The Snow Play Area is not supervised and you have responsibility for your own safety. Sleds with metal runners are not allowed. You can rent sleds and tubes at several locations in Estes Park including the Estes Park Mountain Shop and The Warming House. The sledding hill is open from 10:00 am to 4 pm every day, but you have to bring your own sleds. The chair lifts are long gone and the area no longer offers downhill skiing, but the bottom of the old bunny hill has been made into a popular snow sledding and tubing area. After much controversy over an active business inside the park, the ski slopes closed in 1992. In 1955, the area was developed with a lodge and ski lift. In 1941, a tow rope lift was built at Hidden Valley and the ski area was established. Of course it also is a pretty good place to bond. Head to Hidden Valley Snow Park inside Rocky Mountain National Park, where you and the tikes can go sledding, build a snowman, and have the ultimate Calvin vs. Play in the snow among majestic peaks and towering forests. You can see the old ski trails that closed in the 1990’s.
If you decide to visit the Plateau de Mount site, please be aware that it is on private property and trespassing is discouraged.Hidden Valley Snow Play Area. You can see the remains of the lodge in this picture, but it appears there is not much to see. I’ve never been to the actual site, just pieced things together using Google Maps and research. In 2015, an arson fire devastated what was left of the lodge. The lift equipment was removed but the lodge remained for quite a few years, although it had begun to fall in according to lgm10’s photos. This, combined with inadequate snow-making capabilities led to the Plateau de Mount’s demise. If you notice, the resort faced opposite from Hidden Valley which meant it got more direct sun. (I can’t find exact opening and closing dates.) It seemed the resort struggled to keep snow on the slopes. Plateau de Mount closed in the 1970s after only a short time in operation. Photo Credit: User lgm10 on Imgur The Demise of Plateau De Mount Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any photos or postcards of when the resort was operational, but I did find a thread on Reddit which directed to a gallery on Imgur which featured user lgm10’s photos of the ruins of Plateau de Mount. The lodge was located at the top of the slopes and featured a huge fireplace at the front entrance, a restaurant on the first floor, and rooms and ski rentals on the lower level. (For Plateau de Mount, perhaps?)įrom what little information I can find about the resort, it operated during the 1970s and featured seven ski slopes which were serviced by a double chair lift.
The road leading to the lodge is called Club House Road and Demount Road. Apparently you can still see the concrete pad for the lift. It appears in the photo that the lodge was at the bottom with the seven slopes converging at one point where the ski lift was, but the lodge was actually at the top if you look at a topographical map. On Google maps you could make out seven distinct slopes in an inverted shape. There in the trees I could make out the shape of what looked like seven ski slopes. I had to zoom in, and if I wasn’t looking for it I might have missed it. I was looking for anything that would give me a clue. I started looking by the quarry, which is directly across from Hidden Valley’s main entrance. I took to Google Maps and started scouting the aerial satellite views of the area. If there really was a mysterious ski resort I figured there must be some sort of a trace remaining, right? Well, I was in for a treat.
I wasn’t sure if any evidence of it still existed so I decided to do some digging. I wasn’t sure it was even true.įrom what I have read, Plateau de Mount was located across Route 31 from Hidden Valley. Sure, I had heard of some small backwoods single ski slopes but nothing that was as large at Plateau de Mount supposedly was. I am going to assume it was through some of my history research, but I was surprised because I’d never heard of another ski resort before. I don’t remember when the first time I heard the name Plateau de Mont. What I didn’t realize, however, is that they weren’t the only game in town. All three, which are owned by Seven Springs, make up the entirety of the area’s skiing. Everyone knows of the three big Laurel Highlands ski resorts: Seven Springs, Hidden Valley, and Laurel Mountain.
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