Over 1,600 US ski resorts have been abandoned. Now, many are being reborn as MTB trails

As climate change kills off small ski resorts across the Midwest and Northeast, their steep hillsides are being transformed into the next generation of pedal-accessed flow trails.

By Greg Heil
January 22, 2026

Across the USA, rusting lift poles stand forlornly above abandoned ski slopes that haven’t heard the laugh of a child in decades. These decrepit lifts and open clearings through dense woodlands are slowly being reclaimed by the dense forest overgrowth until eventually, they disappear entirely.

It’s hard to imagine now, but in the 1960s, approximately 1,000 different ski areas operated across the United States. Today, that number has been cut in half, with roughly 487 resorts still operating. But those numbers don’t even tell the whole story.

In the Northeast, at least 670 ski resort closures have been documented by websites like the New England Lost Ski Areas Project, with another 31 closures documented in the Mid-Atlantic by DCSki. The Midwest has seen about 483 ski areas close over the years, according to the Midwest Lost Ski Areas Project. While many resorts have closed across the Western USA, the Midwest and Northeast have been disproportionately affected. Western states like Colorado have lost ~137 ski areas, while California has lost 134, 48 in Washington, 72 in Idaho, over 57 in Oregon, 12 in Utah, 10 in Wyoming, 10 in Nevada, and even more in states like Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, North Carolina, etc.

For those keeping track, that’s at least 1,664 ski resort closures — much higher than the ~513 drop from peak operation to today. Note that the 513 number is a net loss nationwide. As some resorts have closed, others have opened — but the overall trend has been toward fewer ski areas, and it doesn’t look like it will let up anytime soon.

While over 1,600 resorts have closed, the recreational outlook isn’t all negative. Many of these once-abandoned plots of land are now finding new life as premier, purpose-built mountain bike trail systems.

READ the full article at singletracks.com

Posted January 23, 2026 at 2:32 pm