This year, Four Winds added a new benefit for our members, free Lodge "Members' Appreciation" weekends in the summer.
Four Winds is the ONLY club in CMSC with our own ski lodge in Michigan. While it gets most heavily used in the winter as members ski some of the Midwest's best ski/ride resorts (Boyne Mountain across the street from the lodge, and Boyne Highlands and Nubs Nob less than 30 minutes away), its not far away from some of Michigan's best recreational areas - just think Tim Allen and the Pure Michigan commercials talking about Petoskey (20 min), Mackinaw Island (60 min), Charlevoix (35 min), and Traverse City (70 min).
We plan on bringing this member benefit back next year as well, and want to just remind folks that our lodge is available for rent by club members year-round. The only time it can't be rented is when there is full lodge rental (usually only a handful of times a year).
Enjoy the photos from some members' excursions on this years' free Lodge "Members' Appreciation" weekends, and below we are reposting some information about our free lodge weekends, so you can plan for next year's outings. We hope to see you next year.
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The Oak Park Lodge in Boyne Falls Michigan is available for use by our members year-around (when not rented out in full) with the proper reservation.
However, as part of a way to add more benefits to our club membership, Four Winds is offering up a few summer/fall weekends where members can explore the lodge and its surrounding areas, and are able to reserve rooms for free (there is a nominal, non-refundable charge of $10/person for members and their family, and $20/person for up to 4 guests, this will be used for continental breakfast for both days).
Here are the details. If you have additional questions, feel free to send an inquiry to philwegrzyn@yahoo.com
Before you register for this event, you can contact Kathy at OPSClodge@hotmail.com to see what rooms are still available. Once you are happy with the availability, please make sure to register and pay for your guests by registering for this event online. Please note that the nominal fees are non-refundable.
Q: Where is the lodge located at?
A: The lodge is located in Boyne Falls, Michigan, about a 6 hour drive from the Chicagoland area. We have a ton of info on the lodge and things to do around it here.
Q: What is there to do around the lodge?
A: The lodge is fairly close to a number of nice touristy areas (highlighted in the Pure Michigan commercials you have probably seen or heard) in northern Michigan, including Boyne Mountain (5 min), Petoskey (20 min), Mackinaw Island (60 min), Charlevoix (35 min), and Traverse City (70 min). These areas offer lots of activities in the summer/fall (in addition to the great skiing/riding in the winter of course), from golfing and biking to wine tastings, festivals, sight-seeing opportunities, casinos, and much more.
Q: Who can sign up for these "Members' Appreciation" weekends?
A: At least one member of your group has to be a current member (either an existing 2018-2019 paid member, or you can sign up now for a 2019-2020 membership here). If the member has a family membership, up to 4 members total of their family can go (as long as they are listed on their membership form), or if its an individual membership, only that member is included. However, each membership can also include up to 4 non-members as well who can go, the best way to show the unique benefit Four Winds has with the lodge is to show your friends. **Please NOTE, each person may go up to only ONE of these weekends per year.
Q: Do I still need reservations for these "Members' Appreciation" weekends?
A: Yes, you still need to make reservations. If unfamiliar with the lodge layout, please check out the descriptions of the rooms in the lodge here, and you can see photos of the lodge and all its rooms here.
Q: Does the lodge have rules?
A: Yes, please familiarize yourself with them here. The lodge building is over 100 years old, and was bought by the Oak Park Ski Club in 1955 (Four Winds merged with Oak Park Ski Club a few years back). It has gone through some terrific renovations in the last 20 years, and some of your fellow club members have poured a ton of effort into keeping the lodge as nice as it is today, please help us continue to make it a great place to visit by following the rules.
Q: What nights does this include?
A: These weekends include Friday night and Saturday night. If you wish to extend your stay either to include nights before or after these nights, you may do so (space permitting) at our regular club rates, which you can find here.
Q: So if this is really "FREE", what is with this $10 and $20 per person fee business?
A: One of the questions that came up when we were putting this together was if we make it completely 100% free, would some folks possibly signup and then not show up (thus potentially blocking others from being able to take advantage of these weekends)? To try to minimize that scenario, we came up with the nominal, non-refundable fee of $10 for members for the weekend, and $20 for invited non-members. We will apply that money collected to be used to provide continental breakfast foods for those that attend.
Q: What if I already have a lodge pass and want to come up these nights?
A: If you already have a lodge pass (which is good for 1 year or 15 nights whichever comes first) and want to come up these nights, you can either pay the associated $10 member fee for the weekend, or just use 2 of your days as you regularly would.