Lost ski areaMassachusettsNortheast
Prospect Hill
Ran 1949–1990. A city ski slope with T-bars and night skiing in Waltham's Prospect Hill Park, open from 1949 into the late 1980s and once more in 1989–90.
Overview
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Imagery: USGS The National Map · Terrain: Mapzen, USGS and others
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Waltham added land to Prospect Hill Park in 1948 for a ski slope, built mostly by volunteers and lit for night skiing. The slopes opened in 1949, though NELSAP thinks the city may have started a little earlier.1,2
Read the whole historyTodayThe hill is kept as a city park with 252 acres of woodland. (2015)3
Timeline
7 events · swipe
Memories
Skied Prospect 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 Prospect Hill
The closest other lost ski areas, as the crow flies.
- Years not yet collected · 7.8 mi away · MassachusettsA ski slope and jump without a lift on Punkatasset Hill in Concord, used in the 1920s and 1930s, on what is now town conservation land.
- Years not yet collected · 13.5 mi away · MassachusettsA small Boxborough ski hill with one wide slope and about 150 feet of vertical that ran in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Years not yet collected · 16.2 mi away · MassachusettsA very small ski area beside a hotel off Route 117 in Boxborough, with 130 feet of vertical, that ran from the 1970s into the late 1980s.
History
Written by aurora.ski from the 3 pages below, each sentence numbered to its sources.
Waltham added land to Prospect Hill Park in 1948 for a ski slope, built mostly by volunteers and lit for night skiing. The slopes opened in 1949, though NELSAP thinks the city may have started a little earlier. A 700-foot rope tow served a wide slope at first. Thin natural snow kept use low until 1968, when the city installed snowmaking and a T-bar.1,2
A second, upper T-bar later ran from the midpoint to the summit beside the city's water towers, for about 240 feet of vertical. That made for an odd layout, with the easy terrain at the top and the steep expert slope below it. The city ran the hill until 1985 and then leased it to private operators.1,2,3
Slopes were widened and a beginner rope tow added in 1987, and the area closed in 1987 or after the 1987–88 winter; sources differ. Bill Krikorian reopened it briefly for 1989–90, and it closed for good in 1990. The hill is now a city park of woods, hiking trails and picnic areas.1,2,3
TodayThe hill is kept as a city park with 252 acres of woodland. (2015)3
Timeline
- 1948City adds land to the park for a ski slope1
- 1949The ski slopes open1
- 1968Snowmaking and a T-bar are installed1
- 1985City stops running the slope and leases it to private operators1
- 1987Slopes widened and a beginner tow added; closure follows in 1987 or 19881,2
- 1989Bill Krikorian reopens the area for one season1,2
- 1990The area closes for good1,2
Sources for this history (3)
- 1Wikipedia · Prospect Hill, Waltham, Massachusetts
- 2New England Lost Ski Areas Project · Prospect Hill, Waltham
- 3The Boston Globe · Lost ski areas: Prospect Hill, Waltham (January 25, 2015)
Photos
No photographs of Prospect 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 Prospect Hill, in their own words.
Facts
Location
42.3932° N · 71.2522° W · Massachusetts
OpenSkiMap lists it as abandoned.
Years operated
1949–1990
Closed after the 1990 season. It stays here as part of the record of U.S. ski areas.
Its numbers
all 3all 3, in one list
Terrain contours: USGS 3D Elevation Program, public domain