Did You Know There Is An Abandoned Ski Area In Superior, Wisconsin?
Legend has it that the Manitou Valley campground in Superior, Wisconsin opened up in the 1960's for families to make fun outdoor memories. The campground ended up closing in the 1980's, however some structures are still on the property.
WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.
Since it opened so long ago and closed so long ago, there's not a lot of information about it online (which makes sense). However, this makes me more intrigued about a place so close to home that I had no idea it even existed. According to the description of the video:
Manitou Valley was open from 1965 through the early 1980s. It had 6 runs and 4 rope tows. It’s small but has character. Check out the ski bridge that connects the two sides of the area.
The video is pretty sweet as it shows someone on skies making their way through the area. They even go into the abandoned chalet which could definitely use some renovating. Coolest part is the bridge that I believe goes over the Nemadji river.
The campground is listed on almost every campground site there is, however there is absolutely no information on it. If you Google it, it comes up as "permanently close". I did happen to stumble across a Facebook page called Lost Wisconsin Ski Areas. They posted some pictures of it about four years ago and said " It's about a mile down the Nemadji (Black) River from Pattison Falls State Park".
The post was flooded with people who had fond memories of the place. One person shared some really awesome memories and said:
there was three runs, you had the main run to the chalet and the run to the left where the road would come down the hill which was converted to camp spots was placed by the remaining wheel rims that was still on poles and some birch trees then. And the other run was on the right of the main run and come down on the side of the chalet to catch the tow rope back up to the main run.
I honestly find this so cool and fascinating that there isn't a lot of information about this old, but not forgotten area. The address for the old area is 3467 East Manitou Valley Road. In the Facebook post it also says that the area was sold to the DNR, so please do not trespass.
Check out the video below:
Check out the best sledding hills in the area: