Quadna

Quadna sat on Quadna Mountain, just south of Hill City in Aitkin County. The Midwest Lost Ski Areas Project dates its opening to 1963, while Forgotten Minnesota says Thomas O'Fallon and his partners opened the lodge in 1964. Through the 1960s and 1970s rooms there were hard to get in winter without booking months ahead, and a shuttle ran between the lodge and the slopes every half hour.^1,2,4

The hill had 325 feet of vertical. In 1978 it ran two rope tows and three T-bars, and by 1986 a quad chairlift had joined three T-bars and a rope tow. O'Fallon, his wife Marlys and their eight children ran the resort until 1977. Shorter, warmer winters and the energy crisis of the 1970s then cut into business, and the resort changed hands often. By 1986 it owed the state more than $118,000 in back taxes, and in 1991 it was still the county's largest employer.^1,2,5

Downhill skiing ended in 1998, and the ski hill was later sold. The townhouses and golf course kept going, but the lodge closed in the early 2010s and has stood empty since.^1,2,3

TodayThe townhouses and golf course remain open, while the old lodge stands vacant. (2021)^2,4