Boyne Mountain Resort Announces Renaissance 2.0; Big Moves Ahead For Northern Michigan Ski Area

Big plans are underway for northern Michigan ski area, Boyne Mountain Resort, as resort officials today announced Renaissance 2.0, a plan to guide resort growth and development through the year 2030. Included are national-level attractions, new technology and lift innovations, hotel developments, green initiatives, and more.

“Boyne Mountain started our company’s 75-year journey in the ski and resort business, and we are excited to again build on its incredible foundation of innovative industry firsts with the next generation of attractions and our heritage of elevating the Midwest resort experience,” said Stephen Kircher, CEO and president of Boyne Resorts.    

“As we created Renaissance 2.0, we focused at length on our vision’s foundational pillars building off our efforts in the past several decades to create a true four-season resort village,” said Boyne Mountain President and General Manager, Ed Grice. “With the projects and investments outlined in Renaissance 2.0, the next decade will bring unprecedented enhancements to our Swiss inspired resort village, elevate our mountain experience with the Midwest’s most advanced lift system, bring even more improvements in snowmaking capabilities, amplify our adventure activities, and reinforce our commitment to a sustainable future. The breadth of attractions will solidify Boyne Mountain’s place as a top, year-round recreational destination in the Midwest, and beyond.”

Renaissance 2.0 builds upon the framework of Boyne Mountain’s first Renaissance in the late 1990s, and early 2000s that brought the development of the Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa, Michigan’s largest indoor waterpark, Avalanche Bay, the state’s largest spa facility, and more. Renaissance 2.0 is laid out in four phases and outlines first steps, as well as short-, mid-, and long-term projects. Initial projects in the plan’s first steps encompass several major developments with construction already underway at the resort.

Project Highlights:

• SkyBridge Michigan, A Peak-to-Peak Pedestrian Bridge. Poised to become known as “Michigan’s second bridge,” SkyBridge Michigan will also be the world’s longest timber-towered suspension bridge. This new attraction is modeled after the wildly successful Gatlinburg SkyBridge at sister property, Gatlinburg SkyLift Park in Tennessee, and is an even more sensational, architectural masterpiece with its timber-frame design, a nod to the logging heritage of northern Michigan, with lumber sourced by long-time partner in resort growth, Matelski Lumber. Boyne Mountain’s SkyBridge Michigan is being constructed between the peaks of McLouth to Disciples Ridge with an anticipated opening in June of 2022. Guests will ride one of several chairlifts to the mountain’s top, then take a walk along the exhilarating 1,203-foot long and 118-foot high pedestrian bridge with panoramic valley views and extensive light displays, and can also connect to Boyne Mountain’s extensive paved resort trail system. SkyBridge Michigan will be open year-round. To learn more, visit 2030.boynemountain.com.
• Chalet Edelweiss, An Alluring European-Inspired Guest Haus. The former glory of the Edelweiss Lodge gets reimagined with a complete top-to-bottom renovation creating a contemporary alpine escape. The new Chalet Edelweiss is an alluring European-inspired guest haus that reinvents the traditional mountain experience in chalet-luxe style. Across 35 rooms and suites filled with modern mountain character, a lush lobby living room, and onsite Nordic sauna experience, Chalet Edelweiss inspires with sophisticated appeal and provides the Midwest’s most convenient ski-in/ski-out experience. Lodging reservations are available now for stays beginning in December 2021. For more information or reservations, visit boynemountain.com/chalet-edelweiss.
• RFID Technology Provides Swift Chairlift Access. Boyne Mountain has installed dual-frequency RFID (radio frequency identification) technology for the 2021/22 season, an upgrade from the original sticky ticket, facilitating direct-to-lift access for ticket and season passholders. Providing a streamlined purchasing process, RFID systems enable guests to purchase lift tickets or season passes online, and reload a media card season-after-season. RFID media cards can be picked up via several new pick-up boxes throughout the resort grounds. To learn more, visit boynemountain.com.
• Solar Array, Strides Toward A Sustainable Future. A solar array installation is nearing completion at Boyne Mountain Resort that when complete, stands to power the equivalence of the resort’s 300+ homes and condominiums. The 1.7-megawatt system is being constructed by a CMS Energy subsidiary and is just one of many initiatives part of the ForeverProject, a guiding sustainability plan established by Boyne Mountain’s parent company, Boyne Resorts. The marquee goal of the ForeverProject is to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 and working with CMS Enterprises has accelerated the effort by eliminating approximately 70% of the company’s carbon footprint driven by its electrical usage. To learn more about the Solar Array and ForeverProject, visit boynemountain.com.
• The Midwest's First D-Line, Eight-Passenger Chairlift. Boyne Mountain has been an institution in lift innovations going back to the day it opened with the Midwest’s first chairlift, the original first chairlift in the world that traveled by flatbed rail car from Sun Valley for the opening of Boyne Ski Club (aka Boyne Mountain Resort) in 1948. From there, Boyne Mountain introduced the world’s first four-place in 1964, and installed America’s first high-speed six-person chairlift in 1992. The next evolution of lift technology is coming to Boyne Mountain with the Midwest’s first Doppelmayr D-Line, a high-speed, eight-person lift. Coined the “D8,” the new lift is replacing Disciples I and II, and will transform up-hill capacity in the Disciple’s Ridge area with an approximate 3 minute ride to the top. Additional features include auto-locking safety bars, a child-friendly raisable loading carpet, and whisper quiet ride. D8 is scheduled to begin operations for the 2022/23 winter season.

Projects included in the full ten-year plan include an impressive roster of new chairlifts; slope upgrades from snowmaking to lighting and signage; redefined and expanded village spaces; the addition of a major Avalanche Bay outdoor waterpark complex; airport improvements, expanded trail systems, Deer Lake and Beach House facility enhancements; sports complex upgrades; and more. For more details on Boyne Mountain’s Renaissance 2.0 plans, visit 2030.boynemountain.com.