Lutsen Mountains owner to buy Michigan ski resort

The Skinner family has operated alpine ski areas in the Midwest for 60 years.

Author:
Christine Schuster
Publish date:
May 25, 2022

Courtesy of Big Snow Resort.

The Skinner family has operated alpine ski areas in the Midwest for 60 years.

The owner of the Lutsen Mountains and Granite Peak ski areas plans to acquire the largest ski resort in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Charles Skinner announced Wednesday that he'd struck a deal to buy the Big Snow Resort, which spans over 1,000 acres.

The Skinner family has operated alpine ski areas in the Midwest for 60 years, starting with Sugar Hills in Grand Rapids. The family bought Lutsen Mountains from its founder in 1980 and took over Wisconsin's oldest and largest ski area, Granite Peak, in 2000.

Both Lutsen and Granite Peak are owned and operated by Charles Skinner and his daughter, Charlotte Skinner.

In a press release, Charles Skinner said they plan to retain all current employees at Big Snow Resort and infrastructure investments, such as new lifts, are being planned.

At Lutsen, a new, high-speed chairlift is expected to replace the existing lift at Eagle Mountain this summer.

The deal for Big Snow Resort is expected to close in July.