Buck Hill Ski & Snowboard Area

Buck Hill is the ski and snowboard area on Buck Hill Road in Burnsville, right off Interstate 35 and about 20 minutes east of Prior Lake. It has been running since 1954 and is famous well beyond its size as the hill where Lindsey Vonn learned to race. On paper it is modest, 15 runs and a 309-foot vertical drop, but with heavy snowmaking, lights for night skiing, terrain parks and a big tubing hill it is the closest lift-served skiing to Prior Lake and where a lot of local kids take their first lessons.

The season typically runs from the first cold snap in late fall into March. Buck Hill is on the Indy Pass, and its own lesson programs, race teams and rentals run all winter. From June through October the hill flips to mountain bike trails, an 18-hole disc golf course and summer live music on the deck. Prior Lake Events lists its public events when they come up.

Current hours, lift tickets and conditions are at buckhill.com.