Kettle Bowl Ski Hill
This Christmas, I was lucky enough to take my daughters to what absolutely has to be the world’s greatest family ski hill. It’s called Kettlebowl and it’s located near my hometown - Antigo, WI.
For little ones learning to ski, from age about 3 to teens, there can be no better spot on earth. Run by volunteers of the Langlade County Ski Club, it is amazingly affordable ($4 adults, $2 children over 6). The affordability extends to the food as well - if you spend more than $6 on lunch, you must be really hungry.
Kettle Bowl Chalet
View from the top
The 200 foot vertical drop hill is open when snow is available and school is not in session, usually weekends and holidays from Christmas or mid-January through March. It’s very family oriented so there are many parents out teaching their kids. Its common to see any adult helping out any little kid who has fallenwhether they know them or not.
My four-year-old mastered the rope tow in about an hour. My six-year-old advanced from the “baby” hill to the “bunny” hill, and could go up and down all by herself without Dad having to be there at all. The self-confidence and feeling of independence this gave her was amazing. Kettlebowl is not like most hills where the kids first learn the magic carpet and then have a whole new set of challenges with the chair lifts, which are usually too tall for them to get on and off. Each hill is just a little bigger and each tow rope just a little faster. My 10 year old nephew loved that he could leave his Dad behind and go anywhere he wanted on any of the 10 runs, except the one called “Face” which is still too hard for him - so he still has something to grow towards.
My little ones in 2006
In 2006 the Langlade County Ski Club did a fund raiser to build a new chalet and upgrade some of the rope tows to have electric motors as the power source. Previously the power source had been old farm tractors (I’m not kidding).
We made two days of skiing on a short trip home and I think that was the best present Santa brought.
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8 Responses
Enjoyed the pics of your kids, Gene! Sounds like you had a blast skiing with them… Hope your transition into the New Year is good
–Meg
Sweet write up Gene. I’m bummed I missed out this year but can vouch for Kettlebowl, it rocks!
Not sure if this is the place, perhaps wikipedia, but I think we should put our heads together and see if we can come up with a trail map that names all 10 runs. I don’t think I’ve seen an official one, but we knew them all back in the day…
I haven’t been skiing in years. I need to get the boys out and hit the slopes!
Those prices are amazingly low. It would almost be worth the drive–from Ohio!
This looks like someplace we could actually take our four kids to help them learn to ski. And with relatives in Rhinelander, the trip wouldn’t be out of the question, either! Thanks for letting us know about it.
If you are going to Rhinelander, you might also check out this place, Camp 10. I have vague memories of going there as a kid. It’s quite a bit bigger than Kettlebowl, but also more expensive $27/adult.
http://camp10skiandsnowboard.com/
This is a great place to learn how to ski. I started skiing here when I was 5 and went back almost every weekend during the winter until we moved out of the area. It is a great, small hill, perfect for families.
This hill rocks, just like Antigo.
Nothing better than making some small jumps and hitting them with my skis
For the price you can not beat it!
Sinkelator