Mount Shasta Ski Park facts for kids
Mount Shasta Ski Park is a fun ski resort located in northern California. It offers exciting activities in both winter and summer!
In winter, you can enjoy skiing and snowboarding on its slopes. There's also tubing, lessons to help you learn, and equipment rentals. In the summer, the park changes gears. You can take scenic rides on the chairlift, go mountain biking, or play disc golf.
The park is found east of Interstate 5 along California State Route 89. It's between the city of Mount Shasta and the town of McCloud. The ski area is about 6 miles south of the top of Mount Shasta. This mountain is a huge volcano, standing 14,179 feet tall. It's the second-highest volcano in the Cascade Range, after Mount Rainier.
The ski park is built on several smaller hills, called buttes, on the lower part of Mount Shasta. It has three triple chairlifts that take you to the top of Coyote Butte (6,880 feet), Douglas Butte (6,600 feet), and Marmot Ridge (6,150 feet). There are also two "magic carpets." One is for tubing, and the other helps beginners learn to ski and snowboard.
The park has a total of 425 acres for skiing and 32 different trails. You can ski down a total vertical distance of 1,435 feet. About 20% of the trails are easy for beginners. 55% are for intermediate skiers, and 25% are for advanced skiers looking for a challenge.
History of Mount Shasta Ski Park
Mount Shasta Ski Park is the second ski area built on Mount Shasta. It is the only one that is still open today.
The Old Ski Bowl
Before this park, there was another ski area called the Mount Shasta Ski Bowl. It was built in 1958. This old ski area was much higher up on the mountain. Its main building was at 7,800 feet, and its lifts went up to 9,200 feet.
However, the Ski Bowl often had money problems. Then, in January 1978, a very large avalanche hit the area. It destroyed the main chairlift. This was the final blow for the Ski Bowl, and it closed forever.
Building the New Ski Park
After the Ski Bowl closed, there was no lift-served skiing on Mount Shasta for a few years. But in 1985, local business people decided to build a new ski area. They chose a spot lower down on the mountain. This new location was safer from avalanches and below the tree line.
They started by building chairlifts for Marmot Ridge and Douglas Butte. Later, they added the Coyote Butte lift. The new Mount Shasta Ski Park officially opened on December 14, 1985. It has been successfully open for over three decades, offering winter and summer fun.
The ski area is on a 1-square-mile piece of private land. This land is surrounded by the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. You can reach the park by driving on Forest Route 88, which goes through the national forest.
