Seven Oaks in Boone offers some of the area's most exclusive skiing opportunities

Seven Oaks ski, snowboard and snow tubing area near Boone started with a family's passion for skiing.

Central Iowa's only ski resort is still running strong three generations later.

Joel Bryan is the owner of Seven Oaks, which has been in his family since 1997.

“I’ve been here all 27 years that my family has owned Seven Oaks. I was general manager and then became owner,” he said.

Seven Oaks is just a brief 30-minute drive west of Ames, tucked neatly in the Des Moines River Valley, offering plenty of picturesque hills and challenging landscape.

At first, Seven Oaks was owned by Joel’s father Rick Bryan and Rick’s brothers and sisters. Two years later, Rick bought out his siblings’ portions of the business.

“Then my dad and I were 50/50 partners, and I bought him out in April,” Joel Bryan said.

Creating memories with man-made snow

Until Monday, Iowa was as barren as a Nevada desert, at least on the snow side.

Still, Seven Oaks was in full operation for much of December, thanks to their state-of-the-art snow-making machines.

“One of the highlights of Seven Oaks is that we continue to invest in our snowmaking system,” Bryan said. “This, of all years, is one that has really proved itself that it was worth those dollars going toward snowmaking.”

Iowa has received several inches of snow in the past week, but December was virtually snow-free.

Seven Oaks, however, has had snow since at least Dec. 1, when the ski and snow tubing runs opened and remained open throughout the month.

“There’s a lot of ski areas in the Midwest that can’t say the same,” Bryan said.

On an average cold night in December, Seven Oaks was converting about 1,600 gallons of water to snow each minute.

“It’s a very robust system,” he said. “We have 21 snow machines that are the lifeblood of the business.”

Iowa’s not-White Christmas was rainy “doom and gloom,” Bryan said, but Seven Oaks was happy with the number of skiers it saw, thanks to the snowmaking machines.

“Because a lot of ski areas in the Midwest struggled around that time, we found ourselves with a huge uptick in the number of people coming from out-of-state,” he said. “That’s always a good feeling when you have people from Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois that are coming over. They’re filling hotel rooms, eating at restaurants, spending money while they’re here.”

More: Heavy snow and covered roadways: Here's Friday's weather conditions in Ames

Free lessons, online snow tubing reservations among resort's highlights

Seven Oaks has 11 ski runs and several snow tubing lanes. They also have a pair of triple-chairlifts, two rope tows and two handle tows.

Seven Oaks’ ski runs can accommodate up to 1,200 people at a time. The runs are open daily for skiing and snowboarding. Advance tickets can be purchased online, but people can also just walk-in.

Seven Oaks offers free beginner ski and snowboard lessons as well, every day they are open for business.

“We bring in instructors for both ski and snowboarding every day to do nothing but give people free lessons,” Bryan said. “We do that every 30 minutes, and lessons last 15 to 20 minutes. It gets you started and you can take it as often as you want.”

The snow tubing runs are immensely popular, with each lane filled throughout the day and night. Bryan recommends buying tickets online a week in advance to secure a reservation on the hill. He estimates that 600 guess use the tubing area each day.

“We take you from never-ever to expert in one run,” he said of the snow tubing. “It’s pretty straightforward and easy to do. Definitely exhilarating. It’s a fast trip down the hill — we’re pretty steep for our snow tubing. We pretty much sell out every day.”

Tubing is available Friday nights and all day Saturday and Sunday.

More: Annexation near Nevada's Verbio plant approved; hearings for Ankeny plans scheduled

Three areas for food and beverages

Seven Oaks also boasts a large patio with a fire pit and several outside heaters, providing a “very relaxing area,” Bryan said. The patio is located between the lodge and the conference center.

Seven Oaks’ cafe offers a fairly extensive menu of food, including burgers, nachos, fries, cheeseballs, soda, apple juice, energy drinks and monster cookies.

The coffee shop offers gourmet coffees, hot chocolate, and chai tea. It also sells giant muffins in a variety of flavors along with hot, freshly made State Fair Mini Donut’s that come in four sugared flavors: cinnamon sugar, apple cider, salted caramel and pumpkin spice.

Freshly made pizza is available in the bar area, which is often a big hit.

“The pizza is awesome,” Bryan said.

Skiing is in the family blood

The Bryan family history has been involved in the ski business for several decades, even further back than when Seven Oaks was founded in the 1990s.

“My grandparents started a ski area in 1969 in Montezuma, Iowa, called Fun Valley Ski Area,” Joel Bryan said. “That’s where it all kicked off.”

The Bryan family purchased Seven Oaks in 1997, which had been called Ski Valley. The Des Moines River Valley recreation area just west of Boone had been closed for about a decade before the Bryans bought it. Fun Valley in Montezuma closed about 15 years ago.

“My grandparents’ names are Edwin and Kay Bryan. That’s where the passion came from — from them starting a little ski area on their local farm,” Joel Bryan said.

More: Iowa State University closes campus ahead of another winter storm

A winter activity that can last a lifetime

A passion for skiing and snowboarding often provides people with a lifelong sporting experience, Bryan said.

“It’s a true sport for life. That’s the part of it I love so much,” he said. “We participate in many different sports as kids, but this is a sport you can do your entire life. And you can participate in the sport with your kids and grandkids.”

The generational aspect of the business is something Bryan has enjoyed through the longevity of his career.

“We’ve been here long enough to see mom and dad bringing their kids. And then 15 years later, those kids are having families and bringing their own kids here. It’s just awesome to see that,” Bryan said. “Now I see three generations of families that come out. It’s pretty neat.”

Seven Oaks is just south of Highway 30, located at 1086 222nd Drive, in Boone. The website is sevenoaksrec.com.

Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rlawless@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Seven Oaks near Boone boasts 11 ski, snowboard runs and tubing park