Brae Burn Country Club

Thanks to John Pepper, we first heard of this lost area in West Newton. Here are his details:

"It was the Brae Burn Country Club located on Fuller Street in West Newton MA just off Commonwealth Avenue. In the winter they had a skating pond-no longer used-and quite a steep ski hill. There was a ski jump and as I remember two rope tows. It was on the 9 hole golf course. (There is also an 18 hole course) The club is very popular today with a long waiting list. I skied there after the war and I think it was operating in the 30s."

On the right, you can see the Topo map of the area, on the north side of Beacon Hill.

Neil Ronchinsky has some more info as well: Here in Newton MA, I used to work at a private golf coarse called Brae Burn Country Club. Its a private club with a long history that used to operate a rope tow on the ninth hole on the short nine hole coarse. I would estimate the vertical of the hill to be about 150ft. down a relatively steep slope. The foundations to the lift are still visible if you take a step into the woods. Nobody skis there any more (only club members were allowed before), but for the neighborhood kids, to this day, it is a truly terrifying sledding hill.

On the left, you can see an aerial shot of the area, facing south.

So does Frank Thompson: My father-in-law has shown me pictures of a tow and skiing on the grounds of Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton. The hill has about 100 foot vertical but is/was not very steep. I think it used to be public, but BBCC is now very exclusive but my father-in-law is a member. There is a book on the history of Brae Burn Country Club that talks about it.

Frank took the picture on the right of the area after the Blizzard of 2005, showing that the hill is active for sledders.