Shrewsbury, Massachusetts — It’s not often that you can ski in New England in October. The climate in New England is getting warmer, leading to fewer opportunities to ski and ride in October. However, last week, there was a stretch when cold weather and snow allowed skiing in the upper elevations. Meanwhile, down south, one ski area made snow, allowing them to be the first to offer lift-serviced skiing in North America for the 2024-25 season.
Last Saturday, Ski Ward in Massachusetts opened for skiing and riding on a small patch of snow serviced by their magic carpet. This was made possible by purchasing a Latitude 90 snowmaking system, which allows ski resorts to blow snow at various temperatures, even above freezing. It allowed Ski Ward to be the first in North America to open for lift-serviced skiing and riding last season, and they were able to pull it off again by operating on October 19th and 20th for their Fall Family Weekend.
After writing about Ski Ward and its snowmaking machine for over a year, it seemed like an appropriate time to head down south and check this place out.
After a less than two-hour drive down to Massachusetts, I pulled into the Ski Ward parking lot. After driving through flat land for most of the drive in Massachusetts, Ski Ward popped up in the last quarter mile of my drive. It’s a decently sized hill with a 220-foot vertical drop. While pulling in, I got my first glimpse of the snow-covered slope.
The oddity of the situation set in while I was waiting in line to grab my pre-purchased ticket. Various summer activities, like mini golf, a bouncy house, and a petting zoo. After a short walk, I passed a spooky haunted maze and a summer tubing setup. Then, I got my first glimpses of the Latitude 90 snowmaking system and the slope.
You reach the slope by walking onto the magic carpet, which is shared with tubers. It’s walk on, walk off, so you step into your bindings at the top of the slope and then take them off at the bottom. The snow was soft, but not enough so that it made it too sticky. Bumps didn’t formulate, and I even found some cord despite showing up roughly an hour after they opened. Even though tickets were $5 for a session, the slope was never too crowded, with usually 1-2 people going down at a time. Lines were under two minutes for each trip up, with folks on the slopes merging with those who were tubing.
Overall, skiing on snow again scratched the itch. Is this worth the visit? It’s probably if you’re within a reasonable driving distance, but it’s still a small snow patch. While it’s not skiing bottomless powder or silky smooth corduroy, it helps create stoke for this coming, which I can get behind.
Ski Ward will reopen for skiing and riding this Saturday. Starting November 1st, they will begin hosting ski and snowboarding lessons for kids. A rail jam is planned for November 2nd. If you’re looking for outdoor lift-serviced skiing and riding right now, head to Wolf Creek.