Butt's Hill

Between South and East Woodstock, CT
1950's-Likely 1960's

Butt's Tow was lcoated on Lee Butt's farm in East Woodstock. Built after the North Woodstock Tow burned, this area served skiers for several years before the owners concern for not getting sued (an unfortunate by-product of our society) resulted in the area closing. 

Thanks to GDC, we first heard about this lost ski area that operated between South and East Woodstock. Here are GDC's details:

"Butts Hill" was a single rope tow operation on a family farm located between South Woodstock and East Woodstock, Connecticut that apparently ran during the 1960s and/or 1970s (?).  The rope was connected to a tractor pulley.

Stephen Hicks has some more information on this area: I am friends with the family that owns that farm.  I was never able to ski it, but rode my motorcycle on it.  It is a relatively small hill.  I think the rope pull shack is still on the hill.  I can only imagine the fun that was had on that hill.

Dick Kenyon: On 25 August 2005, Burt Devries showed me the location of the ski tow he helped build in the early 1950’s after the N. Woodstock tow burned. It is located off Paine District Road in East Woodstock. The hill is still open and clear of brush but a large bulldozer and roller on the hill hint of development. I took the accompanying photograph.


The white line approximates the tow’s location.

(Continued from Dick...)

Here are Burt’s recollections as they appear in my book “Mile’s Ahead, Miles Behind”:

“In the 1950’s a group of us who skied at the old tow got together and put up another tow on Lee Butts’s neighboring farmland. We removed a stone wall at the bottom of the hill and installed three poles with car wheels to carry the rope. The farmer supplied a tractor to drive the rope. When we had good snow conditions we drew quite a few skiers from the surrounding towns. We skied there quite a few years until some people talked about collecting if they got hurt so the farmer took the hint and closed the tow.”

Has anybody else skied here before?

Last updated: September 5, 2005

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