ClosedTrails 50+Temp72°Base0″
ClosedTrails 50+Temp72°Base0″
ClosedTrails 50+Temp72°Base0″
ClosedTrails 50+Temp72°Base0″
Welch Village opened in 1965 in the Cannon River valley, and 26/27 is our 62nd season of Minnesota winter.
Welch Village was founded in August 1965 by the Nelson brothers, Clemens and Leigh, with their wives Grace and Mary. The first facilities were five slopes served by a T-Bar and a rope tow, a home-designed snowmaking system, and a modest day lodge with food service and rental equipment.
Snowmaking started on December 10 of that first winter, aiming for a Christmas week opening. The weather had other plans. Two inches of rain at 60 degrees pushed the opening to New Year’s. That first season lasted five weeks and ended on February 8, 1966, with another rain, a flooded valley full of ice flows, and a serious debt to service.
A stock sale and three more seasons of work from 1969 through 1971 paid for the first three chairlifts, which opened ten more slopes. The hill has grown every year since, across five distinct ridges overlooking the Cannon River and Belle Creek valleys.
Snowmaking still draws from the Cannon River. In good conditions the crew can lay down four feet of snow across the hill in about a week.
The Skilink Learning Center, built in 1994, brought lesson packages for skiers and riders under one roof along with current rental equipment and helmets. Programs run for children, families and adults at every level.
| 1965 | Welch Village opens in the Cannon River valley near Welch, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| 2003 | A 6,000 sq ft expansion of the Main Chalet adds a food service area and additional restrooms, bringing the building to 33,000 sq ft |
| 2016 | A rope tow is added to the terrain park, letting riders lap features instead of riding the chairlift |
| Today | 51 runs, 8 chairlifts, 140 acres and 100% snowmaking coverage, with 160 snowmaking units |
Welch sits in a Swedish-Minnesota river valley, which is also where our chat assistant gets his name. Nels is a traditional Scandinavian short form of Nils, the Nordic version of Nicholas, and it means “victory of the people.”
Over half of Welch Village’s terrain is rated black or double black, which is uncommon for a Minnesota ski area. The Back Bowl is a distinct expert zone holding all three of our double blacks. It opens mid January most seasons and runs weekends through early March. See the trail map and stats.
The Skilink Learning Center is home to 150 ski and snowboard instructors who deliver over 13,000 lessons a year. That volume is a large part of what Welch does: a great many Minnesotans learned to ski here. See lesson programs.
One-on-one
Book your favorite coach, bring up to three friends, and pick the terrain: the fastest way to level up.
