DCSki Lost Ski Areas Archive

Possible Area Near Deep Creek Lake

Deep Creek Lake, Maryland

Historical profile · Updated October 18, 2004 · 5 reader comments

DCSki Editorial Overview

The story in brief

Near Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, Maryland, a pair of narrow trail cuts in the private Sky Valley community appears to mark a tiny former ski area distinct from the still-operating Wisp. The site was close enough to the lake to reach on foot and consisted of two runs: one relatively straight and another that meandered before rejoining it. Reader accounts place skiing there in the 1970s and suggest a rope tow operated sometime earlier, though the area’s exact dates and history remain uncertain.

The modest slopes offered good skiing when snow was sufficient, but their later life was equally memorable. Former residents and visitors recall the runs as a neighborhood sledding hill, with roads at the top and bottom sometimes used to return uphill after the tow disappeared. A snowmobile was also used for the same purpose. Remnants of the rope tow reportedly remained visible for decades, while the slopes continued to serve Sky Valley families and children. Another recollection and a historic postcard identify the site with Marsh Mountain Ski Area, providing a possible name for this small and little-documented Deep Creek Lake ski area.

Generated from DCSki's historical profile and reader-contributed memories.

DCSki Reader Jonathan F. believes there might be a Lost Ski Area near Deep Creek Lake, Maryland (other than Wisp, which continues to run today). He writes:

“This is going to be really really vague but I believe there is a lost ski area, very close to Deep Creek Lake. My friend’s parents had a house there and we used to go there in the late 80’s. It was walking distance to the lake and next to their house were two cuts of trees. One was a straight line from top to bottom. The second was a meandering slope that started at the top of the first cut and eventually met back at the bottom.

This leads me to believe the first cut was some type of lift and the second cut was the slope.”

Jonathan provides this link to a TerraServer image showing trail cuts from the area. According to Jonathan, The nearby community is called Sky Ranch.

If you know any details about this possible area, please let us know.

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Area at Eden Mill Harford County, MD An unnamed, natural-snow ski area at Eden Mill in Harford County featured a rope tow, a gentle beginner slope, and two steep drops descending toward the parking lot. By 2007, the former ski hill had become parkland, with lift remnants and slopes largely overtaken by meadow and forest. Area in Butler Butler, MD Believed to have operated on or near Black Rock YMCA property north of Oregon Ridge in Butler, Maryland, this small rope-tow hill served local skiers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Its cow-pasture slope and reliance on natural snow reflected the informal character of neighborhood skiing. Area near Almshouse Cockeysville, MD A small county-operated rope-tow area near Cockeysville's former County Home for the Aged offered after-snowfall skiing in the 1960s. Readers remember its hillside pond, makeshift jump, and unusual mix of vintage and modern ski equipment; tow remnants may have survived into the 1970s. 1 reader comment Areas in Garrett County, including Crook's Nest, Sweeney's Hill, and Marsh Hill. Near McHenry, MD Garrett County’s early ski scene near McHenry grew from improvised slopes such as Crook’s Crest and Sweeney’s Hill to a lighted, 1,000-foot rope tow on Hoop Hole Ridge. Development on Marsh Mountain eventually led to Wisp Resort, preserving the area’s long connection to skiing. 1 reader comment

Community archive

Reader Comments

Scott

December 20, 2004

Jonathan's memory is correct.

The tiny ski area (two trails) is in a private, resort community called Sky Valley. I skied the two trails he describes in the 1970s. It was good skiing when there was enough snow. Sometime before the 1970s, there was a working rope tow at the site. Remnants of the rope tow infrastructure were still visible decades after it shut down, but I don't know if it can still be seen today. Across the street from the end of the ski trails is the Sky Valley care taker's lodge and a fishing pond (both are visible in the large clear cut area in the photo that Jonathan posted). And the trails are indeed walking distance to Deep Creek Lake. You must be a property owner in Sky Valley to use the trails today. With roads adjacent to the top and bottom of the two trails, one could use an automobile as a lift in lieu of the old rope tow.

Scott

TCS

March 24, 2006

And how does this relate to "Marsh Mountain"?

teachski.com

March 25, 2006

I have a postcard for Marsh Mountain Ski Area on my website. It's back reads:

The McHenry area of Deep Creek Lake, Garrett County Maryland. The ski Trails of Marsh Mountain Ski Area can be seen in the center. On the peninsula in the center is Deep Creek Lodge with U.S. Route 219 at the right.

Here is the url to the page: http://teachski.com/pcindex2004/MainpgMaryland.htm

Andrew F.

December 14, 2009

Scott's comments are accurate. My family has been going to Sky Valley for 25 years, and during my entire tenure there those 2 trails have been known and used as a sledding hill. Years before, there was a tow system there, but local legend is that people would leave and not shut down the tow, and it simply wore out and was ruined too many times. As a kid in the late 80s we'd use a snowmobile to pull our sleds back up the hill on the roads, then figured out that it was more fun just to pull the sleds with the snowmobiles at 40 miles per hour or so on the roads. Amazing we're all still alive.

Earl Cox

January 10, 2013

As I read your post I was thinking to myself, "it sounds like where my parents have a house in Sky Valley." As I read the comments, it appears that this was the place you were speaking of." Anyhow, parents built a place in Sky Valley back in 76". I have many fond memories of sled riding and skiing down the hill with my family and friends. Now, I have young kids, and would love to teach them to ski and sled ride n that former slope.

Speak truth to powder.

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