Trip report: Shredding at the first resort to feature lift skiing for the 2024-25 season

Shrewsbury, Massachusetts — It’s not often you can ski in New England in October. The climate in New England is getting warmer, which means fewer opportunities for skiing and horseback riding in October. However, there was a period last week Cold weather and snow made skiing at the upper elevations possible. Meanwhile, a ski resort in the south got snow, allowing them to become the first ski resort in North America to offer lift service in the 2024-25 season.

Last Saturday, Ski Ward in Massachusetts opened for skiing and riding on a small patch of snow served by their magic carpet. This was made possible by purchasing a Latitude 90 snowmaking system, which allows ski resorts to blow snow at varying temperatures, even above freezing. This made Ski Ward the first in North America to open lift service ski and horseback riding last season, and they did it again by hosting their Fall Family Weekend on October 19th and 20th.

After writing about Ski Ward and its snowmaking machine for over a year, it seemed like the right time to head south and explore this place.

After a less than two hour drive to Massachusetts, I pulled into the Ski Ward parking lot. After driving through most of the flat land in Massachusetts, Ski Ward showed up in the last quarter mile of my ride. It is a fairly large hill with an elevation gain of 220 feet. As I drove in I caught my first glimpse of the snowy slope.

The strange situation started when I was waiting in line to grab my pre-purchased ticket. Various summer activities such as mini golf, bouncy castle and petting zoo. After a short walk, I passed a spooky haunted maze and a summer tubing facility. Then I got my first glimpse of the Latitude 90 snowmaking system and the slopes.

You reach the slope via the magic carpet, which you share with the bulbous plants. It means: keep going, start walking, so you put on the bindings at the top of the slope and take them off again at the bottom. The snow was soft, but not so soft that it was too sticky. No bumps formed, and I even found some cording, although it appeared about an hour after opening. Although tickets were $5 for a session, the slope was never too crowded, with usually one to two people skiing down at a time. The lines for each ride up took less than two minutes, and people on the slopes mingled with those tubing.

Overall, skiing on snow was a real eye-catcher. Is this worth a visit? That’s probably the case if you’re within a reasonable distance by car, but it’s still a small patch of snow. While it’s not about bottomless powder skiing or silky-smooth corduroy, it helps create momentum for this coming that I can support.

Ski Ward will remain closed for skiing and riding until November 1, when it will offer ski and snowboard lessons for children. A train jam is planned for November 2nd. If you’re looking for skiing and riding with outdoor lifts, head to Wolf Creek.

Photo credit: Ian Wood, Ski Department

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