States that had, but no longer have a Ski Area

joshua_segal

justkeepmovingne;c-69928 wroteScratch Oklahoma off the list of never having had one.

https://kfor.com/news/great-state/no-winter-olympics-but-oklahoma-did-have-its-own-ski-area-for-a-very-short-time/#:~:text=Oklahoma%20only%20had%20one%20ski%20area%2C%20Snow,noise%20complaints%20from%20a%20nearby%20war%20veteran

That one definitely counts.

lotsoskiing

joshua_segal;c-69939 wrote
lotsoskiing;c-69933 wrote
NELSAP;c-69929 wroteDoes Blizzard Beach, FL count? :) From Wikipedia:

Park story

According to Disney "legend," a freak snowstorm on January 11, 1977, in the area led to the development of Florida's first ski resort. Ski lifts were put up, toboggan runs were laid down, and an entire resort area blossomed around the mountain of snow. Naturally, because of the normal temperatures in Florida, the snow dissipated very quickly, and the snow rapidly turned into slush. This left behind a collection of waterlogged yet snowless ski jumps and chair lifts. The operators were preparing to cut their losses and walk away. However, they were interrupted by a loud yell coming from the summit of the mountain of melting snow, and looked up to see a blue alligator sliding down the mountain at top speed. Ice Gator, the blue cartoon mascot of the park, then landed in a pool of melted snow at the base of the mountain with a thunderous splash. The ski resort operators suddenly saw the park's potential, and the mountain of snow became Disney's Blizzard Beach, "the most slushy, slippery, exhilarating water park anywhere!"[7]

As the story goes in Disney's promotional materials, slalom courses, bobsled, and toboggan runs became downhill water slides. The creek of melted snow that formed at the base of the mountain became a relaxing tube ride. The chairlift carried swimmers instead of skiers. The ski jump became the "tallest and fastest water slide in the world."[7]
Looks like an April Fool's joke...
If it's not an April Fool Joke, I'll count it. None of the photos show someone actually skiing.

I think it's just their schtick to explain the water park looking like a snowy wonderland. No way they had snow and "put up" lifts...

NELSAP

It is just a Disney "legend", of course, but it is an interesting example of a quasi "ski area" in a state that didn't have one. However, in January 2025, people did ski in Florida with that freak storm. From a Facebook post (not mine) from "STS Tile"

joshua_segal

Final Summary
I think this is now the complete list:
According to the map there 13 states with no Alpine ski areas:

The following 8-had one or more but no longer:
AR - Marble Falls, Dog Patch
GA - Sky Valley, Dillard; Vining's Ridge, Atlanta
HI - Jeep lift skiing on Mauna Kea
KS - Mont Bleu, Lawrence
KY - General Butler, Carrollton
NE - NebraSKI, Trail Ridge; Devil's Nest, Crofton
OK - Snow Valley, Kellyville
TX - Mount Aggie, College Station.

Mentioned, but probably not
FL - (Disneyworld)

The following 4, none of us was able to come up with anything:
DE
LA
MS
SC

I'm surprised there has never been anything in Delaware, although the highest point in the state is only about 450 feet.

justkeepmovingne

joshua_segal;c-69952 wroteFinal Summary
I think this is now the complete list:
According to the map there 13 states with no Alpine ski areas:

The following 8-had one or more but no longer:
AR - Marble Falls, Dog Patch
GA - Sky Valley, Dillard; Vining's Ridge, Atlanta
HI - Jeep lift skiing on Mauna Kea
KS - Mont Bleu, Lawrence
KY - General Butler, Carrollton
NE - NebraSKI, Trail Ridge; Devil's Nest, Crofton
OK - Snow Valley, Kellyville
TX - Mount Aggie, College Station.

Mentioned, but probably not
FL - (Disneyworld)

The following 4, none of us was able to come up with anything:
DE
LA
MS
SC

I'm surprised there has never been anything in Delaware, although the highest point in the state is only about 450 feet.

Yeah, I've struggled to come up with anything there either - even as informal and brief as the one I tracked down in Oklahoma.

I'd wager that the closest ski area to the Delaware state line is probably Chadd's Peak located here: 39.86937, -75.6149; about 2.3 miles from the border. If you want to blur the lines a bit, the Delaware Arc was originally supposed to be a full 12 miles in radius, which it officially no longer is (it's a compound curve now), and hasn't been for quite some time. Point being, if you take the center of the arc and extend a straight line from there through Chadd's Peak, it lies within 12 miles.

So if you're a true Delaware Fundamentalist, I suppose you could lay a claim to it (even though you'd be technically and legally incorrect).

lotsoskiing

SC surprises me. You'd think up in the mts to the NW might get snow or cold temps

NJSki

Getting closer in Florida. Snowcat Ridge

https://snowcatridge.com/

ski_it

OK surprises me that there weren’t more. Every time Marshal Dillon would ride down there to pick up a prisoner there’d be big mountains in the background

Brklynskier

justkeepmovingne;c-69953 wrote
Yeah, I've struggled to come up with anything there either - even as informal and brief as the one I tracked down in Oklahoma.

I'd wager that the closest ski area to the Delaware state line is probably Chadd's Peak located here: 39.86937, -75.6149; about 2.3 miles from the border. If you want to blur the lines a bit, the Delaware Arc was originally supposed to be a full 12 miles in radius, which it officially no longer is (it's a compound curve now), and hasn't been for quite some time. Point being, if you take the center of the arc and extend a straight line from there through Chadd's Peak, it lies within 12 miles.

So if you're a true Delaware Fundamentalist, I suppose you could lay a claim to it (even though you'd be technically and legally incorrect).

As someone who has skied Chadd's Peak I can say that it was all Pennsylvania.

rickbolger

Re. Hawaii, confirmed with folks on the Big Island -- there is no longer any regularly operating vehicle "lift" service or tour service to bring skiers & gear to the summit, but "at your own risk" skiing is still a thing there if you can catch the right conditions and a ride to the top.

justkeepmovingne

Brklynskier;c-69974 wrote
justkeepmovingne;c-69953 wrote
Yeah, I've struggled to come up with anything there either - even as informal and brief as the one I tracked down in Oklahoma.

I'd wager that the closest ski area to the Delaware state line is probably Chadd's Peak located here: 39.86937, -75.6149; about 2.3 miles from the border. If you want to blur the lines a bit, the Delaware Arc was originally supposed to be a full 12 miles in radius, which it officially no longer is (it's a compound curve now), and hasn't been for quite some time. Point being, if you take the center of the arc and extend a straight line from there through Chadd's Peak, it lies within 12 miles.

So if you're a true Delaware Fundamentalist, I suppose you could lay a claim to it (even though you'd be technically and legally incorrect).
As someone who has skied Chadd's Peak I can say that it was all Pennsylvania.

I fully agree with you. "Originally supposed to be" is discussing the 1700s - definitely not modern times and certainly not while Chadd's was operating. Definitely all PA :smiley:

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