Overview
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Imagery: USGS The National Map · Terrain: Mapzen, USGS and others
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Harold J. Farr, a Randolph dairy farmer, let skiers use his land on Elm Street, where a toboggan chute had stood.1,2
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6 events · swipe
Memories
Skied Farr's 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 Farr's Hill
The closest other lost ski areas, as the crow flies.
- Closed 1992 · 14.3 mi away · VermontNorwich University's ski area on Paine Mountain in Northfield, a rope tow hill from the late 1930s that gained a chairlift in 1970 and closed in 1992.
- Closed 1950 · 17.2 mi away · VermontA one-tow ski hill and lodge above Route 100 in North Sherburne, now Killington, run by the Bartenstein family from 1946 or 1947 until 1950.
- Closed 1979 · 19.5 mi away · VermontA downhill ski area with a T-bar at the Mountain Top Inn in Chittenden, north of Rutland, that closed by 1979; the inn's cross-country center remains.
History
Written by aurora.ski from the 5 pages below, each sentence numbered to its sources.
Harold J. Farr, a Randolph dairy farmer, let skiers use his land on Elm Street, where a toboggan chute had stood. NESH dates the first rope tow to December 13, 1936; NELSAP, citing a 1959 Sports Illustrated article, says Farr began running it in 1938. The tow cost nothing and was used mostly by local children. It climbed about 200 vertical feet by NELSAP's figure, 160 by NESH's, and the hill also had a skating rink and a 1,000-foot toboggan chute.1,2
The tow shut down in 1966, after Pinnacle Skiways opened nearby; NESH says it likely closed after the 1965–66 winter. In 2010 one rope tow tower still stood at the top of the slope.1,2
In 2018 Perry and Lynn Armstrong sought permits to bring a rope tow back to the 12-acre hill for snow tubing, skiing and boarding, run as a nonprofit. Farr's Hill, Inc. was formed as a nonprofit in 2019 and drew crowds for snow tubing, and in 2021 Armstrong acquired a Hall T-bar from Oak Mountain, New York, for about 160 feet of vertical. Skiresort.info lists the hill as temporarily closed, with one lift.2,3,4,5
Timeline
- 1936First rope tow runs on December 13, by NESH's account2
- 1938Start year given by NELSAP, from a 1959 Sports Illustrated article1
- 1966Tow shuts down after Pinnacle Skiways opens nearby1,2
- 2018The Armstrongs seek permits to revive the hill3
- 2019Farr's Hill, Inc. formed as a nonprofit4
- 2021Hall T-bar acquired from Oak Mountain, New York2,4
Sources for this history (5)
- 1New England Lost Ski Areas Project · Farr's Hill
- 2NewEnglandSkiHistory.com · Farr's Hill History
- 3The White River Valley Herald · Plan Calls For Revival Of Randolph's Rope-Tow (August 9, 2018)
- 4NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com · Farr's Hill Reopening in Progress (May 17, 2021)
- 5skiresort.info · Farr's Hill – Randolph
Photos
No photographs of Farr's 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 Farr's Hill, in their own words.
Facts
Location
43.9325° N · 72.6648° W · Vermont · Green Mountains
OpenSkiMap lists it as abandoned.
Years operated
1936–1966
Closed after the 1966 season. It stays here as part of the record of U.S. ski areas.
Its numbers
all 1all 1, in one list
Terrain contours: USGS 3D Elevation Program, public domain