DCSki Editorial Overview
The story in brief
Richmond Hill Ski Area, also remembered as Richmond Hill Furnace, was a small operation near Pennsylvania Route 75, north of Chambersburg and closer to McConnellsburg. Skiers in the 1980s recall roughly 120 feet of vertical, two modest slopes, and a rope tow — a considerably smaller experience than nearby Ski Liberty or Ski Roundtop. The lodge offered rooms and carried much of the area’s identity.
For families and beginners, Richmond Hill was remembered as an unusually cozy place to learn, ski, and spend time together. Its downstairs, beneath a large stone fireplace decorated with a deer and antlers, reportedly filled with weekend line dancing and parties. Equipment was old, and one recollection even involves a skier injured after renting faulty gear, but the area remained part of many local families’ early ski memories. The ski area eventually closed; later visitors reported that the lodge still stood and the trails remained visible, although the building was fading. Accounts also mention a later effort to convert the lodge into a day spa.
Generated from DCSki's historical profile and reader-contributed memories.
Darren sends the following note about a small ski area he remembers north of Chambersburg, PA:
“Hi, I was reading some of your lost ski areas and remembered one that I used to go to while in college. In a tiny town north of Chambersburg, possibly called Ft. Louden, there was a small ski area that had maybe a 120-foot vertical and I believe two slopes and a rope tow. They had a great old lodge that you could rent rooms at. They had some older ski rentals that at one point were from Ski Liberty. That was in 1985 to maybe 1990. Beyond that I cannot tell you much. I wonder if anyone else knows of this place?”
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