Diamond Hill Ski Area
Cumberland, Rhode Island1939-early 1980s
Order Diamond Hill Ski Area tees, long sleeve tees, hoodies and crewnecks. Diamond Hill rose 481 feet off Route 114 in northeast Rhode Island, and two double chairlifts went in for the 1970-71 season. Locals called the steep run the Big Hill. The town now owns it as a park, with ball fields, trails and the lift footings of the old chairs. Browse the styles below, and the full Diamond 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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Diamond Hill Ski Area History
Diamond Hill Ski Area in Cumberland, Rhode Island, ran on a 481-foot quartz hill off Route 114 in the northeast corner of the state. Wikipedia says the hill was named in colonial times for its sparkling, shining look. In 1935 three men offered 235 acres on the hill to the State of Rhode Island, and ski trails were cut soon after. NewEnglandSkiHistory says a novice slope was added for the 1939-40 season, and a rope tow probably followed in 1940 or 1941. Early skiing here was hike-up, ski-down, and NELSAP lists night skiing and a 1,000-foot toboggan chute in its 1939 description of the hill.
The state owned the land and lost money running it. NewEnglandSkiHistory says Rhode Island leased the area to private operators for the 1965-66 season, and a 1967-68 ad billed it as Rhode Island's famous ski area, with a T-bar, beginners to experts. Two double chairlifts went in for 1970-71 along with a new trail and more snowmaking. A 1971-72 brochure advertised those two double chair lifts and NASTAR racing. The expansion arrived in a run of poor winters.
The hill was steep for the region. NELSAP gives a 350-foot vertical drop, and while NewEnglandSkiHistory says 275, both describe a run the locals called the Big Hill. Diamond Hill shared its hill with Ski Valley, a neighboring area that opened on the back side, and guidebooks sometimes mix the two up.
Skiing wound down in stages. NELSAP quotes a Colorado Skier newsletter saying the chairlifts were in use from 1968 to 1976, the area then closed, reopened with three rope tows in 1977 and was down to one rope tow, run by the state's parks division, by 1981. It was not listed after 1982. The state sold off lifts and equipment, and the Town of Cumberland took over Diamond Hill from the state in 1997. It is a town park now, with ball fields, trails, and the lift footings of the old chairs.