Bald Hill
Farmingville, NY
1965-1980

History    Memories    Listings by the Year

History

Bald Hill was the largest ski area to ever operate on Long Island. Operating from 1965-1980, this area had LI's only overhead cable lift, a T-bar, as well as two rope tows on a vertical drop of 200. The parking lot for the area was on the top, and there was minimal snowmaking. Many Long Islanders learned to ski there.

While the exact reason for closing is not known, changing weather patterns and a lack of snow certainly played a role. The winter of 1980 was one of the least snowiest, so I'm sure that played a role.

To learn a bit more about this area, check out this article by clicking here.

Many people remember skiing here. Here are there details:

Memories

Ed Canavan: I live on Long Island and my family took up skiing around 1970. We skied for the first time at an area on Long Island called Bald Hill. I think it was in Farmingville or Bohemia (Suffolk County). I believe that there is some type of war memorial located at the top of the hill now. Bald Hill had a rope tow and a T-bar. There was also a pretty nice lodge. It hasn't operated for quite awhile now but it really must have been a curiosity considering how flat Long Island is and how little snow we get. 

Ken Bochat: In Farmingville, NY (also Long Island) there was a small area called Bald Hill. I think it was on a golf course and I'm sure it's long gone too.

Tim Daly: Approximately 400 feet elevation. Two t-bars, and approximately 5 total runs. When I was in high school,(1977-1980). My friends and I would ski at night for $.25! I started skiing here when I was about 2 years old. What a great place it was. Now its condos.

Gerry: During the 60's through the 1980, there was a real "downhill" ski area on Long Island. I suspect it was due to a fluke weather pattern because there is no possibility of one being there today. The area was the Bald Hill Ski Bowl, in Farmingville, Long Island, about 2/3 of the way East on Long Island on the North Shore. It was open from 1965 through 1980. We used to go there weekdays after work for a break. The idea of skiing being only 1/2-hour from work was exciting. The area was a natural bowl and the parking lot was on the top. The first run down was free. There was one (maybe two) rope tows but we usually walked up and skied down until one year they made it a rule that you needed a lift ticket to ski. The vertical was about 200 or so feet. The ticket was only a few dollars, as I remember. There was a nice lodge at the bottom with a circular, central fireplace around which we would sit and drink hot chocolates on occasion. I skied there during the 1976, through 78 seasons. After that, it was not always open because of the weather cycle which had warmed up over the years. They had no snowmaking. It didn't really close so much as it faded out. After formally closing, it was made into a cultural park with a Veteran's Memorial needle, which is how it stands today. 

Eric Paulson: I remember another ski hill called Bald Hill which was also on Long Island however I never had a chance to ski there because it was closed I believe about 20 years ago. I did stop by a few years back and it has now become a memorial site. You can still see the t-bar posts going up the trail and some of the snowmaking hydrants. I don't know why this area closed because it actually looked like it would be a decent hill to ski. 

Tim Jennings: I live on long island and I use to go sledding as a kid at Bald Hill in Suffolk county off exit 63 on the Long Island Express way.  This was an old ski hill with as far as I remember 2 trails and I think 2 tow ropes.  The beginner slope is now a parking lot for the amphitheater that is now at the base of the steeper advanced slope.   The base lodge is still there and is used for events held there.

Marshall Aykroyd: There was a small ski area on Long Island in the '60s and '70s! I believe it was called Bald Hill Ski Bowl. It is located in Farmingville and I believe run by Brookhaven Town. You might be able to find information from the Town of Brookhaven offices in Medford, NY. Bald Hill is one of the highest (if not the highest) places on Long Island. North Ocean Avenue (I think it is County Route 97) runs over the top, and at the top is the Vietnam War Memorial. Bald Hill Ski Bowl is now Brookhaven Town Amphitheater.

Mary Long Van Zandt: Here are my memories of Bald Hill. I am Mary Long Van Zandt. I currently reside in Wisconsin., but learned to ski there as a young woman:

In the summer, the area offered golf lessons. The slopes were used as the backdrop for a somewhat primitive driving range, in which you would have to walk up the slopes and retrieve your own golf balls. The area supplied the clubs, balls and an instructor. To this day, my children remember drinking water at Bald Hill from a fountain shaped like a lion's head, with the water coming out of its mouth. I also fondly remember the crazy road from my home in Selden, past Suffolk county College, to Bald Hill. It was like a roller coaster -- up and down, up and down, and very steep with blind spots. Getting to the ski area was as exciting as the skiing. So, Bald Hill taught me to golf and to ski and I am still enjoying both activities.

Bald Hill by the Year

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