Mount Kato Bar and Restaurant

Staff were not helpful/informative. Unfortunately someone was injured (not w/ our party) and they left on a stretcher. Injuries/accidents happen but it was the lack of an organized response that I struggled with. It was hard to identify who was or wasn’t staff. The injury occurred on the tubing hill- people kept coming down the hill, the individual working sat on his chair at the top of the hill (off to the side unable to view the hill) the entire time oblivious as to what was happening. Lane one had an enormous hole at the bottom of it- it should have been closed. The staff member working casually told a few people at the very beginning of the night not to use lane one. He definitely could have monitored the situation better and overall they should have closed/marked off lane one. It was a free for all; safety was definitely not a concern for the Mount Kato staff. I will be more likely to travel the distance to Afton Alps in the future vs. choosing Mt. Kato 30 minutes away.

I'll be fair, but critical. Mount Kato is the closest hill to where I live, (only 15-20 minutes) but I consider it worth the drive to go to Afton Alps, Spirit mountain, Lutsen, or Granite Peak in Wisconsin for a better experience. For the Pros: I like that it's close and I can show up without making plans in advance, the lift tickets are extremely affordable and beat out everywhere else I have been, the mornings aren't packed on the week days so wait times are non-existent, and the staff work hard to keep the place going even when conditions aren't favorable. For the Cons: The website isn't updated for the upcoming season until it doesn't matter anymore, they should put the opening date in big bold letters on the front page. I also don't like that they don't have live cams. There is one lift in the back that is rarely open that has one of their few black diamonds, the black diamond off the blue square in the front is closed most of the time, and there are no high-speed lifts. Things that I don't categorize as a pro or a con, but should be noted: Mount Kato is not big in terms of area or height by most standards, food is pricey but reasonable for how good it is. TLDR: Mount Kato is a good option if you live within an hour drive, but otherwise I would consider other options.

Advertising 13 trails open but there are only 6 open on week days. I came to ski but there really was not much available to ski very disappointed. Other places have been able to stay fully open even in this warm weather

Very expensive for not fully open and extremely rude when asked why after plenty of snow and snow making. Disappointed hopefully they pull together next year.