Pando was founded as the Pando Ski Center in 1960 outside the town of Rockford, near Grand Rapids. In 1977, it was sold to the current owners who renamed it Pando Winter Sports Park. Pando’s new owners adopted policies friendly to the new sports of “snurfing” and then snowboarding, hosting the annual World Snurfing Championships and in 1979 hosted the world’s first snowboarding competition, won by Jake Burton Carpenter.
Later, Pando became the first area in Michigan to install a tubing hill. Pando’s web site has a page recounting their history.
After over 50 years in business in the Grand Rapids area, Pando is still a popular local ski destination
