Lost ski areaNew HampshireNortheast
King Ridge
Ran 1961–1995. A ski area in Sutton, New Hampshire, near New London, with its lodge at the summit, open from the 1961–62 season through 1994–95.
Overview
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Imagery: USGS The National Map · Terrain: Mapzen, USGS and others
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King Ridge grew out of the New London Outing Club, which set up a rope tow for local children in 1947. In the spring of 1961 the club's president, Dr.1,2
Read the whole historyTodayThe old trails are the Town of Sutton's King Hill Reservation, open year round to hikers, skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers. (2026)1,3
Timeline
7 events · swipe
Memories
Skied King Ridge, 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 King Ridge
The closest other lost ski areas, as the crow flies.
- 1972–1999 · 11.5 mi away · New HampshireA private community ski hill with one double chairlift on Eastman Pond in Grantham, open from the 1972–73 season through 1998–99.
- 1968–1995 · 12.4 mi away · New HampshireA small family ski area in Salisbury, with its lodge at the top of the hill, that ran from the 1968–69 winter until 1995.
- Closed 1995 · 29.3 mi away · New HampshireA ski school slope on Stage Coach Hill south of Plymouth, started around 1937, that later became Frontenac's East Slope and, briefly, Lynx Creek.
History
Written by aurora.ski from the 3 pages below, each sentence numbered to its sources.
King Ridge grew out of the New London Outing Club, which set up a rope tow for local children in 1947. In the spring of 1961 the club's president, Dr. William P. Clough Jr., announced a ski area on a large tract in Sutton. It opened on December 23, 1961, with a T-bar, a rope tow and five trails on an Alice in Wonderland theme. Its layout ran opposite to most areas: the lodge and parking lot sat at the summit.1,2
The area kept adding terrain. A Northside section opened in 1962–63 and a Southside double chair in 1967–68. In 1972 a triple chair went up on neighboring King Hill, which New England Ski History counts as the first in New Hampshire. Snowmaking arrived for 1981–82 and grew in 1986, when a new triple replaced a T-bar. Guides listed its vertical at anywhere from 495 to 800 feet, and a 1992–93 brochure counted seven lifts on two mountains.1,2
Thin winters in the early 1990s left the area millions of dollars in debt. The 1994–95 season brought only 32 inches of snow, and business fell by 28 percent. After foreclosure, King Ridge was auctioned in June 1995. The summit area later became house lots, and in 1999 Northland Residential Corporation gave 441 acres to the Town of Sutton.1,2,3
TodayThe old trails are the Town of Sutton's King Hill Reservation, open year round to hikers, skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers. (2026)1,3
Timeline
- 1947New London Outing Club runs a rope tow for local children1
- 1961Opens December 23 with a T-bar, a rope tow and five trails1
- 1972Triple chair added on neighboring King Hill1
- 1981Snowmaking first installed, for the 1981–82 season1
- 1986A new triple chair replaces a T-bar; snowmaking expanded1,2
- 1995Last season ends; the area is auctioned in June after foreclosure1,2
- 1999441 acres deeded to the Town of Sutton as King Hill Reservation1,3
Sources for this history (3)
- 1NewEnglandSkiHistory.com · King Ridge History
- 2New England Lost Ski Areas Project · King Ridge Ski Area
- 3Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust · King Hill Reservation
Photos
No photographs of King Ridge 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 King Ridge, in their own words.
Facts
Location
43.3805° N · 71.9817° W · New Hampshire
OpenSkiMap lists it as abandoned.
Years operated
1961–1995
Closed after the 1995 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