Winter Returns in June: Hyland Hills Preserves Snow for One-Day Mid-Summer 'June Jam'

Skiing and snowboarding in the heat of June are officially returning to the Twin Cities metro area. Hyland Hills Ski Area has announced the highly anticipated return of its unique summer event, “June Jam,” scheduled to take place on June 10, 2026.

According to official event listings posted on the Hyland Hills website and social media platforms, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul-area ski resort has successfully preserved a massive stockpile of winter snow through the spring. By using specialized conservation methods to insulate the snow from rising spring temperatures, the resort will be able to host a backyard jam-style ski, snowboard, and tubing event in the middle of summer.

The single-day event will take place within the Hyland Lake Park Reserve in Bloomington. Organizers have promised an even larger pile of snow than previous iterations of the event. For the 2026 setup, the action will move to the rope tow side of the bunny hill, featuring a progression-focused terrain setup tailored primarily for beginner to intermediate park riders looking to hit rails and jib features in short sleeves.

To keep the active riding area safe and manageable on the limited patch of summer snow, Hyland Hills is splitting the ski and snowboard portion of the day into two separate three-hour sessions. The first session will run from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., followed immediately by a second session from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Lift tickets for the rail jam are priced at $20 per person, with capacity strictly capped at 125 riders per session to ensure ample space on the hill.

In a new twist for the 2026 edition, the resort is expanding the event's reach by utilizing a portion of its stowed-away snow to construct a small, dedicated tubing hill, ensuring non-skiers can get in on the summer snow action. The tubing area will operate across five distinct, one-hour blocks between 3:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Entry for the tubing lanes is set at $5 per person, with a strict limit of 40 participants per hour-long slot.

Public registration for both the skiing and tubing sessions officially opened online on May 26 at 8:00 a.m. While athlete slots on the snow are highly restricted, organizers are heavily encouraging spectators to attend the mid-June spectacle for free. For those preferring to watch the action from the sidelines, the resort plans to host an upbeat patio happy hour featuring live music alongside food and drinks available for purchase.

Hyland Hills Ski Area is a ski area in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States, just south of Minneapolis. It is owned and operated by Three Rivers Park District. As a popular destination located near the Mall of America, Hyland receives 160,001 visitors per year. While Minnesota's winters are cold, the average snowfall is low for a ski area (less than 60 in.); due to this, there is often use of artificial snows to help maintain the viability of the slopes.

In 2016 the chalet underwent a $13.3 million renovation that more than doubled the size of the previous. The new chalet is 36,000 square feet, and includes a gear shop, rentals, and a restaurant. The chalet is also open to hosting private events. Their rope tow, and terrain park are considered by many to be world-class.

Hyland Hills also has a schedule for updating chairlifts. They usually update their chairlifts every 25 years. Hyland has three chairlifts. All are quads. Hyland also has 3 rope tows and 2 magic carpets. Hyland has 4 beginner runs, 3 advanced, 5 intermediate, and 3 terrain parks including the beginner zone terrain park. All terrain parks are accessible by rope tow and in the case of the beginner zone terrain park magic carpet. One of the rope tows the race rope tow is very often closed and only open for race practice.

As early as 1945, the Hyland Hills Ski Area was known as Normandale Ski Hill, with an annual attendance of around 50,000 skiers. After a six-year snow drought, the number of skiers dropped significantly. This caused Normandale to purchase a snowmaker and a sitzlift in an attempt to bring more skiers into the area. The owners, Gordy Bowen and Oscar Strand, found that this did little to help their business as the man-made snow settled into a hard mass, and they did not have the grooming tools necessary to maintain the artificial snow.

Soon after Bowen and Strand's efforts, the Hennepin County Park Reserve District bought the area and renamed it to Hyland Hills Ski Area. With the addition of sophisticated grooming equipment, a new set of buildings, and proper chairlifts, the Hyland Hills Ski Area regained its former popularity.

Hyland is home to many different ski and snowboard clubs for a variety of ages and skill levels. Among these is Three Rivers Racing, an Alpine Skiing club for youth aged 6–21 that provides premier coaching for aspiring skiers and has trained racers who end up competing in national, World Cup, and Olympic level races. Hyland also hosts both USSA freestyle skiing and racing teams and the G Team, one of the leading snowboard clubs in the midwest. The Minneapolis Ski Club also offers Nordic Ski Jumping training at the ski jump at Hyland.