Enchanted Mountain was a medium-sized

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

located in Upper Enchanted Township,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

whose isolation and strong wind conditions proved problematic for its success. The area was said to be the "Switzerland of Maine", an isolated alpine area with great views and skiing. It consisted of eight runs (2 beginner and 6 intermediate/expert) using a double

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

, a

T-bar lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

, and a

Poma Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, people ...

. The remnants of the ski area remain on the southward facing slope of

Coburn Mountain __NOTOC__ Coburn may refer to: Places * Coburn, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place, United States * Coburn, West Virginia, an unincorporated community, United States * Coburn Mountain (Maine), United States * Coburn Hill, Yellowstone County, ...

(el. ), in Upper Enchanted Township where it got its namesake.

History

Enchanted Mountain was designed by E.H. Lord-Wood Associates and built in 1965 by North Haven Construction Company on land that was reportedly leased from

Scott Paper Company The Scott Paper Company was the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of sanitary tissue products with operations in 22 countries. Its products were sold under a variety of well-known brand names, including ''Scott Tissue'', ''Cottonelle'', ...

, who would later become owner of nearby

Big Squaw Mountain Resort Big Squaw Mountain Resort is a ski area in Greenville, Maine, Greenville, Maine. Opened in 1963, the ski area is located on the north side of Big Moose Mountain (named "Big Squaw Mountain" until 2000), overlooking Moosehead Lake. The resort fea ...

. The ski area first opened in February 1966 with two lifts: a

T-bar A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...

that would serve only two trails above the base lodge that season and a baby

poma Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, people ...

lift to serve the beginner ski area below the lodge. The following year a 4,200 ft.

double

was constructed to the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

, increasing the trail count to seven. One wide open slope was located underneath the lift with six narrower, winding trails fanning out from the top. The vertical drop was only about 1000 ft. but some brochures and guidebooks exaggerated it to as much as 1800 ft. The area boasted that it had the deepest

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

and shortest lift lines. In 1968 the lifts operated daily and an adult lift ticket was only $5.50. In 1971 the ski area had grown to include a

ski school A ski school is an establishment that teaches skiing, typically in a ski resort. The modern version of the ski school was invented by the Austrian ski pioneer Hannes Schneider in the early 1920s when he formalized instruction methods and establi ...

, shop,

lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...

, snack bar, nursery, and

ski patrol Ski patrols are organizations that provide medical, rescue, and hazard prevention services to the injured in ski area boundaries, or sometimes beyond into backcountry settings. Many have technical-medical certifications, such as Outdoor Emergen ...

, and by 1974 it had added a restaurant, rental & repair shop, warming huts and parking for up to 600 cars. It was said that the surrounding area had lodging available for over 300 people. There was no snowmaking or night skiing. Long term plans included three more trail pods, a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

way and six more double chairlifts to cover some 14,000 acres, but after financial troubles put the ski area out of business and on the

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

block in 1969, it was sold by the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stren ...

to three private owners: Willis & Robert LeFavour and Terry Tyler, founder of Maple Valley Ski Area in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. The mountain opened under the new ownership in February 1970 hoping that unique offerings such as nighttime

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

tours and free board for anyone with a

sleeping bag A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping o ...

would finally bring in enough business to make the area successful. Weekend Full Day Lift Tickets were only $6.00 1970-1972.

Closure

Unfortunately, competition from other developing resorts such as

Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a ri ...

and Saddleback, along with the mountain's isolation and strong wind conditions, led to its demise in the mid 1970s. The last known season of operation was 1972-1973 after which the area was advertised for sale in an industry publication of ″Ski Area Management″. With no buyer found by 1974, the area was liquidated, allowed to grow in, and the

and lifts were torn down. Today you can still hike the mountain on a trail that goes all the way to the Coburn summit. The scar of the resort area remains but has further diminished due to

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

projects commenced in the area in the early 2010s. The hiking trail can be reached from the old Enchanted Mountain parking lot located on Enchanted Mountain Road off of

U.S. Route 201 U.S. Route 201 (US 201) is part of the nationwide system of United States Numbered Highways. It runs for entirely within the state of Maine and is a spur route of U.S. Route 1. Its southern terminus is in Brunswick at US 1 and Maine State Rou ...

References

External links

{{Ski Areas in Maine Ski areas and resorts in Maine Tourist attractions in Somerset County, Maine