Mt. Brighton is a ski and snowboard area in Brighton, Michigan, that opened in 1960. As no hills large enough for commercial skiing or snowboarding exist naturally in Brighton, Mt. Brighton's slopes are man-made and reach a maximum height of 230 vertical feet. Mt. Brighton has 5 chairlifts and 7 surface lifts. Silver is the longest and newest of the 25 runs, running 1,350 feet. A terrain park, featuring rails, boxes, and jumps, is available to freestyle skiers and snowboarders. Almost all of the snow on Mt. Brighton is created artificially using water stored in an on-site reservoir and industry standard snowmaking equipment.
The resort was sold to Vail Resorts in December 2012.
Mount Brighton offers 25 Trails and slopes to ride on. The beginner hills, Gopher, Snowshoe, Larkspur, Bunny, Hare, Flatiron are represented as a green circle on the map. The intermediate runs, Easy Street, Chiken Chute, Bluesky, Crosscut, Ryan's Run, Gasoline Alley, Sawtooth Ridge, Sidewinder, Thalaker's, Ledges, and Sunrise Bowl are labeled as blue squares on the map. The advanced slopes, Golden Eagle, Osprey, Grandriver, Big Riskey, Cheetah, and Ore Creek are shown as a single black diamond on the map. The expert only hills, Challenge, and Peak's Polly are seen as two black diamonds on the slope map. The parts of runs with terrain are shown on the map as orange ovals.
Height, Base Elevation: 1,100 ft (335 m) Summit Elevation: 1,330 ft (405 m) Vertical Rise: 230 ft (70 m)
Total Area: 130 acres
Trails and slopes: 25 30% beginner 40% intermediate 30% advanced/expert
5 chairlifts, 7 surface lifts, Uphill Capacity per Hour: 17,200 people.
Snowmaking: 130 acres.
Dining at Ore Creek Mountain Grill for casual table service and Ski Hill Grill for quick serve. 2 Bars
Mt. Brighton's Snowsports Academy offers ski and snowboard lessons to groups and individuals, and offers specialized programs for children (skiing and snowboarding) as well as ski racing. The Snowsports Staff is made up of highly trained instructors—many of whom are AASI (American Association of Snowboard Instructors) or PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) certified. "Ski and Snowboard Club" is a popular activity for suburban and metro Detroit elementary and high school students who want to learn to ski or snowboard, and Mt. Brighton provides lessons to many of these groups. National Ski Patrol certified staff and volunteers provide education and training in leadership, outdoor emergency care, safety and transportation services. XLR8 alpine Racing also calls Mt. Brighton their home. They teach young skiers how to race.