Russel's Pond

Russell's Pond was founded sometime before 1938 as a winter sports area for the Concord Ski Club. Originally, skiers and other winter sports enthusiasts had to hike up the area to use it. In 1940, the area added a 500 foot rope tow, which likely operated until World War II. A ski jump was also used.

After World War II, it is unknown if the area operated the tow or not, since it was not listed in the 1947 guidebook. However, in 1948 the Concord Ski Club planned to replace the "former" 500 foot tow with one three times it length, so perhaps the tow was indeed abandoned. Plans were also made that year to repair the jump, which also indicates it may have been abandoned during the War.

While a 1500 foot tow wasn't installed, a 1000 foot tow was in the late 40's. The area operated until at least 1951. By 1953, there was no more mention of the area, and it likely closed.

An aerial shot of the approximate location of the area. Not much to see!

Bob Prescott: There were two ski areas in Concord, NH that are now closed as I remember. One was Russell Pond Ski Area. It had three trails, an open slope and a 30 meter ski jump that was constructed either by the W.P.A. or C.C.C. It was a half mile trail hike to reach the skiing part. The trail started near Long Pond (Penacook Lake) the Concord water supply. I think the Concord Ski Club was the prime mover when it was operating.

Bob Prescott found this great picture of the jump at Russell Pond, from NHHS.

Dwight Conant: This area was located across the road from the southern end of Long Pond, Concord's drinking water supply. There was a walk through the woods to get to the area which had a rope tow and a small wood trestle ski jump. The area operated in the late 40's and early 50's.

Year	Lifts	Trails	Other Info	Source
1938-1939	none	novice, intermediate, and expert trails, open slopes	ski jump, toboggan run, sometimes skating	NH Winter Sports Map
1940-1941	500' ski tow serving novice/intermediate slope	same as above	same as above	NH Winter Map
1947-1948	none	same as above	same as above	NH Winter Map
1948-1949	unknown	unknown	Concord Ski Club plans to develop a new open slope and repair the ski jump. Plan to change former 500 foot tow to 1500 foot tow in new location. A ski clinic will be held Monday evenings at White Park	NH Winter Map
1951	1000 foot tow	trail, two slopes	30 meter jump, warming hut, operates weekends and holidays by Concord Ski Club	NH Winter Guide