Some of my fondest memories as a child remain at Boyne Highlands. I remember packing in the car a few times a winter with my parents and sister and hitting the road for the 5 hour commute from Detroit. I remember the anticipation I felt for the entire week before the trip. I loved skiing; it was my thing. And I loved Boyne; it was my place.
Every year we took a trip to the highlands with family friends. One vivid memory I have is the year I decided to trade the skis in for a snowboard. My parents hesitantly agreed and instantly signed me up for a lesson. Luckily for me Boyne has fabulous lessons for any level or skier or snowboarder. The instructor was extremely patient with me and made falling down the hill fun! I was ten years old and after one day on the hill of snowboarding I hurt in places I didn’t event know existed. But, being ten years old and very stubborn, I didn’t give up. Thanks to some fabulous instructors at Boyne and a disgusting amount of Motrin, by the end of the weekend I was a snowboarding pro. Okay, that might be a little exaggeration, but I could get down the hill without falling face first every few feet. Fast forward a few years, I am still snowboarding, and love it just as much if not more.
When I went to college, I scored big by having a roommate who had a condo at Boyne Mountain. This was a whole new game for me. I had never been to the Mountain before, only the highlands. But I wasn’t going to turn down a weekend snowboarding trip. As we made our way to the hill on our first trip, I was so excited to see that it was just as good as the highlands. The hills are a little more challenging and a bit more expansive in my opinion. The highlands have more hills tailored to younger children where as the mountain has more hills for the experienced skier. However, both have hills for every level.
One of my favorite things about both Boyne locations is the family atmosphere and the fact that there is something for everyone to do. Take my mom for example. She can ski, but she would much rather sit in the lodge by a fire and read a book. Boyne has fabulous lodges at both the Highlands and the Mountain. Each is decked out with fireplaces, plush couches, food courts, shops, ski repair, first aid and so much more. She loves that she can sit by the fire and look out the large windows of the lodge and watch my sister and I come down the hill and hop on the chairlift. And when she is done with her book, the Solace Spa at Boyne Mountain is her go to getaway. Where she can relax and enjoy soothing whirlpools, saunas, massage, body treatments, salon services and more
My Dad on the other hand is an avid skier. He has traveled all over the United States to fulfill his passion, yet Boyne is still one of his favorite places to ski. He loves the variety he gets with the 114 different runs between the two locations, and when we were younger, he loved that there were hills easy enough to teach his two daughters on. As we got older, he moved us to bigger and better hills. And when we finally got the hang of things (and stopped losing skis and poles on our way down the hill) we graduated to the black diamonds.
Besides the skiing, I personally love the water park at Boyne Mountain, Avalance Bay. At 88,000 square feet, Avalanche Bay is the largest indoor waterpark in Michigan. What really makes this indoor waterpark so great is the wide variety of attractions it has to offer everyone in your family. At Avalanche Bay you’ll find: ive exciting waterslides, a children’s pool, adventurous wet climbing wall, relaxing hot tubs, Rip Zone surf simulator, Splasherhorn Mountain, and a variety of other unique waterpark attractions, arcade filled with hundreds of games for all ages, and the Snack Shack and Après Ski Pub. During a week full of snowboarding, if it is ever too cold, or I just feel like doing something different, this waterpark is the perfect option!
Then there is my sister, she is the adventurous one in the family and loves to explore the other opportunities available at ski resorts. She enjoys going to Boyne for their expansive 35KM cross country ski trails at both locations, 700- 800 feet tubing hills and the dog sledding at the Highlands. You can imagine just how excited she was when she found out there is now a Zip line at both locations! Yes, you heard me correctly; a zip line.
The latest addition at the Boyne locations is this fabulous Zip Line adventure. You and the whole family can enjoy the thrill of racing your friends and family on the side by side lines of the Twin Zip or choose the relaxed pace of the Zipline Adventure Tour. These guided tours begin at the top of the mountain and allow you to soar on a series of lines, over slopes and through trees, as you descend back to the base area. Both are all thrills, no skills activities for all ages. This is a fantastic way to see the grounds of both locations and it runs all year round! Talk about cool!
There is still so much more to do at Boyne I can’t even begin to touch on it. Luckily, they have a fabulous website that gives information about every activity they have available for every season. I highly recommend your next trip be to one of the Boyne locations. You will have a weekend packed full of fun for the whole family. Start planning your Boyne trip here!
Giveaway!
This week we are giving away a zipline adventure for 4! All you have to do is tell us what your most extreme adventure has been! Let us know by Friday and you will be entered to win. Good luck!
9 comments:
I believe the most extreme adventure that I've been on is hiking in the Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. Considered the most biologically intense place in the world by National Geographic. It lived up to its reputation. It was the most intense and biologically diverse place I have ever hiked in!
My most extreme adventure would have to be a toss between parasailing down in Florida off of Ft. Meyers beach or snorkeling at a place they call turtle island off the coast of Maui in Hawaii. Wait I should throw in the road to Hana, we kept driving past the designated part and drove all the way around the island, incredible...
My most extreme adventure was snorkeling in Mexico and going on a sight seeing boat ride in Puerto Rico.
My most extreme adventure would definitely have to be skydiving. It was soo amazing!
My most extreme adventure has been hiking in the Smokey Mountains! Pretty lame, I know. Would love to win so I could try the zip line at Boyne!!!!!! :)
The most extreme adventure I've ever been on (besides parenting) was my trip to Alaska that lasted six months. I drove up at the end of December from Michigan, through Canada and the plains, mountains and forests in between and then spent the next six months being engaged in all things Alaska. I panned for gold, I went shark fishing, I dug up clams from the beach, saw a polar bear, fed about 500 bald eagles at one time near Homer, caught a halibut, netted a salmon, ate seal meat with some Inuit and enjoyed every site a nature lover could want. Then I drove back in the fall and got to experience that drive without all the ice and snow and isolation. What an experience!
I don't have any very extreme adventures, but I would love to win one. I do have 3 kids 4 & under, so everyday is pretty extreme!
My most extreme adventure was when my brothers and I created our own zip line up at our cottage about eight years ago. It was one of the most unsafe things our parents could ever let us do. To stop at the end, you hooked your feet on a rubber cord that was tied between two trees and held on for dear life (or else you would smash into a tree). It would be nice to experience a professionally made zip line that wouldn't provide so many near death experiences :)
My most extreme adventure was living for a summer (1990) in the bush of the Yukon Territory as a fishing guide. We were 90 miles from the nearest town, and was an hour fly-in only. No cell phones in those days and the only means of communication was a CB radio or snail mail (3 weeks to get letters). Awesome fishing!
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