Lost ski areaRhode IslandNortheast
Diamond Hill
Ran 1939–1981. A ski area on state land on Diamond Hill in Cumberland, with rope tows and later two double chairs, skied from about 1939 into the early 1980s.
Overview
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Imagery: USGS The National Map · Terrain: Mapzen, USGS and others
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Diamond Hill, in Cumberland, rises to 481 feet. In 1935 three men offered 235 acres of it to the state, and ski trails were cut soon after.1,2,3
Read the whole historyTodayDiamond Hill is a 373-acre town park with athletic fields, picnic areas and hiking trails. (2026)3
Timeline
7 events · swipe
Memories
Skied Diamond Hill, or worked there?
Tell us what you remember, or what this page has wrong. Memories show here, credited to you, after we read them; facts are checked against a source before they change a figure.
Lost near Diamond Hill
The closest other lost ski areas, as the crow flies.
- 1961–1985 · 0.3 mi away · Rhode IslandA family-run ski area on the east side of Diamond Hill in Cumberland, open from 1961–62 until 1985, with a T-bar, rope tows and for a time a chairlift.
- 1967–2000 · 2.9 mi away · MassachusettsA two-chairlift ski area on Oak Hill in Franklin that ran from the 1967–68 winter until February 2000.
- Opened 1970 · 5.3 mi away · MassachusettsA town-run ski slope with a single J-bar on Sunrise Hill in North Attleborough, dedicated in 1970 and closed by the early 2000s.
History
Written by aurora.ski from the 3 pages below, each sentence numbered to its sources.
Diamond Hill, in Cumberland, rises to 481 feet. In 1935 three men offered 235 acres of it to the state, and ski trails were cut soon after. By 1939 a guidebook listed a slope with night skiing and a 1,000-foot toboggan chute, all of it climbed on foot; a rope tow may have come in 1940 or 1941. Ski Valley later opened on the back side of the same hill.1,2,3
The state ran the area at a loss for decades, probably adding snowmaking in the early 1960s, then leased it to private operators for 1965–66. For 1970–71 a new trail, more snowmaking and two double chairlifts were added, just ahead of several poor winters. A 1970 guide listed two chairs, two tows, five trails and a 350-foot drop. The main slope, known locally as the Big Hill, was very steep and strewn with rocks.1,2
The chairs are thought to have come down soon after 1976–77, and a newsletter NELSAP quotes says the area reopened with three rope tows in 1977; by 1981 one tow was listed, run by the state parks division. Sources differ on the end: NELSAP's dates stop at 1981, the newsletter says it was not listed after 1982, and New England Ski History thinks it likely closed before 1982. Cumberland took over the hill in 1997.1,2,3
TodayDiamond Hill is a 373-acre town park with athletic fields, picnic areas and hiking trails. (2026)3
Timeline
- 1935Three landowners offer 235 acres on the hill to the state2,3
- 1939A guidebook lists a lit slope and a 1,000-foot toboggan chute1
- 1965State leases the area to private operators for 1965–662
- 1970Two double chairlifts and a new trail added for 1970–712
- 1977Reopens with three rope tows, per a newsletter NELSAP quotes1
- 1981One rope tow listed; the last year in NELSAP's dates1
- 1997Town of Cumberland acquires Diamond Hill from the state2,3
Sources for this history (3)
- 1New England Lost Ski Areas Project · Diamond Hill Reservation Ski Area
- 2New England Ski History · Diamond Hill History
- 3Wikipedia · Diamond Hill (Cumberland, Rhode Island)
Photos
No photographs of Diamond Hill we may republish yet
Its old photos and trail maps live on the sites that collected them, and Google finds the rest.
Memories
What skiers remember of Diamond Hill, in their own words.
Facts
Location
42.0027° N · 71.4163° W · Rhode Island
OpenSkiMap lists it as abandoned.
Years operated
1939–1981
Closed after the 1981 season. It stays here as part of the record of U.S. ski areas.
Its numbers
all 5all 5, in one list
Terrain contours: USGS 3D Elevation Program, public domain