Morgantown, West Virginia was home to Chestnut Ridge Ski Area from 1966 until 1980. The area was located in Cooper’s Rock State Forest, about 12 miles east of Morgantown.
With a base elevation of 2,100 feet and a summit of 2,270 feet, the first rope tow in West Virginia was likely at Chestnut Ridge. Said rope tow was powered by a Model A Ford engine purchased for $25 by the Mountaineer Winter Sports Club. The engine’s expense paled in comparison to the cost of the actually rope, which was $500 for 1,200 feet of rope. Today you can hardly purchase a soft drink for under a dollar, but during Chestnut Ridge’s short time open, a full day of tow fees was only $1.00 for adults and $.50 for students. As many as 200 skiers would show up for Sunday ski sessions.
Today, in Cooper’s Rock State Forest, you’ll still find two cross-country ski trails: one two mile intermediate loop as well as a three mile advanced trail. The Chestnut Ridge ski area is now known as Chestnut Ridge Park and offers hiking, fishing, swimming, camping and many more recreational activities.
If you have any information or photos about this ski area, post here or drop us an email at [email protected]. This portion of the messageboard was implemented so that those who have skied or played at any of the closed ski areas can share their experiences and discuss "old times". Understand that the content shared may not be 100% accurate.
The End of an Era...We are Shutting Down the Messageboard
The messageboard is now in read-only mode and no new posts or topics can be created. We will leave the messageboard up for historical purposes, but you will not be able to make new posts or comment on existing ones.
We have started a Discord server and hope that you all will join us on there. Technology has changed over the years and maintaining the messageboard has become somewhat of a pain in the butt and Discord offers many features for users, the main one being a very polished mobile app.
We really hope you all will join us on Discord and think you will like the platform. Use the invite link below to join.
https://discord.gg/skisoutheast
The messageboard is now in read-only mode and no new posts or topics can be created. We will leave the messageboard up for historical purposes, but you will not be able to make new posts or comment on existing ones.
We have started a Discord server and hope that you all will join us on there. Technology has changed over the years and maintaining the messageboard has become somewhat of a pain in the butt and Discord offers many features for users, the main one being a very polished mobile app.
We really hope you all will join us on Discord and think you will like the platform. Use the invite link below to join.
https://discord.gg/skisoutheast
Chestnut Ridge - Morgantown, West Virginia
-
- Beginner
- Posts: 213
- Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2011 9:34 pm
It's been a few years, but I hiked it once and got in 4 or 5 good turns. Pretty short but the first 50 feet or so had a good pitch to get speed for the bottom. I've always thought it would be a good spot to set up jibs for the WVU Snowboard Team to practice on with some snow farming techniques.