Exhibition: Searching for Vermont’s Lost Ski Areas, Part II

Vermont’s lift-service skiing history began in 1934 with the installation of the first ski lift in the country: a rope tow powered by a Ford Model T engine on Gilbert’s Hill in Woodstock. A year later, the second rope tow in Vermont was built by Wesley Pope on Glenn Skiff’s farm in Jeffersonville. After that, small ski areas began popping up all around the state.

We've been documenting Vermont’s “lost” and “lost and found” ski areas for twenty-five years. To date, 184 have been identified, including four that were in the planning stages but never opened. This expanded exhibit focuses on areas from Route 4 north to the Canadian border and includes an additional 113 documented areas not included in Part 1. For those who missed last season’s popular Part 1, it is incorporated within the new exhibit. All areas are identified on an eight-foot-tall map, including twenty ski areas that are currently operating.

A few of the lost areas highlighted in the exhibit include four in Waterbury, five in Stowe, and one right off Interstate 89’s eastbound Route 2 exit in South Burlington. Towns like Newport, Middlebury, and Lyndonville had a strong ski-jumping tradition, which evolved into adding lifts for alpine skiing. Lifts and ski programs appeared at Norwich University, Johnson State College, Vermont Junior College in Montpelier, Sterling School, and at Goddard College. Farmers in central Vermont and the Champlain Valley, seeking extra income during the winter, installed rope tows and strung lights for night skiing. Town recreation programs added lifts and offered lessons right in the middle of towns and villages. Inns and hotels rigged up lifts for their guests to enjoy. Many were community-based and locally run, while others were built with a vision similar to what ski areas look like today. Some areas lasted a season or two, while others lasted decades. Many closed due to rising insurance costs and stringent state lift safety protocols.

Take a schuss down memory lane and explore these areas through photographs, interviews, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia from the Museum’s collection.

Date: December 6, 2024 - October 12, 2025