Savor the winter season on the slopes ... in your own backyard

Hmmm...Vail for thousands of dollars or the local slopes for well under $100, ski rental included? Chances are your new economic reality makes it an easy choice. So let your bust become their boom, and rediscover these suburban ski hills where you'll find terrain parks, black-diamond challenges and plenty of help for beginners.

Wilmot Mountain

11931 Fox River Road Twin Lakes, Wisconsin (262) 862-2301 wilmotmountain.com

Generations of northern Illinois kids have grown up on just-over-the-border Wilmot Mountain, a broad, treeless bump on the glaciated landscape that's been open for skiing since 1938. Calling itself "the Matterhorn of the Midwest," Wilmot shows its history with its 1950s lodge but stays up to date with a terrain park sporting several new features.

Stats: 230-foot vertical drop; 26 trails, 27 percent of them black diamond; eight chair lifts; snow-making equipment; night skiing

Sports: Wilmot "loves snowboarders," the brochure proclaims, and plenty of them mix with the skiers. Classes teach both sports, starting with 4-year-old skiers. Plans for this season include a "snowcross racetrack" - like a water-slide park on snow for skiers, marketing director Brian Beebe says. You'll find it on the Shenanigans run.

Cost: Weekday tickets $30 for adults, $20 ages 11 and under; weekends $40 adults, $27 ages 11 and under. Kids 6 and under ski free. Check wilmotmountain.com for specials, including students, emergency workers and military personnel. Weekday ski equipment rental $23, $19 ages 11 and under; weekends and holidays are $25 and $22. Snowboard equipment rental $36 weekdays, $39 weekends and holidays.

Good to know: A destination for suburban ski clubs, Wilmot's slopes attract busloads of adolescents and teens on many evenings. Try Tuesdays if you're looking for more solitude. The bar hosts live music and open mic nights Thursdays through Sundays and boasts a shot-ski: a ski fitted with five shot glasses that requires some coordination for you and four friends to get the drinks in your mouths and not on your shirts. Trail maps can be hard to find; download one before you go. Try the chili - homemade from a 1938 recipe.

- Diane Dungey

Four Lakes

5750 Lakeside Drive, off Route 53, south of Maple Avenue, Lisle (630) 964-2551 skifourlakes.com

With apologies to ski experts and serious 'boarders, Four Lakes in Lisle is family-friendly and a great place to get started if you're just taking up the sport. A great place, too, for skiers to brush up on their skills "before heading off to the Black Diamond runs," said recreation manager Kevin Serio. Straightforward slopes with no trees, twists or turns (two beginner hills, though). Group and individual lessons are offered. An adjacent lodge offers good food and drink.

Stats: Five slopes: two beginner, two intermediate (includes terrain for snowboarders), one advanced; around-the-clock snow-making capability and a routine grooming schedule to ensure best possible conditions

Sports: Skiing and snowboarding, with group and individual lessons available

Cost: $21 for daily slope ticket. (Five dollars off on "Fabulous Fridays.") Group discounts and multiple pass discounts available. Call for details. Ski rental $16; snowboards $38 ($160 deposit required, 60-pound operator minimum); helmets $7. Group lessons $20 (ages 4-8); $16 (ages 9 and up).

Good to know: Your basic, no-frills place. No chair lifts, just tow ropes to get to the top of the hills. The lodge offers a nice burger, other sandwiches, pasta and a wide array of drinks. Open 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends and holidays.

- Jim Davis

Villa Olivia Country Club

1401 W. Lake St. Bartlett, Illinois (630) 289-1000 villaolivia.com

Villa Olivia's ski trails might not induce fear, but the Bartlett attraction boasts one of the only snowtubing hills around. It's a novelty that leads to long lines and waiting lists. Novice skiers getting their first taste of skiing and snowboarding will feel welcome.

Stats: 180-foot vertical drop; 12 lighted downhill trails; quarter-milelong run; four-person chair lift; terrain park; night skiing, snow-making equipment

Sports: Tubing adds a new dimension to the usual ski and snowboard lineup. In addition to a highly regarded ski school, Villa Olivia offers Ski Wee, a lesson program targeting kids ages 6 to 9. Private lessons and group rates are also available.

Cost: Monday through Thursday and weekends after 5 p.m. ski tickets $29 adults, $22 ages 7 to 11; Friday $37 adults, $22 ages 7 to 11. Weekends $37 adults, $27 ages 7 to 11. Kids 6 and under and seniors over 64 ski for $12 at all times. Tubing before 5 p.m. $20; after 5 p.m. $17; last hour of the day $14; $5 ages 5 and under. Weekday ski equipment rental $26, $22 ages 7 to 11, $19 seniors and ages 6 and under. Snowboard rental $25 for one hour, $39 for two to eight hours.

Good to know: Tricks await at the terrain park, which features a number of jumps and rails. Charitable advanced skiers might want to check out the Villa Olivia Ski Patrol, a group of volunteers providing emergency care services, safety and public relations.

- Kim Pohl

Raging Buffalo Snowboarding Park

Route 31, Algonquin (847) 836-7243 ragingbuffalo.com

Built on the site of Buffalo Mountain, which hosted skiers from the mid-'60s to the early '80s, Raging Buffalo opened as an exclusively snowboarding facility during the winter of '92-'93. Now in its 17th season, it's been welcoming skiers as well for the past four years.

Stats: A terrain park that changes frequently each season with lots of half-pipes, table tops and rails. Visitors are encouraged to check the Web site or drop by often to see what's up.

Sports: Though designed for snowboarding, Raging Buffalo's terrain appeals to freestyle skiers looking for jumps. Built as a home for snowboarders who once weren't allowed at many skiing facilities, Raging Buffalo now welcomes skiers, founder and owner Keith Duck says.

Cost: Weekday tickets are $32; weekend and holidays $45; weekend and holiday "nooner" $40; weekend and holiday half day $38. Park membership costs $59 with specials on two-hour sessions for $10, $12 or $14. A single season pass is $475; second family members cost $395; and each additional family member $295. Rentals including snowboard, step-ins, boots and helmet are $45 for weekends and holidays; $35 for weekdays or half days; and $19 for a two-hour session. Helmet-only rentals are $9 for weekends and holidays; $6 for weekdays or half days; and $3 for a two-hour session.

Good to know: Raging Buffalo hosts many contests and special events throughout the winter, making it a fun place to visit between Thanksgiving weekend and the third weekend of March, weather permitting.

- Eric Peterson