Avalanche Peak was a ski area very near Boyne City. On Fri., Jan. 25, 1952, The Ludington Daily News winter sports report listed Avalanche, near Boyne City, with 7″ fresh powder over an 8″ base leading to excellent conditions. Perhaps they closed for a year or two since according to Sports Illustrated, it opened as a new area in 1958 with a 1500′ poma lift rising 260′ and 2 miles of trails. Later, it reportedly sported at least one double chairlift.
I do not know when it closed or the lift was removed, but today it operates as a sledding hill within a Boyne City park called Avalanche Preserve Recreation Area. There is an observation deck at the summit and in winter people use the stairs to climb the hill for sledding (although most don’t start from the top.) The park has a skating rink (sorry, no hockey) and loaner sleds, and an x-c ski trail that doubles in warmer weather as a mountain bike trail. Apparently locals refer to one of the slopes as Barn Mountain. I do not know if this is the location of a former ski area of that name.
Steps to Observation Deck at Avalanche Peak from Boyne City website
