California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park is famous for its steaming fumaroles, crystal-clear lakes, and numerous volcanoes. However, folks might not be aware that it was once home to a ski resort.
There are only a handful of active ski areas operating inside National Park in the United States. These include Boston Mills/Brandywine in Ohio, Hurricane Ridge in Washington, and Badger Pass Ski Area in California. Lassen Ski Area used to be included in the short list until it was closed in 1994.
First opened in 1939, the Lassen Ski Area operated for decades but frequent management changes, a drought in the early 1990s, the inability to do summer slope maintenance due to federal regulations, and several financial issues led to its closure in 1994. The lifts and lodge were eventually removed and new visitor’s center stands in its place.
Lassen’s jagged peaks tell the story of its eruptive volcanic past but its ski history isn’t so apparent to the eye.
National Park Service History of Lassen Park Ski Area:
In 1994, skiers enjoyed the last season of Lassen Park Ski Area. To this day, visitors who return to the the park enjoy reminiscing about the days they taught their children to ski or learned to ski themselves at the family-friendly facility.
Lassen Park Ski Area was the result of a long history of winter use in the park’s Southwest Area. Beginning in 1932, competitions hosted by Mt. Lassen Ski Club (photos) generated interest in winter sports at Lassen. In the 1940s, the park and a private in-holder opened competing ski areas in the Sulphur Works area (photos). Two decades later, the 1960 Winter Olympics in nearby Squaw Valley led to a record number of skiers in the park.

By the mid-1960s, major redevelopment of the ski area was underway. The most notable improvement included a permanent winter-use building, which came to be known as Lassen Chalet. The two-story A-frame featured a tall glass wall that provided warming skiers with an expansive view of the lower ski hill.
The chalet served as the heart of the ski area throughout its relatively short life. In 1972, rangers began offering snowshoe tours from the chalet. The programs proved enormously popular and have continued to this day. Inside, the park concessioner provided food service, a gift shop, equipment rental, a ski school, and a ski shop. Visitors who sipped hot chocolate or picked up their first set of rental skis in the chalet remember it with a special fondness. However, over the years the relatively new building presented a myriad of problems that eventually made it too burdensome to maintain.

In 2005, the chalet was condemned and demolished. In its place, the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center continues to offer a year-round base camp for winter enthusiasts. In its first ten years, the single-story building, designed to weather Lassen’s long winters, has proved to be a worthy replacement. For some visitors, the new facility differs too greatly from the A-frame chalet they once frequented. Standing under the foyer’s high ceilings and gazing north out its large picture window, it can be difficult to recall the building and ski area in which so many memories were made.
Outside, people often gaze upward, trying to discern the faint outline of the old ski runs or the path of the various lifts that once propelled skiers up the surrounding slopes. Ecological restoration projects have since returned the area to its pre-development condition. The 50-plus concrete ski-lift foundations, which once supported a poma tow and a chairlift aptly named Bumpass Heaven, were removed along with various dirt access roads.
Today, the former ski area continues a legacy as a family-friendly winter destination. Every winter, the Southwest Area welcomes thousands of skiers, sledders, snowshoers, and snowplay enthusiasts. The memories of the old skill hill and the Lassen Chalet live on through the stories of returning visitors, just as Lassen’s new visitors create their own memories in Lassen’s ever-magical, winter wonderland.
