Where was this area? It turns out that Fonro was about 20 mi. north of Mio, 1 1/2 mi. east of M-33 near Comins. On Jan. 4, 1968, The Cass City Chronicle noted in the AAA Guide to Winter Sports Fun in Michigan that Fonro had 5 slopes and 3 tows. According to the 1971 AAA Winter Sports Fun List published in the same paper on Dec. 10, 1970, Fonro had 7 slopes and 3 rope tows. of Dec. 24, 1969 noted on Page 5 that Fonro operated one of the largest snowmobile rental businesses in the state. The Evening Independent from St. Petersburg, FL, on 11/17/70 in an article on page 9B titled “Michigan Offers Winter Fun” noted that Fonro had added snowmobile trails.
A patroller I used to ski with at Mt. Maria once related his experience visiting Fonro to help train the ski patrol there. He said it was a luxurious area for people from the Detroit area. Families arrived in large black sedans or limos. The kids went skiing, the wives went to the bar, and the men, wearing dark business suits, disappeared into the back room. He thought it looked like an underworld retreat. I am unable to spot this former area on the satellite map. If you know the exact location, please let me know.
If you have any information about skiing at Fonro, please post it or send it according tot he directions on the About MILSAP page.
I skied Fonro as a kid with my family. It’s where I learned to ski using cable binding skis with screwed on edges. Rope tows only. I’ll see if my parents have some old photos from there. I’m now an Instructor at Pine Knob in Clarkston.
We also skiied there as a family (back in 1970′s!) and it was very close to Gaylord. There was a small lodge and yes, a single tow rope. They used to do snow mobiling back then, too. They also had a pet deer which wore a red collar to separate it from the rest. Sadly, he was mistakenly shot by a hunter. Hope this helps!
My Grandparents, I. Gasper & Anna Perrone owned the land that became Fonro Lodge in the early 1960′s. It was used as a family hunting lodge for over 4 decades until my grandfather passed away in the early sixties. By then, they had retired and moved from Mt. Clemens to Boca Raton, Florida.
My 1st wife and I spent our honeymoon at the lodge in December 1969. The property had just been sold and was re-opening after the deal closing in January 1970. Because of our relationship to the property, they opened the lodge to accomodate our long standing ties to the land. We were the only guests in the lodge, and they kept three staff members on site to accomodate our needs including bar, restaurant, skiing and snowmobiling.
I have not been back to the area since that honeymoon but will be traveling to Michigan this Summer. If I could locate the property, I’d like to go back and revisit childhood memories – especially the old cabin back in the northern section of the property. Great summer vacations and deer hunting memories.
Someone give me an address – the road name/number would be perfect … I can find it from there.