[n.rogers]

Ok everyone. So after having researched this one for several years the jury is still out on which Upper Peninsula City gets the most snowfall.
There is no such thing as Too much for us. I was raised in the lower peninsula and am an ex world cup skier.We are moving back to Mi to retire. I would be happy with year round snow !
I have been looking at Marquette, (Maybe Negaunee) but preffer the wilderness, So we are also looking at Ironwood, Bessemer and Wakefield which would put me close to Indianhead, Blackjack and others.
Ultimately we would like to find an area that gets really pounded, and is not a metro area. We preffer the wilderness feeling and the western UP looks a bit more Remote and cost friendly. I also love to mountain bike in the Summer, so trails are welcome. But our main priority is lots of snow.
Feedback and help would be great. Thnx

[rotwein]

Try Ontonagon. It got 300 inches last winter, houses are cheap.

[Peter B]

Newberry

[lymelyte]

Originally Posted by n.rogers

Ok everyone. So after having researched this one for several years the jury is still out on which Upper Peninsula City gets the most snowfall.
There is no such thing as Too much for us. I was raised in the lower peninsula and am an ex world cup skier.We are moving back to Mi to retire. I would be happy with year round snow !
I have been looking at Marquette, (Maybe Negaunee) but preffer the wilderness, So we are also looking at Ironwood, Bessemer and Wakefield which would put me close to Indianhead, Blackjack and others.
Ultimately we would like to find an area that gets really pounded, and is not a metro area. We preffer the wilderness feeling and the western UP looks a bit more Remote and cost friendly. I also love to mountain bike in the Summer, so trails are welcome. But our main priority is lots of snow.
Feedback and help would be great. Thnx

I also am a skier with an insatiable need for snow, and considered moving to the UP due to the easy access to skiing and dependable snow, but after researching it for a couple of years have decided I can't do any better than where I am now here in Oregon. We are still skiing here, there's probably a month left if you don't mind working to get to the snow - that involves 4wd, a two-hour drive (one way) and backcountry gear to get to where the snow is; certainly not for everyone. It's a lot of work, yes, but the alternative is living somewhere where the season ends in March or April. In my 10 years here, I've been able to ski into June every year and into July 3 of those 10. In fact, I know people who ski year-round, but that involves climbing mountains with skis on your back just to get in a few turns - they are true diehards. Yes, it's a lot of work and effort - a lot - but so far I'm still into it. Hard to say if I'll still have that enthusiasm in 10 years, or even in a couple years for that matter, but for now I'm staying put. I think I whined about the difficulty of the logistics of skiing around here in some other threads, but when May rolled around and I was still skiing twice a week on fresh powder...makes me realize how good I've got it.

My point is, if you really love snow, the PNW is hard to beat. Mt Bachelor in the Bend area is usually open til Memorial Day, if you like lift skiing. And right now, Bend is reeling from the recession and property there is about as cheap as it's gonna get.

Anyway, didn't mean to hijack the thread, but thought I'd pass along the info to a fellow snow lover. Living in Montana, you may already know about the PNW, so apologies for being redundant if that is the case.

I'll say one thing for the UP, the property prices are just incredibly affordable, and that is a big draw. You can't even buy a potting shed here for what you'd pay for an older stick-built house there, so your money goes a long way there. I used to live in Wisconsin and got up to the UP occasionally. A beautiful area with a lot to offer. Except for the bugs. We don't get 'em here, except in certain elevations in the mountains after the snow melts.

cheers.

[n.rogers]

Research for other snow lovers looking here:
If you want to know where the big "pow" is I have found that Mt Baker WA has set records at over 1000" (Of coarse you cant "live" there) and the nearest city is Glacier - too low elevation for such totals. last season Timberline had over 700". I worked at Mammoth one year when they surpassed 600" I have a pic of Stump Alley w/ a 50` drift in the lot.
Tahoe is also Impressive and Blue Canyon CA (Top of Donner Pass) always gets buried. The entire Tahoe area is a sight every skier must see in an El ninio year. Jim Cantor of the Weather channel recently did a special at Mt Washington Observatory of the unbelievable conditions there. I could go on mentioning record years at Grand Targhee, Jackson, Alta, Alyeska and the Colorado resorts but all said I am sure the Upper peninsula can come close or near match while being much more cost effective. This is why we choose good ole Michigan.
This may turn out to be an interesting thread because I have read others saying parts of the lower Pn such as Gaylord, Mancelona and others have had the most snow so lets see what everybody will post. Mostly we are looking for (remote), big snow, low cost

[alleyyooper]

I find Iron wood a snowmobilers town if you have fat pockets. Today Newberry is also a snowmobilers town and the pockets don't have to be so fat. Newberry is sort of new at the game as at one time you could not ride into the town area any way at all to go to a resturant even. A friend got a ticket in 1979 for just doing a U turn around the city limit sign with a cop watching. Well He did ride in the city limits.
I would look at the Negaunee area Big Bay or even La nace.

Al

[darstar]

OK, hands down , the U.P. gets the most snow east of Colorado. Considering axcess and " livable" areas, not 10,000 ft. mountain tops , the U.P. gets MORE snow than just about anywhere. Last year we skied into May, not this year.
Marquette is your best bet, we get the most snow, just outside the city is all the wilderness you need, and for anyone retiring , we have the best medical. MQT MTN. is a great place to ski, and its right in town.
The other area with a lot of snow is the Copper Country, 100 miles west of here. Some spots get more than us, but axcess to downhill shing is limited. Great for crosscountry however. Its a little less expensive than here in Marquette, but has more tourists on the summer.

[n.rogers]

Leaning toward Negaunee - Can someone give me some feedback ?

[darstar]

Originally Posted by n.rogers

Leaning toward Negaunee - Can someone give me some feedback ?

Negaunee is an old mining town.. In its heyday it was larger than Marquette. Today the downtown is mostly rundown,old,abandoned, has a ghost town feel.
Outlying areas of Negaunee are mostly modest,working class neighborhoods. Actually, its becoming an extension of Marquette these days, and is included in the metro area of Marquette County. Housing prices and rents would be less than anywhere in Marquette.
Negaunee sits on a high plateau, along with its sister city Isphming. Elevations are about 600 feet higher than downtown Marquette, so, long distance views of Lake Superior are not hard to find. More snow, a little colder and a little poorer with the closing of all the mines, thats Negaunee. A lot of locals go bar hoping in Negaunee, as it has more than its share for some reason. Teal Lake is right on US 41 and is starting to developed some more upscale housing these days, however,the lake is restricted to non motor boats as its a source of water for the city.

[michsnowlvr]

If you want to talk official snow totals, the official weather records for Marquette actually come from Negaunee, which sees WAY more snow than Marquette proper.

I believe somewhere in the Keewenaw would be the winner? Or Paradise area near Lake Superior.

Some of the snowbelts in NW MI traditionally do better than many areas of the U.P.

Funny thing is, it has been DOWNSTATE that has been getting the big synoptic (system) snowstorms the past 3 winters...however in the lee of a lake effect snowbelt you simply can NEVER go wrong.