Opened in 1955, Buck Hills was a small, community ski area created and operated by volunteers. In 1960, a few of the volunteers formed a corporation, bought the area and renamed it Crystal Mountain. It still operates under that name.
In 1957, Reggie Robertson from Elberta was reportedly working very hard and needing help to construct a new high school ski jump at Buck Hills for the coming season. Robertson was said to be an expert jumper himself and had managed the jump and ski hill at Elberta. This from The Benzie County Patriot,Oct 24, 1957.
In about 1959, a Consumers Power brochure listed Buck Hills as 10 mi southeast of Beulah on M-113. It had 4 runs, 2 tows, a ski jump, rental equipment, a shelter house and a snack bar. It offered night skiing on Wednesday and Saturday.
It should have said M-115, not M-113