Cannonsburg Ski Area — Attraction in Cannon Township

1/20/24 Update: Avoid. I will probably never go back, and I will absolutely not recommend it to anyone. Between this year and last year, I'm completely fed up.

TL;DR: I've been coming here for several years and had a season pass for a few of those years. Cannonsburg has now managed to make it next to impossible for me to enjoy snowboarding there. I haven't even spent enough time at Cannonsburg to get my money's worth out of my season pass at the steeply discounted rate I bought it at, and I will tell you right now that I won't.

To elaborate, here's my experience: I got a season pass for this year well before the season started, at the discounted rate. I understand that the ski areas surrounding Cannonsburg were all open before they were on 1/18. That's very disappointing, but it was due mostly if not entirely to circumstances out of their control - the beginning of winter this year has been too mild snowsports. I have no idea if they could have done better or not, so I can't get terribly upset about that. That having been said, now that they're open, being at this ski area this year is not even close to being an enjoyable experience. The first problem is it's extremely crowded. That by itself could be tolerable under better circumstances. However, a significant minority of the patrons are extremely inconsiderate - and that makes tolerating crowds of them extremely difficult. I've been here twice this season - once today and once yesterday, for about an hour and a half each day. Both days, the first thing I saw on the slope was, for lack of better words, a vast (I'd guess 30+ yards across) 'debris field' of gear strewn about on the ground between the quad chair and the lodge. I've been boarding for 15 years and I've never seen anything like that anywhere, it's absolutely ridiculous. Cannonsburg needs to either build more racks or tell people to take their gear somewhere else so people don't hurt themselves on it. After carefully wading through that mess, the next problem is the lift lines being insanely long. To paint a picture for you, I mean the line for the quad chair extended about halfway way into the mess of gear on the ground, not far short of the deck surrounding the lodge. I doubt this problem could have been avoided entirely, but the staff wasn't motivating people to fill the chairs, so it certainly could have been a bit better. To make matters worse in the lift lines, I may have waited in one a grand total of one time without either being harassed or my gear being repeatedly damaged, or often both - but I don't recall it happening, and trying to confront the people behaving so poorly only results in them becoming belligerent, to an extent I expect would likely drive most normally reasonable people to lose their ever loving minds. I know I'm normally reasonable, and I certainly couldn't contain my own frustration.

Side note - Moosejaw is closing all of their west Michigan locations and will no longer be operating the ski shop at Cannonsburg.

2/21/23 Update: I've been to this slope a great many times over the past 6 years, and even had a season pass at one point. I never had a bad experience there until today. But today, downhill ski racing was going on, and lots of parents were at the base of the mountain watching their kids. We witnessed young staff members being incredibly rude to parents and operating heavy equipment on the mountain while the slopes were open. I'm not saying I hate the place now, but that was not cool, and it's losing a star from me. We might not be going to Cannonsburg the next time we feel like riding down a mountain.

Side note - the Cannonsburg ski shop is now a Moosejaw.

Original review: Great local ski hill - the lifts are in good condition, the lodge is big, the lift operators are great, the terrain parks are nice. Season passes are reasonably priced.

The ski shop is convenient, and their staff is very helpful.

Their parking lot can be a mess, so I'd recommend putting good snow tires on your vehicle, or you might be...

This is the second time we have been out to Cannonsburg for snow tubing, the first was in 2019/2020 just before the pandemic. Needless to say, it was much busier this time. I went with two other adults and two kids, ages 7 and 9 over MLK weekend.

Reservations are still required in advance for 2 hour blocks at $25/each for the weekend time slots. Tickets are not sold at the door and must be purchased online, which also adds an additional $1.50 per person fee. Waivers are required and can also be completed online in advance or at check-in. Tubes in included.

Once checking in, you are directed to a general area without any additional information. From here you need to navigate past the ski and snowboarding slopes to reach the snow tubing area which is not clearly marked. This wouldnt be an issue except there is no real end to the ski slopes and nothing divides them from the established walkway at the end. While the majority pay attention, a very large minority do not and almost feel like it's a game to target people walking by, who are obviously trying not to be in the way.

The Snow Tubing hills are divided into 5 lanes with a "people mover" that brings you to the top. Honestly, this is my favorite part. No one wants to trek to the top of any hill after the age of 10 haha. However, my 7 year nearly fell off once and my son got his tube cord tangled on a pole on the way up, almost ripping him of the belt. Both times the person responsible for monitoring the safety of the belt was busy playing on her phone or talking to friends. When I asked later about the emergency stop button she rolled her eyes and pointed out that no one got hurt so there was no issue. The guys at the top are there for fun and not safety, but try to make sure they keep the lanes clear at least. People go down many at a time, in any position or direction and sometimes more than one person on a tube at once.

Once our two hours were up, we headed over the the lodge for snacks and hot chocolate. Sadly this area appeared to also be run by individuals who cared very little. The entire building was filthy, tables unclean and sticky. It took over 15 (after ordering) to get 4 hot chocolates, 6 waters and 2 pretzels which were ready cooked behind them. They also charged us 50 cents 6oz of water without refills. There are no water fountains. Then, some teenagers started throwing food and drink in the area and at no point did any member of staff step in. It was our cue to leave when we were struck with a small jar of peanut butter in the back of the head.

We did have fun, and it was a short drive from Grand Rapids and there were just one problem after another including multiple safety concerns. The kids had a blast but I honestly would think twice before visiting again. I would NOT feel comfortable recommending to families, anyone with small children, or anyone where safety is a high concern. I would never leave my kids here in attended and I will definitely look for other places for snow adventures before going to Cannonsburg, which is such a disappointing thing to say.

Item worth mentioning: during our time there, one of the smaller hills were shut down so that those with physical disabilities were able to ski with the help of modified equipment and 3 instructors per individual. One in front and two behind. About a half of dozen kids appeared to be participating that day. Myself and those with me found this to be fabulous and those with the kids seemed very attentive and very...

Wow, where do I begin? Lets start with driving in there driveway. Make sure you only bring a 4WD or AWD vehicle because they don't or rarely do they plow. Let's say they do plow and you manage to get in and out of their driveway, make sure you avoid the dinosaur ending craters they have in the parking lot. These craters are massive and I am surprised that they didn't extinct us when they were created. Now let's say you managed to get past the driveway perhaps you walked or had a truck you didn't care about. You manage to find your way inside the shack, you walk up to purchase your ski ticket (unfortunately) and you find out that the price is an astonishing $55!!! And you wonder where the profits have been going, obviously not to the parking lot. But hey you already made it through the obstacle course, mine as well keep going. So you purchase the ski ticket and assuming your board didn't snap in half driving through the driveway you don't need any rentals so you can skip the rental portion. After that adventure you need to use the restroom before you start trying to have fun. So you walk through the doors that has broken glass and metal replacing the broken glass and you try and find your way to the bathroom. As you get closer you start to smell something horrible and come to find out it's the bathroom. You decide to use the bathroom after debating whether to hold it or not. You walk in and it gives you flashbacks from summer from your time camping and using the horrid campground bathroom. You come to find out that the Cannonsburg bathroom is even worse and there are no separators in between the urinals and they are unreasonably close together. You look up and see that the ceiling is yellow and you want to puke but the toilet is even worse. You quickly make it out of the bathroom and decide you need something to eat before snowboarding. You see the options and see that everything is surprisingly fairly priced so you get ready to order but out of shock there isn't a single employee around. So you decide to skip your snack time and head back outside to finally enjoy something. You make your way across the bridge and get in line for the tri ski lift, you make the trek over and then come to find out the tri ski lift is closed. You walk back to the quad to get in line and the line is unreasonably long. You wait your term and you get on the ski lift halfway up (30 min in as the ski lift is slow) it stops and you have to wait a few minutes before moving again. You finally get up and try and get off and the slope to get off is steeper than the hill itself and the poor children trying to learn behind you fall, because the snow Is not groomed at all. You snowboard once down the groomed hill, not, the hill isn't groomed at all. You decide that's enough for the year and vow never to come back to this place. The drive to Caberfae is well worth as you are going to go to a place that's both cheaper and incredibly nicer. In fact you think Cannonsburg should pay you to...