Although the golf season has concluded for the year at Sand Valley in central Wisconsin, the resort transforms into a bustling hub for cold-weather recreation and events.
Snow and Ice Activities
The property’s rolling dunes transition from golf fairways to trails for snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, hiking, sledding, and fat-tire biking. These trail activities are free, with the resort offering complimentary first-come, first-served use of snowshoes, sleds, saucers, and fat-tire bikes, while visitors must bring their own skis.
Frozen bodies of water also offer recreational opportunities. Luna Lake hosts curling using resort-provided stones, brooms, and balancers. Mirror Lake and Glacial Lake feature designated areas for ice hockey and broomball, with sticks, goals, gloves, and brooms supplied by Sand Valley, though participants need their own skates. For ice fishing, Lake Leopold serves as the designated spot for guided excursions equipped with resort poles and bait.
Resort safety protocols require pond ice to reach a minimum thickness of four inches before any ice activities can take place.
Indoor Sports and Relaxation
Visitors seeking warmth can access year-round massage treatments at the resort. Indoor recreation also features court tennis, a historic sport dating back over nine centuries to the reign of King Edward III and later played by King Henry VIII.
As reported by travel.yahoo.com, Sand Valley houses a court tennis facility in the basement of its 13,000-square-foot tennis center. This variation, also known as real tennis, utilizes an enclosed four-wall court. With only 48 such courts globally and 13 in the United States, the resort provides handmade balls and wooden racquets, charging day guests $60 per hour for court use.
Winter Events and Gatherings
The colder months feature a lineup of gatherings, beginning with a family-style Thanksgiving feast and a New Year’s Eve celebration. A curated series of culinary events runs from November through March, highlighting programs like the Taste of the West Coast and the fifth annual Friends of James Beard Chef Invitational, which gathers top Midwestern chefs for food, demonstrations, and fundraising.
The winter calendar culminates with the fifth annual Sand County Classic pond hockey tournament. The competition features six-to-eight-player teams playing in a 4-on-4 round-robin format, running from Friday through the championship games on Sunday morning.
