Four Lakes Ski Area

09/26/06

This Lisle resort is great for first-time skiers and boarders who want some practice before heading to the big hills.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
What do you do with leftover earth from a mammoth, planned-community project? Bulldoze it into a big pile, plant grass to avert erosion, install halogen lights and rope tows, build a lodge next door, wait for winter and--presto--you've got a ski area. That, in a nutshell, is the story behind Four Lakes Ski Area in Lisle, quite possibly the smallest ski area in the Midwest, if not the country. Four Lakes also carries the lofty distinction of being the closest ski area to the Loop.

The Slopes
Like most Midwest hills, Four Lakes lives and dies by the thermometer. Snowmaking machines run full-throttle on below-freezing days and nights, blanketing 100 percent of the terrain (which isn't hard to do) with man-made snow. A $15 "slope" ticket renders access to two wide bowls of slightly different gradient--one's nearly flat, the other even flatter. If you don't want to buy a ticket you could probably walk to the top. It's really not that far. Thrills you won't find at Four Lakes, but for first-time skiers and snowboarders, it's a place to start.

Vital Stats
Vertical drop: 110 feet
Lifts: 7
Skiable acres: 9
Beginner terrain: 40 percent
Intermediate terrain: 30 percent
Advanced terrain: 30 percent
Snowboarding: Full facilities