Samuel F. provided some details about Peapack Ski Area, a lost area in New Jersey. He reports that it was in operation from sometime before 1959, ceasing ski operations sometime after 1987. It had 7 trails served by a single rope tow, and was lit for night skiing.
The Mr. Local History Project web site provides some more details about this area, which are summarized below.
Peapack Ski Area was a small community ski hill located in Bedminster Township, New Jersey, despite taking its name from nearby Peapack. The area reportedly opened around 1939, when high-school student Melvyn “Mel” Blaufuss leased the property, cleared a slope, and constructed a rope tow powered by a Ford Model A engine. Blaufuss and partner Eric Hammarstrom later purchased the property.
At its peak, Peapack offered four trails, two slopes, night skiing, rentals, a ski school, ski patrol, and a snack bar. Its rope tow extended roughly 700–800 feet, and the area advertised about 200 feet of vertical, although other accounts place the actual elevation difference closer to 140 feet. Peapack never installed snowmaking and remained dependent on natural snowfall.
After more than four decades of operation, Peapack closed in 1986 when its liability insurance was cancelled, making continued operation impossible. The property was subsequently developed for housing, and little evidence of the ski area remains today. Ski Hill Drive, which runs through the former property, provides a reminder of the site’s skiing history.
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