DCSki Lost Ski Areas
According to USA Today, the number of ski areas in the United States has dropped from 727 in 1985 to 485 in 2008. There are around 30 major ski resorts active in the Mid-Atlantic region, from the northern tips of North Carolina to the northern tips of Pennsylvania. But over the decades, there have been many other ski areas in this region that have come and gone.
Through the help of readers, DCSki has uncovered information on 79 "lost" Mid-Atlantic ski areas.
The purpose of this page is to preserve the memory of these lost ski areas. For some areas, we have extensive details including comments and photos from the original operators of the area. For others, we have little more than a distant memory from a DCSki reader. Below, you'll find a compilation of lost ski areas in the Mid-Atlantic. Click on a ski area's name to view historical details about the area.
If you have any additional information about a ski area you would like to contribute, or if you know of additional areas that should be added to this list, let DCSki's Editor know. To learn about lost areas in New England, be sure to check out the excellent New England Lost Ski Areas Project (NELSAP) web site.
You may also view a list of recent updates.
| Montrose Ski Bowl | Added some great photos, courtesy of Elmer Taylor. | 2008-07-19 |
| The Big Pocono Ski Area | Created profile. Credit to Kevin Whipple for info and photos. | 2008-06-29 |
| Ski Hill within Lackawanna State Park | Created profile. Credit to Kevin Whipple for information and photos. | 2008-06-29 |
| Indiana University of Pennsylvania Ski Lodge | Added photos and additional information from Kevin Whipple. | 2008-06-29 |
| Oregon Ridge | Provided additional memories from Irvin Naylor. | 2008-04-13 |
| Blair Mountain | Added information and memories courtesy of Irvin Naylor. | 2008-04-13 |
| Savage River State Forest Ski Resort | Created profile. Thanks to GGNagy. | 2008-04-13 |
| Royal Mountain | Created profile. Thanks to Bill O’hara. | 2008-02-25 |
| Hahn Mountain / Big Valley Ski Area | Added photo of old Hahn Mt. lift ticket, courtesy of Woody Bousquet. | 2008-02-10 |
| Mount Lebanon Golf and Ski Area | Added image from the Historical Society of Mount Lebanon. | 2008-02-08 |
| Apple Hill | Added comments and memories from Christopher Hamm, whose family worked at Apple Hill. | 2008-02-03 |
| Sugarbush Ski Resort | Created profile, thanks to Bob Sisco of Michigan. | 2008-02-03 |
| Sharp Mountain | Added image of Sharp Mountain brochure cover, courtesy of Woody Bousquet. | 2008-02-03 |
| Mount Tone / Sno-Hill Ski Area | Added Mt. Tone and Son-Hill ski patches, courtesy of Woody Bousquet. | 2008-02-03 |
| Rappahannock Ski Area / Skyline / Big Devil | Added scans of 1965 brochure, courtesy of Woody Bousquet. | 2008-02-03 |
Recent reader comments on lost area profiles:
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Comments on Bear Rocks - posted by Alex
July 16 at 1:07 am Have any of you guys checked out Adam Fruehaufs Restaeraunt "The Furnace" The Regular web site for it is down, but I pulled out the archive, which is still active...
http://www.sillettdesigns.com/archives/furnace/main.html It's over on the other side of 711, in Laughlintown. Looks like a real nice place... Any one been there lately ??? Comments on PocoNorth - posted by Sknowboy
July 15 at 2:54 pm I also skied PocoNorth in the late 1960's. Mostly we skied at Elk but due to the cheap season passes at PocoNorth, a bunch of us high school kids bought 'em.
Gunther was an icon to a young ski freak like me. I learned a lot about skiing from him. Plus, he totally played the part, he had the latest Lange Comp ski boots,the ones with that had Alpine national flags riveted on the back of the ski boot. I kind of remember him on Hart Javelins with Look bindings. He also wore the stretch ski pants with the single stripe running the length like Killy. I wonder whatever happened to Gunther? Anybody know? Comments on Buckaloons Ski Area / Youngsville Skiways - posted by Al
July 14 at 10:21 pm I remember skiing this area in the early 1980's. The thing I remember most was that you could stand at the top of the hill at night and have a great view of flaring gas off at the refineries down by the river. I know of no other ski area with this kind of view in such an industrial setting.
Comments on Bear Rocks - posted by Jay DeLacio
July 14 at 6:27 pm Oh yea,
1. Knew Stupid, Ugly and Sir Greatness. 2. Saw Dave Kaufmann drive his bike into the lake(and many other things) 3. Went to the "New Roads" manny, many times. 4. Saw the "3-wheeler" send a few to the hospital. 5. Played in Pomper field.(Mark's brother turned me on to the Beatles) 6. Went to many Beer Blasts at the ski lodge(and any house where the parents were at the pool or out of town) 7. Went sledding down dogwood. Now to add a few: 1. The County Store 2. Streaking 3. Rock Pond 4. Pin Ball and Ping Pong Ball in the basement of the lodge. 5. Skied at the "original" ski slopes which only had a tow rope from top to bottom. This was before the ski slopes with the lodge were opened. Comments on Bear Rocks - posted by Jay DeLacio
July 14 at 6:06 pm I remember about 90% of the names and "events" (as I now refer to them) at Bear Rocks. We lived on East Lake Road and had a path accross from our house that was 50 feet to the slopes. Partied many times at the top and bottom of the slopes with Mark Pomper, Danny Miller, Dale Westervelt, Barb Miller, Jane waite, Denny Lawler, Lynnie and my best fiends, Kim & Holli Moore and Sam and Scott Perri. I still drive through Bear Rocks every chance I get to bring back those memories. ie swimming in the lake at the club house, riding motorcycles like idiots, taking my parents car for joy rides when I was 13-14 years old(the road were privately owned back then so never got in trouble except when i wrecked the cars a couple times.) Have many other memories, most of which I can't talk about here. Oh well, live goes on but the good old days will be with me forever.
Comments on Bear Rocks - posted by Amy
July 14 at 4:24 pm I know who Ugly, Stupid and Sir Greatness are and I also know why Brent should have stopped throwing the ladyfingers out the window!
I also remember: 1.Brents 3-wheeler 2."Mario Charrio" 3.The "Rocks" 4.Corning Cars from the tree top fort 5.Went sledding down Dogwood 6.Know who, Ugly, Stupid, and Sir Greatness are. 7.Went "Parking on the "New Roads" 8.Drove your mini bike up Greenbrier. 9.Know how to play Indian Ball. 10.Know what a Polish Cannon is. What great times!! Brent and I took our kids back for a visit a couple years ago. It's amazing how much Bear Rocks has changed, yet stayed the same! |
If you are interested in ski area history from other geographic regions, we recommend these excellent web sites:
- New England Lost Ski Areas Project
- Lost Ski Areas of Washington (state)
- Ski History of California
- Colorado Ski History
- teachski.com - a historical look at skiing through the years





















