Stanley Quarter Park
New Britain, CT
1960s-1970s
Thanks to N.
Dorval, who pointed out this area to NELSAP:
"From
the late 60's until the early 70's, the town operated a large rope tow slope on
Blake Rd, adjacent to Stanley Quarter Park. It was one long wide slope,
and for a period of time I served as Ski Patrolman for the area, while growing
up. It was lit at night, back when we got lots of snow, it was the place
to go."
J. Regan visited this lost ski tow in March of 2006 and offered the following report and pictures:
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The remains of the old rope tow are located as described above, just 300 yards off Blake Road in the Northwestern corner of Stanley Quarter Park - New Britain, CT. This was a one tow, one slope setup similar to many of the other lost ski tows in the State of Connecticut. The hill has a vertical rise of around 100 feet and the slope length is approximately 500 feet. |
 Looking up the only slope |
 Looking down from the top |
The one slope appeared to have been recently cleared of a tangle of saplings, vines and underbrush that I'm sure existed as this hill hasn't been used for skiing in 25+ years. The one open slope was medium in width at the top and widened as you approach the bottom, with nice variations in terrain. There was also existing evidence that this hill was once lighted for night skiing. |
|
The remains of the rope tow are slowly being reclaimed by the elements and the efforts of the parks department. To date, only two two guide towers remain standing. The engine, rope and drive system components where not to be found. |
 Looking down rope tow line |
Here's some additional pictures from my visit:
 Looking up tow line |
 Lights! |
Does anybody else have any more information? Please let us know!
Last updated: May 13, 2006