Sand Valley Trades Golf for Ice Hockey, Curling This Winter

By Staff Writer

October 31, 2026

2 min read

Key takeaways

Sand Valley's golf season has ended for 2026, but the Wisconsin resort stays open through winter.
Snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, sledding, fat-tire biking and hiking are free, with gear provided except skis.
Lake-based activities include free curling-style play, ice hockey, broomball and a guided ice-fishing outing, all requiring at least 4 inches of pond ice.
Court tennis, a 900-year-old racquet sport, is available in the resort's 13,000-square-foot tennis center for $60 an hour for day guests.
The Sand County Classic pond hockey tournament returns for its fifth year, alongside a winter calendar of chef events and holiday gatherings.

Sand Valley's golf courses in central Wisconsin have closed for 2026, but the resort built on the state's ancient dunes keeps running through the cold months with a full slate of snow and ice activities.

What's free to do at Sand Valley this winter?

The resort's dunes, suited to walking-only golf in summer, convert to terrain for snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, sledding, fat-tire biking and hiking on designated trails. None of it carries a charge, and Sand Valley supplies bikes, snowshoes, sleds and saucers on a first-come, first-served basis; skis are the one piece of gear guests need to bring themselves.

What ice activities does the resort offer?

Luna Lake hosts a free curling-style game, with brooms, stones and balancers supplied for two full teams. Mirror Lake and Glacial Lake are set aside for ice hockey and broomball, with Sand Valley providing sticks, brooms, gloves and goals, though guests need their own skates. Lake Leopold is reserved for guided ice fishing, with the resort supplying poles and bait and the guide bringing additional gear. All of it depends on conditions: the resort requires at least 4 inches of pond ice before any lake activity opens.

What else is on the winter calendar?

Guests can also try court tennis, also called real tennis, a sport dating back more than 900 years that was played by England's King Edward III and, later, Henry VIII. Sand Valley's 13,000-square-foot tennis center holds one of only 48 such courts in the world and 13 in the US; day guests pay $60 an hour and get wooden racquets and handmade balls. The resort rounds out winter with a Thanksgiving feast, a New Year's Eve party, a culinary series running November through March that includes the Taste of the West Coast and the fifth annual Friends of James Beard Chef Invitational, and the Sand County Classic, the resort's fifth annual pond hockey tournament, a 4-on-4 round-robin played Friday through Sunday.