Mott Mountain / Silver Ridge Resort

Mott Mountain opened at Farwell in 1958. Skiers from the early 1960s recall two rope tows, a short beginner tow and a longer one to the top. The area changed hands in 1969, and a 1971 guide listed 12 slopes, six rope tows and snowmaking; that year a 1,064-foot Sneller double chairlift went in, rising 167 feet. Readers remember night skiing, an active ski school and racing, and weekend crowds from Saginaw and Detroit. A 1978 guide counted four rope tows and the chairlift.^1,3

Mott Mountain closed in 1995 with the double chair, three rope tows and seven slopes, on a vertical drop listed at 225 feet that MILSAP thinks generous; MWLSAP gives 200 feet, with 167 and 225 as other figures. The hill reopened as Silver Ridge in 1997 and was still listed for 2001–02, but it did not open in the fall of 2002. In 2007 a country and rock festival on the grounds drew about 10,000 fans but lost money, and a second festival planned for 2008 was cancelled.^1,2,3