Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday this winter. It’s the perfect time for a romantic getaway with some skiing, riding and romance. Here are some of the best choices around the Great Lakes. These packages are also available through the rest of the month and into March.

Locally sourced ingredients and stunning views make for some of SnoCountry.com’s best mountain top dining destinations. Many offer unique modes of transportation to the restaurant, including sleigh or snowcat rides, making getting there part of the experience, and intimate gatherings that create the opportunity for guests to mingle with other diners and compare notes after a day on the slopes.

UPDATE (Jan. 27, 2015) Six University of Michigan fraternities and sororities have now been suspended by their national offices after causing thousands of dollars worth of damage at two ski resorts, according to university officials.

ORIGINAL STORY: Fraternity and sorority members from the University of Michigan were allegedly involved in causing extensive damage at Treetops Resort and Boyne Highlands in Michigan.

Women are taking center stage at several ski areas around the Heartland over the next few weeks as seven resorts are hosting female specific events and clinics this coming weekend and next month. Leading off are a couple Indiana ski areas, Perfect North Slopes and Paoli Peaks, which are hosting events this weekend.

One of the better ski hills in northern Michigan has always been Shanty Creek's Schuss Mountain slopes, but you really didn’t have slopeside accommodations unless you stayed in the aging village.

Food lovers who also enjoy getting out in the snow, take note. Treetops Resort is hosting two new dinner outings this month and next combining cross country skiing and sleigh rides. Over the river and through the woods, off to a cabin we go to enjoy a Skiable Feast or a Wilderness Sleigh Ride Dinner. Eat all you want and burn calories along the way.

Big things are happening in Michigan’s UP, a.k.a. Big Snow Country where they receive on average close to 20 feet of snow per winter. They’ve already received close to 13 feet this season.

It’s not often an attractive offer for Midwest skiers and riders comes along including airfare, but Chicago skiers and riders including those in northern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin should check out the latest offer from Michigan’s Homestead Resort and Bay Mountain.

The first time I visited Boyne Mountain on a ski trip with the Dayton Ski Club it was the mid-1970s, and you either skied or sat in the lounge watching skiers coming down the slopes. Today there is so much more to choose from on a winter visit.

Michigan residents who have wanted to give winter sports a try may not find a better deal. Michigan Snowsports Industries Association (MSIA) and McDonald’s Restaurants have teamed up to offer an affordable lesson program for both adults and children to give snowsports a try this winter. 

The holiday period across the upper Midwest looks good for a snowy holiday at least according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac The good news for skiers and snowboarders is some destination ski resorts are offering attractive lift and lodging packages through the holidays. Check them out.

Midwest snowboarders -- get your shred on. The ninth annual So-Gnar Snowboard Camp Tour hits seven Heartland ski areas over the next few weeks. 

With all the early snowfall and great snowmaking weather that invaded northern Michigan in November the slopes are in great shape. Several resorts are offering some nice early season lift and lodging specials. Take advantage.

Treetops Resort, located near Gaylord, Michigan, announced Friday -- ironically as the ski area was coming on line for the new season -- that it had filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Bay City, according to UpNorthLive.com. 

A couple of Midwest old time ski areas that have aged well turn 50 this season. Big Powderhorn, Michigan’s UP, and Welch Village, located in the deep river valleys southeast of the Twin Cities celebrate the Big 5-0.

Michigan’s Nubs Nob, located in the snowbelt region of the Lower Peninsula’s northwest corner near Harbor Springs, opens the new season with historic terrain availability.

Thanksgiving is typically when Midwest ski areas hope to open for the season, and many are right on schedule. If you’re ready to kick-start the season with a ski trip, here’s a sampling of lift and lodging packages at selected ski resorts.

How would you like to ski 33 of Michigan’s top ski areas for less than $7 per visit this winter?

If you like cross country skiing laced with nice amenities, downhill choices, an appealing village dressed for winter, and a touch of nearby wilderness boasting the largest elk herd east of the Mississippi, check out Gaylord, Michigan.