Lost ski area question
February 16, 2007
Hello,
A DCSki reader sent me the following question:
"Do you know of a ski area that operated until about 1972 and was located southwest of Quarryville, PA? I think it was actually located near Buck, PA, near the Tanglewood Manor Golf course near the intersection of 272 and 372."
If anyone has any thoughts, please feel free to post a reply to this message.
Thanks,
- Scott
Growing up in PA I remember a ski area named Tanglewood, but I am not sure if these are one in the same.
Actually, Tanglewood was (is?) in the Poconos, I think near the Delaware River.
Is
this the resort you are looking for? It is in the poconos and is still in operation. Hope it helps.
And scott, just wanted to let you know that i really do enjoy the lost ski area section of this site and have over the years spent countless hours procrastinating by reading about the various "lost" resorts and thinking how great it would be if a few of them were still in operation.
Ditto on the Lost Ski Area section Scott. Is it really true that there used to be a ski hill in Croom, MD? My parents and I used to X-C ski out at Patuxent River State Park, and it's hilly enough, but it never seemed like the winters would justify putting a hill out there. Would love to see a terraserver image of where this hill was located!
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Is this the resort you are looking for? It is in the poconos and is still in operation. Hope it helps.
I happen to be the person who asked about the ski area west of Quarryville, PA.
The ski area I am thinking of is in south central PA. If you look at a map, Quarryville is about 25 miles north of the Mason/Dixon line and about 15 miles east of the Susquehanna River. It was a very small ski area, maybe approx. 150 vertical feet.
I had a few minutes today and dug up my first edition of "The White Book of Ski Areas 1976-77". Unfortunately, I did not see any reference to a ski area near the town/roads you described. I also quickly scanned the topo maps of the area and did not see any reference to "ski lifts". We used to ski a lot of little hills like this in PA in the 70's (Does anybody remember Sugarbush, a little rope tow hill south of Latrobe?) but I have no recollection of this one. Do you remember anything else? Was it near some other landmark? How far from the intersection you describe?
I recently found some 8mm film of my parents at an unidentified rope tow area and 7 Springs from the 50's. I plan on getting this digitized soon and I'll share it.
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I had a few minutes today and dug up my first edition of "The White Book of Ski Areas 1976-77". Unfortunately, I did not see any reference to a ski area near the town/roads you described. I also quickly scanned the topo maps of the area and did not see any reference to "ski lifts". We used to ski a lot of little hills like this in PA in the 70's (Does anybody remember Sugarbush, a little rope tow hill south of Latrobe?) but I have no recollection of this one. Do you remember anything else? Was it near some other landmark? How far from the intersection you describe?
I recently found some 8mm film of my parents at an unidentified rope tow area and 7 Springs from the 50's. I plan on getting this digitized soon and I'll share it.
Robert,
You might be just the guy to ask. There are 2 small ski areas I seem to recall along US 22. One would have been just before you began the climb up the mountains near Indiana, PA. I think it was a tow rope set up on a golf course. The second one might have also been on a golf course, but was located in Holidaysburg near the intersection of 22 and 220. This one might have been oblitterated by I99. I never skiied at either, only rode by on trips to Altoona, and both were gone by 1990 when I was off to PSU.
GG
I don't have any recollectiion of those two areas. I seem to remember seeing a listing for an area near Holidaysburg in one of the White Books so I'll look later tonight.
It seems there were tens of little "rope tow" areas that operated in the 60's-70's on golf courses and farms. I distinctly remember a tow at Golf Oasis (Rt. 366 in Plum/Murraysville) and the Seven Springs (Yes, same name) golf course on Rt 51 near Belle Vernon. Sugarbush (south of Latrobe) was somebody's farm I think. Camp Soles (Near Hidden Vally/7 Springs, now owned by the McKeesport YMCA) also had a rope tow on what I think is now a sledding hill.
The only area I could find in the books that is near Altoona/Holidaysburg was an area about 12 miles north adjacent to Prince Gallitzin State Park called "Glendale". It had a single rope tow and a 220 foot vertical. Was listed in the 76-77 edition but disappeared after that. I never visted this area so I can't tell you much more. These little areas were all over the place during the growth spurt that skiing experienced in the 60's-70's. I'll add these areas to my summer exploration list and see if I can find any trace.
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GG
I don't have any recollectiion of those two areas. I seem to remember seeing a listing for an area near Holidaysburg in one of the White Books so I'll look later tonight.
It seems there were tens of little "rope tow" areas that operated in the 60's-70's on golf courses and farms. I distinctly remember a tow at Golf Oasis (Rt. 366 in Plum/Murraysville) and the Seven Springs (Yes, same name) golf course on Rt 51 near Belle Vernon. Sugarbush (south of Latrobe) was somebody's farm I think. Camp Soles (Near Hidden Vally/7 Springs, now owned by the McKeesport YMCA) also had a rope tow on what I think is now a sledding hill.
Are you sure you are thinking of 7 springs GC, which is up by Round Hill Park, and not Willowbrook GC down the road in Belle Vernon? Willowbrook is still open, AFAIK.
The other golf course I was thinking about is Chestnut Ridge, east of Blairsville and just off US 22 to the south.
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Are you sure you are thinking of 7 springs GC, which is up by Round Hill Park...
Yep, you are right. It was the 7 Springs GC near Round Hill Park I was thinking of. It's been 30 years since I lived in the South Hills though so I may be suffering from foggy memory here. The area where they skiied was visible from Rt 51. If it was not the GC, it was somewhere along Rt 51 before you got to the Rostraver Ice Rink. 
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Are you sure you are thinking of 7 springs GC, which is up by Round Hill Park...
Yep, you are right. It was the 7 Springs GC near Round Hill Park I was thinking of. It's been 30 years since I lived in the South Hills though so I may be suffering from foggy memory here. The area where they skiied was visible from Rt 51. If it was not the GC, it was somewhere along Rt 51 before you got to the Rostraver Ice Rink.
Well, Willowbrook is visible from 51 as well, but is below the ice rink. I never would have thought 2 tows in that short stretch.
