Coffee Mill Ski Area — Attraction in Wabasha

This is the first time I've ever gone skiing/snowboarding. My husband has gone skiing many times, but not in a long while. We went here because it's not too far away, and he'd been here many times before- albeit close to a decade ago. Only issue we had getting there is that google maps tries to direct you down a road that's closed. Once we got there everything went well, we got our passes, and were all set to try. Our only issue was that while my husband is good at skiing- he's never used a snowboard, which is what I was trying (based on leg length, center of gravity, etc. snowboarding was recommended for me.) After a few short slides and falling down, a worker there came out to check the tow rope that pulls you up the little hill. He saw we were having issues, and came iver and showed me how to use the rope, and gave me some tips for getting down the hill. They do offer lessons that you can pay for- but we didn't pay for lessons (because I stubbornly wanted to figure it out myself) and still had somebody come and help us. This might not happen all the time, there weren't many people out that day and there wasn't a lot going on, but it's definitely above and beyond what we expected. Mainly because we just paid to use the hills/lifts, and we got a free lesson. Overall I'd say it's a good place to start, and while I'm still not great at snowboarding- I'd definitely go here and...

Had a great time with my wife, her family, and 5 nieces and nephews aged 3-7! Really can't say enough about how great the resort layout is for family skiing with the littles. The lift with a Midway drop off point was a nice touch to keep the family together all day long. Bigger runs were steep enough to be interesting for the adults and because everything leads back to the lodge you're never far from family. We're from Colorado and I can't think of a setup at a mega resort back home that would be this conducive to a family outing. Kudos as well to the staff at Coffee Mill for the condition of their snow. I was expecting ice everywhere, and was pleasantly surprised to find groomed corduroy and skiable snow despite recent warmer temps and refreeze. The rental skis are definitely older and well ridden, but had well maintained edges and a fresh wax. One of the moms in our group also had a private lesson from an excellent instructor. Same lesson you'd pay well over $200 an hour for in Colorado for only $25.. Yes, at the end of the day terrain is the Midwest, not the Rockies, but for the beyond reasonable amount we paid, we got far more than expected from Coffee Mill and will come again on a future...

Great family place. They Groom in the morning which means the snow is really soft. It hasn't set up overnight like the hills that groove in the night Before. It is small . It has only 2 lifts but play originate close to the chalet. That beings it's great for families because they're always winding up at the same place after a run. They also have a chair lift that stops part way up the Hill. This chair is extremely popular for parents skiing with their young kids. They get to ride a chair lift and then skied on a very nice but short beginners run. Except on the one race day of the year the lift lines are really quite short. Senior lift tickets are only $15. So runs park pretty much street fall line runs. Nothing with a multiple fall line to deal with.And because of E older Lifts The green and blue runs are not really crowded and this makes of very comfortable for beginners and families. As you can likely pick up this is One of those secret spots. It's Worth checking out if you've...