Simsbury Ski Club Hill

This was a relatively small ski area that operated in Simsbury. It was served by a 900 foot rope tow and had a 190 foot vertical drop. A wide slope was flanked by two narrow trails in the woods. The area was started in 1936 and closed in 1968. After it closed, sledders used the hill until around 1990. Even hangliders used the slope in the 70's! The slopes today are very grown in, and houses have been built on the lower portion of the slope.

Priscilla Smith (Bourgeois) Scheiner whose family owned the land wrote a great article on the area which describes much of its history. All historical images below were provided by her.

I have finally reached two "old-time" residents of Simsbury who were involved in the operation of the club to determine when the club ceased to operate. Ken Meyers is a retired policeman in Simsbury who helped his father run the tow truck. He said they closed before 1970 which was the date that he became a policeman. He remembers helping his dad move the tow car to an old barn across the street for storage during the summers. East Weatogue was a state road at the time, and a neighbor who worked for the highway department got the snow plowers to widen the road to accommodate the "spectator autos" who parked on the side of the road to watch the skiers. The club tried to get the town to buy the lower part of the slope, with no success. There are now two very large homes on this property, and the hill behind is covered with trees and brush.

My other contact was Jean Hunt in Simsbury, whose husband, Stan, used to operate the ski tow and was very active in the ski club. He is deceased, but she recalls that the club closed about 1968. People went off to bigger and better slopes for skiing. We did, also.

Michael Bernstein: This old area is not too far from my house. It is located in the Weatogue section of Simsbury, CT. It sat on a northwest facing knoll of the generally North-South running Talcott (avon) Mountain below Penwood State Park. I never skied there, but from what one of my babysitters told me and what I could see as I drove by it, there used to be a rope tow with perhaps as many as 3-4 distinct ways down. The area has not completely grown in yet. It may still be worthwhile to see up close.

The Colorado Skier: SIMSBURY SKI CLUB HILL (Simsbury), [closed], Located just off Weatogue St which is off Rte 185. Private. Probably closed in the early 80's. Reported by MERRITT (MA). Vertical Drop (est.): 300 ft, Lifts: one rope tow

John Coughlin: I lived in simsbury from 1953 to 1994.  I was a member of the Simsbury Ski club for a number of years from about age 10 or  to 15.  It was a great place to learn to ski.  It had a rope tow that was run by an old car.  The car had a broken radiator so every time they used the tow they had to fill the radiator and then drain it when they closed down.    They had one slope which was very steep on the left looking up and a trail on the other side that was fairly narrow.  They had lights for night skiing. and a little shack with a wood stove to get warm.  When it snowed everyone would go up the tow and side step down the slope to pack it down.

We had a couple of races every year and I still have a trophy for second place in a race in 1961.  I recall a number of members names.  Some still live in the area.  Ken Myers who was a simsbury policeman when I left in 1994 was a member, Tom Sorgio, who now owns a garage in Tariffville, Peter Holmes who graduated from Simsbury High school in 1967 and Don Yost who was older than I was.

Back then the closest ski area was probably Otis, so local clubs were where everyone learned to ski. If you were lucky you would get to some of the larger ski areas a few times per year.

JG: I live in Simsbury, I'm only 16 but I remember going sledding there back in the late 80's and it was overgrown and abandoned. There was a small shack that was for ticket sales and a rope tow going up a pretty steep single trail up the side of the hill. There were a few other trails in the woods, really narrow though and I doubt they were open often. I talked to a few older people who skied it and they told me that it had been open sometime in the early 70's to about '82 (Jeremy's note - this years are off). The vertical isn't much, maybe 250' to 300' and the pitch of the slope is around 30 degrees at best. A house was built on the lot about a year ago, they tore down the shack. The trail is barely visible now, looks just like a footpath.

Don Schwartz: I grew up in the 60's not far from Simsbury, CT. As a child I went there often to watch my older brother Dick learn to ski. My parents didn't ski so I had to wait until I could drive myself and Simsbury was already closed or rarely open by then. My school friend Phil Lipnick (of Simsbury) taught me to ski on a golf course and by hiking up Simsbury Ski Club where I had the ski experience of my life. On that little, but steep hill, I broke both my wooden ski tips in one heck of a face plant fall! My feet stayed squarely in the cable bindings and I didn't hurt any bones or even get a scratch. My only regret is that I didn't save the fragments for proof. Simsbury Ski club will always have a special place in my heart.

David Eldredge:

I, too, grew up in Bloomfield, the other side of Talcott (Avon) Mt., probably not too far from contributor Bryan Davis (I lived on Barn Hill Road, which was off of Terry Plains Road.) I remember as a young child in the late '50s/early '60s we would frequently drive by the Simsbury Ski Club Hill in winter and see all the people skiing, which seemed a very exotic back then. This was the era of "beartrap" bindings or simply straps you wrapped around whatever waterproof (yeah, right!) leather boots you had on wooden skis with neither metal edges nor synthetic/plastic bottoms. Even more exotic to me was the hill's rope tow, which at the time was powered/run off the right rear wheel hub/axle of an old black pick-up truck that was jacked up on cinder blocks (or other frame.)

Fast-forward a few years and, with the arrival of release bindings, metal edges and "double" lace boots actually designed for skiing, I took up the sport for the first time. Family friends who lived in Granby (two towns away, with Simsbury being inbetween) with a son a year older than me who'd also just begun skiing, enrolled him in the Simsbury Club and I soon followed.

By the time I joined (I was probably around nine or 10), the truck (though still on site and rusting) had been replaced by another truck engine (for some reason I recall it being a Dodge), minus the chassis and body to power the single rope tow up the hill. There was a small club house adjacent to the engine, where you could change/warm up, get hot chocolate/snacks and also store ski equipment for an extra fee, I believe.

One had to be a member or guest of one to ski the hill. I don't recall what the annual dues were, or what non-member rates were. The rope tow itself was fairly fast--much faster than you'd find at other more "major" areas, such as Mohawk Mt., at the time. One could get off about 3/4 of the way up the hill and just ski the lower, open slope of the hill to the right or left; or ride it to the end and navigate a short glade-like run on the right or more open left side. But what was very innovative at the time (especially for such a small hill!) was the fact it was lit for night skiing.

Membership carried certain responsibilities beyond skiing--stringing and stretching the rope before the start of the season, mowing and clearing, for example--which I was able to avoid doing due to my age. However, everyone (regardless of age) was on call for "packing" and expected to show up at least once a season whenever there was a good snowfall. This consisted of a line of members stretched across the face of the hill who side-stepped all the way to the top to establish a more "packed powder" base that wouldn't get scraped away on the first few runs.

Being the height of the post-War baby and ski "booms," the hill drew fairly sizeable crowds on sunny weekend days. Local Simsbury school buses would actually let kids off at the hill for their parents to pick up after work. That was something I couldn't take advantage of--but I often got to go over on weeknights for a few hours when my parents came home from work.

The club also had a ski team of some sort and races--though I wasn't a good enough skier at the time to even consider participating. But I did take part in the bus trips the club organized to other "major" local areas (Brody and the then Thunder Mt. were two trips I recall) over the winter school holidays.

After only two years, my family moved to another town farther away so continuing my membership wasn't practical. It's a shame today's lifestyle affords neither the time nor passion in today's to sustain the rich tradition of local ski hillIs such as that embodied by the Simsbury Ski Club.

Steve Chase: I grew up in Simsbury and remember the Simsbury Ski Club operating in the sixties, and although I never skied there, some of my friends did. in the early seventies I remember going up to the ski hill a few times in the summer to watch very early hang gliders launching down the slope. Tons of people would show up, hike up the slopes and sit and watch these guys fly. This was the prelude to Talcott Mountain becoming a big hang gliding site.

Fred: During the late fifties I lived at Folly Farm located at the base of Talcott Mt. Today the farm is operated as a horse farm. During its heyday, Folly Farm was one of the premier Jersey farms on the east coast. Owned by John S. Ellsworth, who later gave a majority to the state of Ct., it was a show place. Forgive me for I got sidetracked

Paula Hanson: From what I know and remember, you had to be a member to ski it. There was a rope tow and a little shed to the right when you pulled in the lot. You were responsible for turning the tow lift on and off yourself. There were chairs and a wood stove in the shed. There were 2 or 3 trails. I don't remember how long or anything but I do remember them being pretty well overgrown and woodsy. It was a great place to learn to ski on and at the time there were about 10 of us in my neighborhood whose families all were members. This was back about 25-30 years ago. I wondered often if it was still there. I'm a little sketchy in my mind as to where approximately it was located since I left the area about 20 years ago.

Charles Mitchell: I was skiing at the Simsbury ski club hill in the mid 50's till about 1960 when we moved away. Looking at the hill, the rope tow, model A powered, ran a rope right up the middle through the trees. The glades were towards the right with one or two narrow trails, and a big open slope on the left. There was a little club house to get warm and maybe have some hot chocolate. The camaraderie was great and the place was always well used. Very fond memories, great family place to learn. I think my father was the president for a year. It was open before I started so I don't know really how old it was. The second ski hill mentioned in Simsbury seems to fit the same description. I only remember one ski place for such a small town.

Tony Goodwin: The Simsbury Ski Club started quite early – perhaps even in the late 30’s as one old Simsbury resident remembers that skiing was such a novelty then that there would be cars lining the road just to watch the skiers ride the tow and ski down.

Bryan Davis: I actually grew up on Terry's Plain Road, (which turns into East Weatogue St) about a mile away from the Simsbury Ski Club hill. My father still lives in that house. I have very vague memories of him going there to ski on winter afternoons when I was young. East Weatogue Street will eventually bring you over towards the old Weatogue post office. During my high school years (fall '83 through spring '87) it was commonly used by many of us as a great toboggan area. It was also the premier site for our backcountry snowboarding forays on the early wooden boards. We also used it for early downhill runs on rigid, non suspension mountain bikes.

There used to be a small deer trail that we used as a connector from one of the blue blaze trails that led into Penwood State Park to the top of the ski hill. The upper sections above the top of the rope tow were really steep! After my last visit to see my dad there this spring, I noticed that the trails are completely overgrown. You would never know that the area existed and the developments of modern housing at the base of the hill have eliminated the old rope tow hut. Too bad!

Jacqueline Johnston: I grew up in the 50's & 60's in Tariffville and very distinctly remember the rope tow at Simsbury Ski Club. I never skied there (the sport was somewhat exotic at the time), but I remember driving over to E Weatogue Street with my parents on Sunday afternoons to watch the daredevil skiers.