Franklin, Wisconsin — The Rock Snowpark will revert to its original name.
Last week, The Rock Snowpark announced that it is reverting back to its original name: Crystal Ridge. The change is effective immediately, and new signage and merchandise will be around for the 2024-25 season. They also announced that they will make various improvements to the snowmaking infrastructure, lodge, and groomers in the years ahead.
“We are thrilled to bring back the Crystal Ridge name. I think what Kaishian built here in Franklin and Milwaukee County is something this community should be proud of. We want to honor that name as well as give it some new life,” said Riley May, General Manager at Crystal Ridge. “Crystal Ridge captures that ‘ski-hill-feel’ better than the previous name. It also allows us to haveone cohesive name and branding for bothwinter and summer business (wedding & events).”
First opened in 1987, the Wisconsin ski area was created by John Kaishian. He created the ski area by adding construction fill onto the hill, making a vertical drop of 230 feet. His reasoning for building the ski area was to create a local place where kids could learn to ski.
In 2012, new ownership changed the name to The Rock Snowpark. This was to correlate with its other properties that were a part of The Rock Sports Complex. In 2017, the ski area was sold to Rick & Mike Schmitz, who still owns it to this day. Along with Crystal Ridge, they own Little Switzerland and Nordic Mountain, which are also situated in Wisconsin.
According to the Storm Skiing Journal, ten U.S. ski areas have changed their names since 2021. The most notable is Squaw Valley changing its name to Palisades Tahoe, which has remained a divisive choice despite the original name being offensive to Native Americans. Crystal Ridge joins Pleasant Mountain as a ski area reverting to its original name, as Boyne Resorts renamed Shawnee Peak to Pleasant Mountain in 2022.
Customer reaction to the move has been largely positive. Many are nostalgic for the original name, with people still having keepsakes like sweatshirts from this era. In terms of recent ski area rebrands, this is among the most well-received.
Image/Video Credits: Crystal Ridge
