栗山自然保护区

Great skiing for midwest resortt. Rental facility nice. Staff friendly and nice. Instructors very helpful.

My husband and I live in Galena and were excited when we got the opportunity to experience Chestnut Mountain. We had never been downhill skiing but cross country ski and enjoy that. We were a little bit nervous but Fred, our instructor, calmed that very quickly. His instructing style was dynamic so we weren't stuck on 'Bunny' forever and he quickly brought us over to Old Main when he saw that we had 'learned what we could' on Rookie's Ridge. He had a great blend of showing technique, but also making sure that we had what we needed to enjoy our day of actual skiing instead of falling down.We ended up skiing for about 6 hours and didn't even mind the sub-zero wind chills. We're excited to get some skis of our own and to possibly even get a season pass for the next year. And I can tell you for sure, we'll want to start the season with some refresher lessons from Fred!

The Illinois Winter Special Olympics is held at the Chestnut Mountain Ski Resort every winter. It is a neat experience if you are one of the athletes or one of the volunteers.

This resort is very dated, but that's not all bad - it has the ambience of a 1960 - 1970 motel, and of course, there are the ski slopes out back that are quite good. The two restaurants are ok: one has only bar food, and the other more expensive one has a little more of a selection, but you'll pay more for it. They both have great views of the Mississippi River, so be sure to ask for a window seat if you eat there!

I have never understood why the standards for ski resorts, particularly those in the Midwest, are so low. The skiing here isn't bad (for Illinois) but if this hotel were in any major city it would be a 1, maybe 2 stars at best. I understand how difficult it is to keep a ski resort clean and comfortable but this is a bad hotel on a small hill that passes for the best skiing in western Illinois. It makes the drive to Wisconsin and Michigan worth the effort. Facilities aside, the guest service is also subpar. It baffles me that so many hotels continue to offer horrible wifi. In 2015, every room will have at least 2 devices that require wifi. Weak, insufficient wifi signals are unacceptable and Chestnut Mtn's is among the worst I've seen. High quality routers are relatively inexpensive and any hotel that won't invest in a satisfactory network has no understanding of the needs of their guests in 2015. And to top off a frustrating experience, I walked by the full breakfast buffet at 11:10 am on a Saturday and asked if I could grab a late breakfast. I was told breakfast ends at 11, no exceptions. I pointed to a still fully-stocked buffet and asked if I could simply have some of the eggs and sausage. I was told no. I asked if they throw away all the uneaten food. The manager told me the food would be "recycled" because breakfast was over. Wow. Recycled? I don't know what that means, but I won't be eating here again. We skiied that day but drove the 15 minutes into Galena for our meals. It was worth the drive. Next time, we'll make the extra effort to travel to better skiing and better hotels in Michigan.

Two of my friends got me and my partner a nights stay & lift tickets for a day at Chestnut Mountain. When we left, we wanted to return but only next time make it a 2-3 stay. The rooms, bar and restaurant are affordable, modest and all you need if your focus is mostly skiing. I liked that the slopes were right there and our room overlooked them. Our party of 4 were all active women over 50 so this was just our speed. There is also shopping, boutiques and restaurants in downtown Galena if you want more.I'd recommend going on a weekday if you are a beginner cuz it gets a bit crowded on weekends. We almost had the slope to ourselves on a Monday. This is a nice jewel to have so close to Chicago and a great friend/family/couple get-a-way. Also thank-you to the very nice, patient and helpful medic that looked at my friend Sallie and patiently helped my partner Jill love ski, after getting so frustrated.

So. Let's start with the positive: this place is beautiful, very scenic, and offers some great opportunities to ski/snowboard here in the Midwest. I took a skiing class, and my instructor was AMAZING--very patient, extremely knowledgeable and a great resource. Wait staff in the restaurant was also very attentive (prices were a bit above average, but hey: it's a resort). Why am I not giving it a 5-star rating? Their ski equipment rental staff are extremely rude, especially the ski boot area. I went with a large group, and hoping that my experience was unique, asked the rest of my group how they fared: everyone reported the same thing. Extremely rude staff. (I will say though, that they younger staff seemed a lot nicer than the 20-30 somethings who seemed to be upset about talking to anyone other than their friends). My advice? Come with your own equipment, or brace yourself for a bumpy ride.

I consider myself an advanced beginner skier and I liked that there were plenty of runs for me to enjoy and push myself with. Old Main is a great run to get the day started and then the middle blue runs are fun for the day. It seems like mostly snow boarders and that they cater to that crowd. I would also say they need to change the rating on the Crazy Horse Trail to black Diamond, I went there thinking it was a blue trail and did the walk of shame back to some other blues. you literally cannot see the slope from the edge...definitely black diamond! over all a fun day and may prevent me from going to cascade or Devil's head as often.

We only had time for a beer and snack - wanted to watch some skiers and snowboarders. Alas, the vantage point limited from the Lodge. Nice assortment of beers on tap; enjoyed the art displayed. Good service and pleasant experience.

Waitress at our hotel (The Irish Cottage) suggested we take a ride up here, as I wanted to see the Mighty Mississippi. She said best view from their restaurant, and that it was! Wall of windows that looks out on the slopes and the river. We had a ball watching the skiers, the snow making machines, and the view of the river. Would probably be lovely in the summer as well. We just had soup and a drink; went for the view, not the food!

My wife and I went on a very cold day with low expectations and were pleasantly surprised. Lift tickets are expensive and we would have appreciated a 1/2 day option, but for midwest skiing, this was pretty decent. The man made snow was more than acceptable for the average skier. Vertical drops are short, but there are some fun runs. Kids were not with us but it looked very kid friendly.

Stopped for lunch in the bar which had sweeping vistas of the Mississippi River. Incredible view there is worth the stop alone. Had lunch, which was quickly served and very tasty plus well priced. Will come here again..maybe even ski next time.

I've skied at Chestnut Mountain several times over the years, mostly to ski but we visited the resort for the first time in the summer this year. It is a short drive from downtown Galena but a good 3-hour haul from Chicago. We have never stayed at the lodge on-site staying in Galena in stead and driving over to ski.Chestnut Mountain claims a vertical drop of 475 feet which is reasonable, on par with similar resorts about the same driving time from Chicago, namely Devil's Head and Cascade ski resorts in Wisconsin. I truly believe Chestnut has the best views of the 3, because of the Mississippi River at the base of the slopes. The set up is the opposite of most ski areas in that the main buildings (ticket and rental offices, restaurant, lodging) are at the top of the ski hill instead of at the bottom. The views of the mighty Mississippi River and the many channels and islands are almost a distraction as you ski down. I almost wish the chair lifts faced backwards so we could enjoy the view on the way up.GPS directions have been accurate in directing us to the resort. There is a large parking lot - dirt/grass - in front of the resort which can can get icy and slippery in winter when making your way to the building housing the lift ticket office and rental area which is to your left when facing the main building of the resort. There are lockers for rent and the bathrooms are right in front of you when enter the building. The slopes are mostly designated blue and black in terms of difficulty. The longest run is a green on the far right of the resort when facing the Mississippi. "Old Main" has a gentle but steady pitch perfect for practicing controlled turns. I enjoy the blues and the couple of black diamond runs even though the latter are short; the top of the runs tend to be flat until you get to the steep portion of the slope making for a challenging but brief run. "Crazy Horse, " on the far left of the resort is a blue run but has a fairly steep end to it. It has a reasonable length to it. You can also coddle together a longer blue run heading skier's right of the top of Apache lift, down Buck, crossing onto Moser and heading down Moser on your left to the Village Quad, or continuing across to Fever and down to the Blackhawk lift.We visited Chestnut in the summer for the first time this year. It was fun going down the Alpine Slide. The views of the river were impressive as always and we could cross the railroad tracks that separate the resort from the Mississippi to the river banks and walk onto a floating dock. River cruises depart from this dock during the summer.We have never stayed at Chestnut Mountain nor have we eaten at their restaurant.I would definitely make a visit to Chestnut Mountain part of a multi-day exploration of Galena and Jo-Daviess county in general.

Once you've found this place, and it is off the beaten path, you'll find about as much skiing fun as the tri-state area can muster. The kids love to go here, they can either ski or snowboard. Mom and Dad can hang out in the lounge if they are not skiers, and have a cocktail or two and warm themselves.

The prices are reasonable. We love to have a drink or dinner after skiing. Watching the other skiers is always fun while we are dining. Sometimes the bar service is a bit slow, but that's ok, they have a lot of people to wait on. Can't wait for the first heavy snowfall of the 2014-2015 season!!