Granite Peak Ski Area, United States
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About Granite Peak Ski Area
Village 375 m. Facts: verified.
A ski resort with its village at 375 m and its top at 573 m. It has 20 km of runs and 7 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap. The runs drop 201 m, from 573 m to 372 m. For beginners and families: 54% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate). For experts: 8 km of advanced, expert and freeride runs. Within 5 km of the village: a public pool, an ice rink and childcare. It is usually in season from December to April. The snow is usually deepest in February, about 0.3 m at the top (573 m). The town to stay in is Wausau.
Granite Peak Ski Resort is a ski area located in Rib Mountain State Park in the Town of Rib Mountain, Marathon County, Wisconsin, south of Wausau. It features 58 runs and 4 terrain parks as of 2022 and boasts a vertical drop of 700 feet (213 m). Granite Peak is the fourth tallest ski area in the Midwest, after Terry Peak (1,100) in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Mount Bohemia (900 ft.) in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Lutsen Mountain (825 ft.) on Minnesota's north shore of Lake Superior. It is ten miles (16 km) north-northeast of Central Wisconsin Airport.
When the ski area opened on the slopes of Rib Mountain in 1937, it was one of the first ski areas in North America. Stowe in Vermont had opened a few years earlier in 1934. Sun Valley in Idaho had become the nation's first ski resort in the western states in 1936.
From the Wikipedia article Granite Peak Ski Area, shortened. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
The ski area
Runs from 372 m to 573 m: 201 m of vertical. 20 km of runs and 7 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap for Granite Peak Ski Area.
| Easy | 3.8 km |
|---|---|
| Intermediate | 6.7 km |
| Advanced | 8.1 km |
| Expert | 0.3 km |
| Not graded | 0.7 km |
| Chairlifts | 5 |
|---|---|
| Magic carpets | 2 |
Measured along each mapped run, so it can differ from the resort's own figure. Ski area data © OpenSkiMap.org and OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
For families
54% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate).
Within 5 km of the village:
- a public pool: Memorial Pool, 4.5 km
- an ice rink: Marathon County Ice Arena, 4.1 km
- childcare: Montessori School of Wausau, 3.6 km
The Family filter counts these. Places from the Overture Maps Foundation, from Meta, Microsoft, Foursquare and AllThePlaces. Foursquare data © 2024 Foursquare Labs, Inc., Apache 2.0. Check opening times before you go.
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Book the trip
From Chicago: about 3 h 45 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.
Fly. ORD to CWA, direct.
See flights ORD → CWA · Skyscanner from about £95 returnAdGetting there. 45 min from the airport to Granite Peak Ski Area.
Accommodation.
Stay in WausauAd
Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.
Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).
See all places to stay in Wausau (ad) on Booking.com →Closest towns to stay in
Wausau 10 min by car · rooms from £80 a night · where Granite Peak Ski Area stays
Places to stay in Wausau · Booking.com Ad
Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.
Hire, lessons and lift passes.
Ski lessons in Wausau · GetYourGuideAdSki and board hire · SkisetAdLift passes · Resort website
Budget 
Mid-range 
Luxury Where it is
Granite Peak Ski Area on Google Maps · Directions
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Lifts closed for the season. They usually open about 25 November.
Forecast
The score, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoor
| Day | Score | Fresh72 h | Depthtop, mid, base | Coldestat top | Windat top |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 18Oct | 0, poor | 0 cm | 0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m | 3°C | wind, 12 knots |
| Mon 19Oct | 0, poor | 0 cm | 0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m | 4°C | wind, 3 knots |
| Tue 20Oct | 0, poor | 0 cm | 0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m | 4°C | wind, 5 knots |
| Wed 21Oct | 0, poor | 0 cm | 0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m | 5°C | wind, 3 knots |
| Thu 22Oct | 0, poor | 0 cm | 0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m | 5°C | wind, 5 knots |
| Fri 23Oct | 0, poor | 0 cm | 0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m | 7°C | wind, 8 knots |
| Sat 24Oct | 0, poor | 0 cm | 0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m | 9°C | wind, 7 knots |
| Sun 25Oct | 0, poor | 0 cm | 0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m | 10°C | wind, 5 knots |
Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to.
Snow by month
| Month | Base375 m | Mid474 m | Top573 m | Coldestat the top |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec | 0.1 m | 0.1 m | 0.1 m | -8°C |
| Jan | 0.2 m | 0.2 m | 0.2 m | -10°C |
| Feb | 0.2 m | 0.3 m | 0.3 m | -11°C |
| Mar | 0.1 m | 0.1 m | 0.1 m | -4°C |
Typical snow on the ground in the village, halfway up and at the top: the middle value over 2016 to 2025, from ERA5-Land reanalysis at the grid cell nearest each height. Not a forecast, and not the groomed pistes: resorts make snow lower down.
Your trip, day by day
6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago. Change dates
- Mon 19 OctLifts closed
Travel out: Direct flight ORD to CWA, then 45 min by road. About 3h 45 door to door. Out of season.
- Tue 20 OctLifts closed
Out of season.
- Wed 21 OctLifts closed
Out of season.
- Thu 22 OctLifts closed
Out of season.
- Fri 23 OctLifts closed
Out of season.
- Sat 24 OctLifts closed
Out of season.
- Sun 25 OctLifts closed
Travel home: Direct flight ORD to CWA, then 45 min by road. About 3h 45 door to door. Out of season.
Rough cost
About £1,840–£2,845 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to CWA, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | £95–£195 |
| To the UK airport | parking or the train, there and back | £35–£65 |
| Transfer | shared airport transfer, return | £70–£120 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | £215–£360 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | £260–£480 |
| Lift pass | 5 days | £1,000–£1,350 |
| Ski hire | 5 days, or about £85 to fly your own | £165–£275 |
| Total | £1,840–£2,845 |
Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.
Book the trip
Airport to resortAd
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