State Run Ski Areas

[highpeaksdrifter]

In NY we have Belleyre, Gore and Whiteface. In NH I know Cannon is run by the state. I’ve also heard of a little place in Michigan. Are their any others?

Also, for those of you who have skied at state run areas, do you notice any difference in how they’re run compared to privately owned? I really don’t.

 

[thetrailboss]

Mount Sunapee is "owned" by the state of NH, but leased to Triple Peaks/Okemo.
Gunstock is owned by the NH County it is in.

Differences: Gunstock has a shorter season and maybe not as much snowmaking, but it is a decent place and not too expensive to ski.

 

[thetrailboss]

I always wondered why Gunstock does not light up the summit....now with the HSQ and all.

And Crotched being the kings of night? What about these folks? They run a pretty extensive night skiing operating IMHO and it is always expanding...

 

[threecy]

I always wondered why Gunstock does not light up the summit....now with the HSQ and all.

Two main reasons:
a) A lot cheaper to run (HS Quads are very expensive to operate)
b) Night clientelle has no need to ski from the summit - ie racing, school groups

 

[YardSaleDad]

Belleayre feels/looks/smells like a NY state park. IMHO a good thing.

 

[mishka]

I think WildCat in NH state owned

 

[Zand]

Wachusett is state owned and leased by the Crowleys. The downside to that is that they can't expand at all (had 10 years of trouble for the two extremely short Vickery Bowl trails...) and they have to shut down pretty early in spring (state requires them to plow the roads by the 2nd weekend of April... they could've easily gone past Easter this past year).

 

[ERJ-145CA]

Well it's not a state owned mountain but Campgaw in New Jersey is owned by the county of Bergen though I believe it is run by a contractor. There haven't been any upgrades to the chairlifts and lodge for as long as I can remember, but they added snow-tubing and a magic carpet for the bunny hill, I think it used to be a t-bar. They do a good job snowmaking and usually have a good base for a small mountain in a low elevation part of New Jersey, the summit is 720' above sea level. It also has the look and feel of a county park.

 

[snoseek]

cannon is state owned. i like the in state discounts, i also like the in state crowds.

 

[MikeTrainor]

Nope ..still family runned I believe.
Edit: It is on national Forest land if that is what you mean.

On National forest land, however the lifts/buildings are family owned. I am sure Breeze can go into more detail if I am wrong. I have also been told the by ski patrol that the owner cares alot about the local community and yahoo weekend where he brings kids up to the slopes to learn to ski and pays for lodging etc.

 

[ajl50]

Out west there are tons of areas that are on public land/national forest land/park land/land owned by the state....but I'm not really sure if any are owned by the state. Snow King in wyoming? maybe...somebody told me that once but I think he was wrong.

 

[kingslug]

Out west there are tons of areas that are on public land/national forest land/park land/land owned by the state....but I'm not really sure if any are owned by the state. Snow King in wyoming? maybe...somebody told me that once but I think he was wrong.

Winter Park Colorado.

 

[jerryg]

State owned and on Park Service land should be two different threads.

Yes, Wildcat is on PS land, but the resort is owned by the family.

Cannon is owned by the state and at least half is operated by the Franconia State Park.

Much of Killington is on Forest Service land, but the resort is owned by SP.

Sunapee is owned by the state of New Hampshire, but is run (per lease) by Triple Peaks.

Confused yet?

 

[Geoff]

Camden Snow Bowl is owned by the town.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Out west there are tons of areas that are on public land/national forest land/park land/land owned by the state....but I'm not really sure if any are owned by the state. Snow King in wyoming? maybe...somebody told me that once but I think he was wrong.

Snow King, the town hill, is privately owned but leases it's land from the USFS, same as most of the other western resorts.

 

[catskills]

Its been a very tough winter here in the Catskill mountains. The Greene county politicians, where private ski areas Hunter and Windham ski areas reside, like the competition with state run ski areas.

Do you think state run ski areas hurt private ski areas?

Next to Greene county is Ulster County and Deleware county where Belleayre Mountain brings in a lot of tourism dollars. Here is Ulster and Deleware county response.

The latest Kingston Daily Freeman response. "We would urge Hunter Mountain and Ski Windham to see Belleayre as an ally and turn their energies to reviving efforts to develop with Belleayre a cooperative agreement by which skiers would be offered a regional ski pass. A cluster of ski areas offering top-notch entertainment value could have a synergistic effect to the benefit of one and all.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

Speaking of Belleayre, I just got a mailing from them listing all their specials and season pass prices. It got me all excited until I realized that I still have 4 months 'till they open. Their opening day is November 10th, weather permitting, and I can't wait.

 

[MadPadraic]

I held a season pass to Cannon (state owned) and Gunstock (county? owned and run) last year. On the whole, I'd say that Cannon is run better than your typical ski area, but they are somewhat limited in terms of extending the season and snowblowing, (which is environmentally unfriendly anyway). I thought that Gunstock was run rather poorly and cannot see myself buying a season pass from them in the future. It should be noted that Gunstock was run better than Blue Hills, which MA leased to Ragged, who apparently ran their operation worse than Gunstock.