Laurel Mountain State Park: The Abandoned Ski Resort

I've seen this place at the northernmost edge of my Linn Run hiking maps, and I've always thought about coming here to see what was left of it.

It felt like an old episode of Scoobie Doo.  An abandoned ski resort at the end of a gravel road in the mountains.

Every year, skiers ask whether Laurel Mountain will reopen, and it never does.  As far as I can find on the Web, this place hasn't been operational since 2005, and even then it wasn't much used.

I love ski resorts in the off season.  This is the third one I've explored when no one else was around. Blue Knob was fun in August as was a certain ski resort near Mt. Ascutney in Vermont in October.

And yet, it was a little eerie.  The wind was blowing hard, making the trees creak like complaining voices and creating the constant illusion that someone is walking behind me.

There are two nice ponds here at Laurel Mountain, and an air of complete abandon.

The lodge is large and derelict.  It's at that point in its abandon where it could go either way: Someone takes it and runs with it fast, or it slips quickly away into ruin.  Strange how quickly things made with hands can disappear.

The mountain air was crisp and the views almost alpine.  One reason I wanted to trek into the old ski resort was to see the Laurel Highlands from the cleared downhill slopes.

I'm not exactly sure why this body of water creeped me out so thoroughly.  It's out on the edge of the resort closest to the Forbes State Forest--the way I hiked in--and it's surrounded by debris: old parts to ski lifts, an abandoned truck, even an antique kayak, seen above in the fifth photo.

But the mountains were lovely from here, with clouds scuttling over the ridgetop, creating an ever-changing interplay between darkness and light.

There are privately-owned cabins all along the road to the ski resort, although the road passes through the Forbes.  My guess is that the state leases the properties.  

This one looks cool...in a strange sort of way.

For the official website of the Laurel Mountain Ski Resort, click this incredibly unhelpful link: http://www.skilaurelmountain.com/