Afton Alps
Ski area in Minnesota, United States
title: "Afton Alps" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ski-areas-and-resorts-in-minnesota", "buildings-and-structures-in-washington-county,-minnesota", "tourist-attractions-in-washington-county,-minnesota", "vail-resorts"] description: "Ski area in Minnesota, United States" topic_path: "general/ski-areas-and-resorts-in-minnesota" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afton_Alps" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Ski area in Minnesota, United States ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ski area"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Afton Alps |
| picture | File:Afton Alps, January 2014, Sally's Valley.jpg |
| caption | A run at Afton Alps, 2014 |
| location | Denmark Township, Washington County |
| status | Operating |
| owner | Vail Resorts |
| nearest_city | Afton, Minnesota |
| vertical | 350 ft |
| top_elevation | 700 ft |
| base_elevation | 350 ft |
| skiable_area | 300 acres |
| number_trails | 50 total |
| [[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-green circle.svg | 13px]] - 25% beginner |
| [[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-blue square.svg | 13px]] - 50% intermediate |
| [[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond.svg | 13px]] - 25% advanced |
| liftsystem | 17 chairlifts |
| 4 surface lifts | |
| lift_capacity | 18,150 people/hr |
| snowmaking | Yes |
| nightskiing | Yes |
| external_link | Afton Alps |
| :: |
|name= Afton Alps |logo= |picture=File:Afton Alps, January 2014, Sally's Valley.jpg |caption=A run at Afton Alps, 2014 |location= Denmark Township, Washington County |status= Operating |owner= Vail Resorts |nearest_city= Afton, Minnesota |vertical= 350 ft |top_elevation= 700 ft |base_elevation= 350 ft |skiable_area= 300 acres |number_trails= 50 total [[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-green circle.svg|13px]] - 25% beginner [[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-blue square.svg|13px]] - 50% intermediate [[Image:Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond.svg|13px]] - 25% advanced |longest_run= |liftsystem= 17 chairlifts 4 surface lifts |lift_capacity= 18,150 people/hr |terrainparks= |snowfall= |snowmaking= Yes |nightskiing= Yes |external_link= Afton Alps Afton Alps is a ski area owned by Vail Resorts which hosts a collection of ski and snowboard trails, located along the St. Croix River in the northeast corner of Denmark Township, Washington County, south of Afton, Minnesota in the United States.
There are nearly 300 acre skiable at Afton Alps. The ski hill has 350 ft of vertical drop. The Alps utilizes an extensive snowmaking system for maintaining the slopes during the winter months. There are a total of 36 trails with 15 chairlifts, three conveyor lifts (including one tubing lift), and a double-sided rope tow in the Landing Zone Terrain Park. There are five chalets, including the Meadows Chalet, the Highlands Chalet, the Alpine Chalet, Landing Zone (also has a Yurt) and the Alps Chalet (Main Chalet).
History
Brothers Paul and Bob Augustine and fellow farmer Paul Furlong opened Afton Alps on December 21, 1962, after having begun clearing trees just two months earlier in October. Thirty seven people attended on the first day, using tow ropes and one T-bar lift powered by a tractor engine. By 1971, Afton had six chairlifts, the most of any Midwest ski area outside of Michigan. Soon after, by 1974, Afton had three T-bar lifts, 12 chairlifts, and a poma lift. In 1976, Afton claimed over 200,000 visitors annually, who utilized 17 lifts and four chalets which cost $7.50 for a daily lift ticket .
The Augustine brothers purchase Paul Furlong's share in the 1990s. When Paul Augustine died in 2011, his children John, David, and Amy took over operations.
Afton opened a snow tubing park, with 150 feet of vertical drop along a 1,000-foot run, in December 1997. By 2010, it had 18 chairlifts and 49 trails.
Acquisition by Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts announced December 6, 2012, their purchase of Afton Alps for $20 million in cash . Vail stated their intention was to focus on building up season passes and customer loyalty at small resorts to entice people to venture to their western offerings. At the time of acquisition, Afton had 28 trails and 18 lifts across slightly less than 300 acres. Vail announced plans to invest $10 million into projects to improve the resort, including 72 new snowmaking machines, a new ski school, and upgrades to the dining areas. Other announced improvements included upgrades to roads, drainage, and technology.
References
References
- (February 6, 1964). "Farmers Build Ski Slide". The Minneapolis Star.
- (November 17, 1968). "Afton Alps to Open With Two New Chairlifts". Star Tribune.
- (January 8, 1971). "Afton Explodes Like 'Supernova'". Star Tribune.
- (February 10, 1974). "Afton Alps has outgrown early hopes of its owners". Star Tribune.
- (November 4, 1976). "Afton Alps' 17 chairlifts make area a mini-Aspen". The Minneapolis Star.
- (March 29, 2013). "49 years of success: Hastings family founded Afton Alps on hard work". Republican Eagle.
- (January 2, 1998). "Snowtubing: Fun on the hill at its most basic". Post-Bulletin.
- (November 7, 2010). "Hitting the slopes closer to home". Star Tribune.
- (December 7, 2012). "Vail Resorts to buy Afton Alps". The Austin Daily Herald.
- (December 7, 2012). "Afton Alps sold to giant Vail Resorts". Star Tribune.
- (January 6, 2014). "50 years of Afton Alps". hometownsource.com.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::