Area in Butler

A small rope-tow ski hill once operated in Butler, Maryland, just north of Oregon Ridge. Richard Hays places the area on what he believes was the property of the Black Rock YMCA, although the available account does not establish the site with certainty. It appears to have been active during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

This was a simple, weather-dependent operation rather than a developed mountain resort. The slope was essentially a cow pasture hillside, and skiing depended on natural snow. That combination suggests an informal local hill whose season and operation were closely tied to winter weather. Beyond its rope tow, setting, and approximate operating period, little documentation survives in the profile, leaving Butler’s former ski area as a modest but distinctive piece of the region’s neighborhood skiing history.