Bald Hill Ski Bowl
Farmingville, New York1965-1980
Browse Bald Hill Ski Bowl tees, long sleeve tees, hoodies and crewnecks. The Town of Brookhaven ran the Long Island hill with an 800-foot T-bar and night skiing, and in 1975 an all-day ticket cost $2.25. The warm winter of 1979-80 brought just 11 inches of snow and ended the skiing, and the access road is still called Ski Run Lane. Choose a style below, and the full Bald Hill history is further down. Down Home Apparel is an American small business remembering the best places and teams of yesteryear, and every shirt is printed to order in the USA.
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Bald Hill Ski Bowl History
Bald Hill Ski Bowl in Farmingville, New York, was a town-run ski area on Long Island that opened on January 21, 1965, on land the Town of Brookhaven received from a developer in the deal over a housing project. It began with a 710-foot tow rope on a wide slope, an 800-foot run and a vertical drop of about 123 feet, with snow machines meant to give it roughly 70 ski days a winter. By 1967 an 800-foot T-bar had joined three rope tows, and there were five trails on three slopes.
The Town Parks Department ran it as a public facility, with discounted lessons for Brookhaven residents, night skiing into the evening and a Swiss-chalet-style lodge with a fireplace. By 1975 it drew about 5,000 visitors a week and charged $2.25 for an all-day ticket, but it cost around $500,000 a year to run against $100,000 to $200,000 in revenue, and neighbors complained about the noise of the snow machines. Only the snowy winter of 1976-77 turned a profit.
The warm winter of 1979-80 finished it. Only about 6,500 skiers came, just 11 inches of snow fell and the area had been open eight days by late January. The town cut its budget by more than 70 percent that December and the skiing ended. The hill is now a concert amphitheater and cultural park with a memorial at the top, the old lodge still stands beside the stage as a gallery, and the access road is still called Ski Run Lane.