Mott Mountain Ski Area
Farwell, Michigan1958-1995
Shop Mott Mountain Ski Area tees, long sleeve tees, hoodies and crewnecks. This Clare County hill added a 1,064-foot Sneller double chairlift in 1971, and a guide from about 1981 billed it as the county's only chairlift. A 1976 SKI Magazine profile counted five open slopes, four rope tows, three snow guns and a cocktail lounge with dancing. Pick a style below, then read the full Mott Mountain history further down. We are an American small business bringing back the signs and logos of places and teams that are long gone but remembered fondly.
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Mott Mountain Ski Area History
Mott Mountain Ski Area near Farwell, Michigan, sat about a mile and a half south of town off US 10 in Clare County. It opened for the 1958 season: that November the Petoskey News-Review listed a Mott ski area at Farwell among four new ski centers making their debut in eastern Michigan. Families who skied it in the early 1960s remember two rope tows, a short one for beginners on the right and a longer one running up the left side to the top. The hill was a long ridge with roughly 200 feet of vertical, though guides put the drop anywhere from 167 to 225 feet.
The area grew through the 1960s and 1970s. A 1970 AAA list of Michigan winter sports gave it 12 slopes, six rope tows and snowmaking, and in 1971 a Sneller double chairlift went in, 1,064 feet long. Earl Damon owned and ran the place in those years, and a 1976 SKI Magazine profile described him as host, mechanic, builder and public relations man all at once. It counted five open slopes, a 1,800-foot trail through the woods, a 1,200-foot straight schuss, four rope tows beside the chair, three airless snow guns, and a cocktail lounge with dancing. Most skiers came up from Saginaw, Midland and Bay City, along with students from Alma College and Central Michigan University.
A guide from about 1981 billed it as Clare County's only chairlift and the first northern ski area on the drive up from the cities. A new warming lodge and snack bar opened for the 1978-79 season, the slopes were lit until 10 p.m. three nights a week, and a weekend lift ticket cost $7.00. The hill was small, and the guides said so politely.
Mott Mountain closed in 1995. New owners reopened it as Silver Ridge Resort for the 1997-98 winter, with three times the snow guns, new lights and a year-round restaurant, still served by the double chair and three tows. Silver Ridge did not open for skiing in the 2002-03 season, and the lifts were later taken out. In 2007 the slopes hosted a country and rock music festival that drew about 10,000 people; a second one planned for 2008 was canceled. The cleared runs and buildings are still there on Mott Mountain Road.