Spirit Mountain Approved for $26 Million Renovations

The project is expected to replace two ski lifts and eventually rebuild the Skyline Chalet.

DULUTH, Minn. — The Duluth City Council approved on Monday a $26 million investment into Spirit Mountain.

The project has been called the Spirit Mountain Restoration Project. The plan looks to replace of Spirit Mountain’s original lifts, the Summit, and the  the Gandy Chair, by building one new ski lift.

Both the Gandy and Summit Chairs can only carry three passengers at a time. The new lift will be bigger with the ability to carry four people at a time. The new lift is planned to start at the top of the Gandy and connect close to the bottom of the Summit lift.

“What’s really exciting is we have a great product here,” said Ann Glumac, the executive Director of Spirit Mountain. “To be able to move our guest in a newer conveyance, a more comfortable chair, something that allows us to have more people in a chair, I think is very exciting.”

The proposed cost of the new ski lift is estimated to be over $3.4 million. The remaining $23 million will be going towards the renovation, demolition, and construction of the 50-year-old Skyline Chalet.

$13 million of the Spirit Mountain Restoration Project was appropriated from the Minnesota Legislature in 2023. The other $13 million was matched locally.

“We want to build this amenity, and it served the community well for 50 years,” said Glumac. “It’s been a big contributor to the winter economy, in particular for 50 years, and then to continue that reinvestment so that we can do this for another 50 years. I think this is very exciting.”

Construction for the new ski lift is expected to start this summer and be done in time for the 2025-26 winter season. The renovation project of new chalet is expected to start May of 2026.