you parked way far away. Then we get into the lobby and a sign says the 1.5 mike upper parts are closed. So being you cannot cancel your room now as its less that 5 days we had to stay. We waited to get checked in and they never had us a room till 345 pm and we arrived at 1030. After getting a bellhop cart we also found out all the rooms in the hotel have no elevator at any levels and even the ground floors had steps so the cart loaded down was worthless. The help had no clue what was going on at the front desk either. On to the Food. We ate at the Devils Den Bar and was very good since we ordered the Pizza and did not eat anywhere else as we read in reviews everything else was horrid. The Pizza was fantastic with real cheese thickly piled on and real toppings. The rooms are older rooms but was very clean and no complaints as we read beforehand it was no Hilton by any means. The skiing was great and the hills we greatly groomed with hardly any ice and very very smooth with no problems but that upper parts that they said would be open and was not.... not sure we will return again and if we do we may stay at the B&B down the road.