Hound Ears, a private club on Highway 105 between Boone and Linville in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, appears to have offered downhill skiing beginning in the mid-1960s. The small ski operation occupied two slopes at a resort better known for its four-season amenities, including golf, tennis, swimming, and dining. One reader recalls that the Robbins brothers, who also developed Tweetsie Railroad, created the resort and that it had an exclusive clientele. Another remembers Hound Ears as North Carolina’s first ski slope, though accounts of its opening vary.
The skiing was modest and strongly oriented toward beginners. A skier who visited around the late 1980s or early 1990s recalls one double chairlift, a rope tow serving a children’s slope, and a short run with a single sharp turn. The limited terrain was not suited to experienced skiers, but provided an approachable setting for first-timers. The profile does not establish when downhill skiing ended, and the resort continues as a private four-season club.
Hound Ears Club is a small club located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. The four-season resort offers activities such as golf, tennis, swimming, and dining, and at one point appears to have offered downhill skiing on two slopes. Hound Ridge began skiing in the mid-1960s, although we do not know when downhill skiing ended. Hound Ears is located on Highway 105 between Boone and Linville, North Carolina.
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