Temple Mountain

In October 1936 William Glazier opened Temple Mountain Ski Forest, with cabins and touring trails near Peterboro Gap. Charles Beebe started a rope tow in December 1937; Wikipedia dates the rope tow to 1938. An uncommon STABIL surface lift arrived for 1958–59, and T-bars followed in the 1960s. The Beebes never put in much snowmaking, and in the poor winter of 1979–80 the area ran for only about twelve days.^1,2,3

The Beebe family sold in 1984. The new owners spent $1.2 million before the 1984–85 season, adding what New England Ski History calls the state's first quad chairlift and snowmaking on most of the mountain. A used double chair came in 1992, and the area advertised a 600-foot vertical. Debt and seven years of unpaid property taxes led to bankruptcy in March 1997, and the area stayed shut for 1997–98.^1,2,3

It ran again from 1998–99 under its earlier owners. On September 17, 2001, the owners said it would not open that winter, partly because of repairs it needed, and the chairlifts came down in 2004. Townspeople from Temple, Peterborough and Sharon and regional land trusts formed Friends of Temple Mountain to save the land. John and Connie Kieley held it until December 2007, when the State of New Hampshire bought the 352 acres for $1 million.^1,2,4

TodayThe mountain is Temple Mountain State Reservation, 352 undeveloped acres open to the public. (2026)^1,4