Blue Hills Ski Area

Infobox ski area
name= Blue Hills

picture=
caption=
location= Canton, MA
nearest_city= Boston
lat_degrees= 42
lat_minutes= 12
lat_seconds= 55
lat_direction= N
long_degrees= 71
long_minutes= 07
long_seconds= 09
long_direction= W
top_elevation=
base_elevation=
vertical= 309 feet (94 m)
skiable_area= convert|60|acre|m2
number_trails= 7
longest_run= Sonya
liftsystem=
snowfall=
external_link= [http://www.ski-bluehills.com/ www.ski-bluehills.com] |

Blue Hills Ski Area is located on the western face of Great Blue Hill in Canton, Massachusetts. This land is part of the Blue Hills Reservation, a state park managed by the DCR.

Blue Hills has eight trails covering a vertical drop of approximately convert|300|ft|m. The summit is served by a double chairlift, while the beginner area has a magic carpet and a large magic carpet. There is a lodge with food service, restrooms, ski patrol and a small equipment shop. A separate building serves as a rental outlet with locker storage.

The hill is popular with high school ski teams, and often hosts races on Big Blue.

While the land and many of the improvements are owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the management of the area has historically been leased out to a variety of operators. The 2006–2007 season is the 6th year of a 6-year "lease" to the people (Mr. Al Endriunas) who own and operate Ragged Mountain Resort in New Hampshire. The management of Campgaw Mountain started a 5-year lease in 2007-2008.

While the lift line ("Beer's Bluff" named for two brothers, Bob and Stuart Beers, who managed the ski area from the late '60s through the mid '80s) is listed on the trail map, it is currently not maintained for skiing. This reduces the total skiable trails to 7.

In the early 1960s the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC, now the DCR) operated the ski area. There were only two lifts, both rope tows, one on the main slope and one on the "bunny" slope. During that time the lift ticket cost $0.50 a day. In approximately 1965 the area was leased to an outside company called Larchmont Engineering who constructed a chair lift and installed snow-making on the main slope and the bunny slope. Larchmont was an early innovator in the snow-making business and experimented with various hose and gun/nozzle designs.

In February, 1969 the area was hit with three 2+ ft snow storms, each a week apart. The snow was so deep that skiing down the "face" of Big Blue (the side facing Route 128) was possible.

Trails:

Beginner: 1

Intermediate: 2

Expert: 5

External links

* [http://www.ski-bluehills.com/ Blue Hills Ski Area] Official site
* [http://www.mass.gov/dcr DCR] Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation