Old Smokey Ski Hill Park

01/22/2023

Rember the good old days? Lets bring them back!!

Head west down the hill from the intersection of South Vine Street and West Adolphus Avenue, three blocks south of the Adams School playground and you will get a look

09/11/2018

Whatchu talkin' about Willis? The only property near Old Smokey Ski Hill Park that needs more developing, is Old Smokey Ski Hill Park! Come on people, snow is about to fly!

Two failed motions and 60 minutes of back-and-forth debate highlighted a Monday evening meeting of the Fergus Falls Planning Commission. The meeting adjourned after commissioners struggled with whether or not to approve a final plat design for an intended development of 10 acres of land near Old Smo...

05/10/2018

Congratulations goes out to Detroit Lakes for Making recreation a priority for their community. Nice job by Larry Remmen, Detroit Lakes' Community Development Director for submitting a grant application that included a Master Plan for Detroit Mountain.

They will go from 200 acres to 347 acreas and are continuing to improve and bring people to their community.

Jeff Staley, General manager at Detroit Mountain said "For Detroit Lakes to be able to promote a nearly 350-acre recreation area just 2.5 miles from downtown is a great thing," he added. "Not many cities have anything like that."

Fergus Falls has something like that in Old Smoky Ski Hill Park, albeit a little bit smaller, and a little bit less used.

Detroit Mountain Recreation Area is expanding its footprint and adding some fun new features thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the state's Legacy fund.The mountain's leadership has already used the grant dollars to acquire nearly 150 additional acres for the property, and plans are underway to dev...

02/28/2018

We received this question from someone who recently moved back to Fergus Falls:

How come Old Smokey closed, was there an accident or just lack of funding?

Anybody have info or know the answer? Thank you?

12/26/2017

Meanwhile, we're just envisioning a reuse of the ski hill in Fergus Falls...

Initiated in May of 2016, the Fergus Falls City Council during their Monday meeting approved the most recent iteration of the Downtown Riverfront Master Plan. The forward-looking document spans a considerable 104 pages and comes as the result of 14 months of collaborative effort between three separa...

12/14/2017

We think it's mostly about the great people, that, and maybe it helps that our runs are short so you get more reps lol!

The hills may be small. So why do Minnesota ski legends describe our hills as an epic place to ski?

12/13/2017

Shred the fresh pow pow little ones. Sure wish you could ski closer to home though! What a cool program. Have fun!

Every Friday, students from the area are gleefully zooming down hills of snow. Their skis or snowboards slice and slide through the snow as they fly to the bottom of Tower Hill. For the 11th year, Community Education and Andes Tower Hills are partnering to provide area students with Friday night adv...

11/15/2017

Just Imagine!

11/08/2017

Attention Fergus Falls and Otter Tail County Area 4th Grade snow shredders! Have your parents help you sign up for free, that's right, FREE Skiing and Snowboarding passports! Minnesota Ski Areas Association has created a State-wide program that provides every 4th grader in MN the opportunity to ski for free. Of course, your folks will need to bring you to another community such as Detroit Lakes, or over to Andes Tower hills to shred, but that's okay. With a little luck, and a little love from the community, Perhaps next season you can ski local! Just get out there and shred some snow this winter for FREE!

Details:
http://www.skiandboardmn.com/4th-grade-passport-program-minnesota-ski-areas

Please Share!🎿🛷🌨️

The Minnesota Ski Areas Association (MSAA) wants to give Minnesota kids a chance to get out, have fun and get healthy this winter by hitting the Minnesota Slopes!

11/04/2017

In Fergus Falls, fesh pow on the ground, but skiers and snowboarders are not to be found. Sorry kids.

Andes Tower Hills in Alexandria has a little session going on today...give them a call to learn more - (320) 965-2455.

Detroit Mountain Recreation Area opens 11/24.

More info on ski and board conditions throughout the region at Minnesota Ski Areas Association.

10/20/2017

Look at this history! Anyone that has been to the new Detroit Mountain Recreation Ski Area can attest the new facilities are awesome. But look at that history!

Detroit Mountain chalet (so to speak), in 1958. Looks like a cabin compared to what we have today!

Gordon Bekkerus was the owner.

10/20/2017

What happens to abandoned ski areas in Colorado? What is happening to Old Smokey Ski Hill? If we can no longer ski or snowboard here, what else might Old Smokey Become? Any ideas?

During Colorado’s heyday of ski area growth, there were nearly 200 ski resorts in operation. Today, there are roughly 30. Abandoned explores the questions of what happened and what it was like to ski those smaller hills that have since shuttered.