Chester Bowl Ski Area
By: CHRIS PASCONE
Skiing is culture. It’s a part of our heart and soul as northerners. And let me tell you, if skiing is your vibe, and you’re a giving person, the ultimate satisfaction is working as a chairlift operator. See, you’re transporting 960 people an hour up a ski hill in order for them to have the ride of their life back down, time after time. They’re laughing, smiling, cooing like birds, singing like rock stars as they bomb down the hill. The snowy terrain (together with your heavy machinery) transports skiers, snowboarders and snowskaters to a place outside of time. Trust me, I know — I’m a liftie myself. I work bumping chairs at a magical ski area called Chester Bowl, nestled atop Duluth’s Central Hillside neighborhood. Here’s why you should come check out Chester’s unique ski culture.
Chester Bowl is an urban ski hill. It’s located a few blocks from the University of Minnesota Duluth and the College of St. Scholastica. College students work here every winter to earn some cash for their own ski habit. Nobody would call the hill extreme (but come check out the Freestyle Fridays events if you’re into terrain park tricks!). Rather, “The Bowl” (so called for its hollowed-out hillside location) is a building block to bigger ski adventures to come. Local kids trek to the hill from the surrounding neighborhoods, and moms and dads drop off groups of kiddos for a day of pure freedom and exuberance. Kids get to be themselves in an oasis from the adult world. Of course, the parents come and get all happy on their skis too, not to miss out! This is community skiing at its finest.
So what’s really happening here? Chester is a tiny ski hill by any standard. It’s got 175 feet of vertical drop (like being a one-story bungalow among midtown-Manhattan skyscrapers, as far as ski hills go). The double chairlift is, let’s say, “vintage” (built in 1974!) and there’s only one run back down (a few side routes do provide a bit of variety in deep-snow years). Why is this place even a thing?
Humble in stature, Chester Bowl is radically different from all those fancy resorts you’ve heard of out west or east. The Bowl is a place that espouses ultra-inclusivity for people of all incomes, races, genders and ages. Unlike so many other ski areas across the country, Chester is affordable and accessible to all. All skiers and snowboarders (snowskates are also available for daily rental!) are required to follow “Peace in the Parks” principles: “At Chester Bowl, we believe that everyone has the right to participate in our programs in a safe, peaceful, caring environment where each person is respected.” This is a place for regular people, and that’s the beauty of it. Stigma got lost and couldn’t find its way to Chester.
The Bowl is the ultimate equalizer that gets people of all types to love skiing. Anybody can learn to ski here. Adults, 2-year-olds, teenagers — they’re all out learning pizza and french fries (ski lingo — come find out what it means). And lessons are free for season pass holders. If you’ve always thought you couldn’t learn to ski, leave your inhibitions at home, because The Bowl’s friendly ski instructors will change your mind. The Chester community is nonjudgmental — everyone rallies for the common good here.
So where does this culture come from? Chester is like an alternative world, where people give back. With only three full-time employees, many of Chester Bowl’s operations, like ski fittings, concession stands and ski races for kids, are fulfilled by volunteers. According to the hill’s social media: “Chester Bowl can exist only because of our culture of volunteerism — we documented over 5,500 hours of volunteer time last year!” Every family with a season pass commits to volunteering on the hill over the winter.
Furthermore, The Bowl owns over 1,000 pairs of skis, snowboards, boots, bindings and helmets that folks rent starting in November, then return in late April (for only $95 per person). That’s right — the skis are yours for six months. Chester takes care of maintenance, fittings, etc., so beginners get a turnkey ski setup. Once you’re equipped, the hill is yours three nights a week (Monday, Thursday and Friday from 3:30 to 9:00 p.m.) and on weekends (from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
So how does a ski hill survive selling day passes for $10 for children and just $15 for adults? The Chester Bowl Improvement Club, which runs both the ski hill and summer day camps in Duluth’s Chester Park, is a not-for-profit organization. All income is used only to support operations and staff. Prices are kept ridiculously low so that money is NOT (gasp!) what skiing is all about.
Of course, this non-materialistic culture means that facilities lag behind other ski resorts. But the Chester Bowl Improvement Club is doing something about it. The “Growing Up Chester” capital campaign is raising the funds needed to expand and completely renovate the Thom Storm Chalet, preserving Chester’s magic for generations to come. The Chalet is “the heart of Chester Bowl, where Duluth’s love of the outdoors has started for generations,” says the campaign’s website (growingupchester.org).
After raising $950,000 from private community donors alone over the last four years, the city of Duluth and Chester Bowl were recommended this past August for $2,312,000 in funding from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, known as LCCMR, for their project to expand and renovate the Thom Storm Chalet. Official legislative approval of the recommendations is expected during the 2025 legislative session, and LCCMR funds will be available in July 2025. Look for a newly renovated chalet come the 2026 alpine season.
Chester Bowl is one of the most unique ski programs in the country. And it’s right here in Duluth, Minnesota. If you want to bring your kiddos up in a traditional, timeless, community-driven ski culture, we’ll “ski you” there.