Hiking Evergreen Valley Stoneham, Maine

The trail map for Evergreen Valley still hangs outside the base lodge.

Evergreen Valley was a medium sized ski area with a troubled history, bankruptcies, and a relatively short existence. It was one of the last major ski areas to be developed in New England, finally opening in 1972, and only lasted for ten years (including a closure form 1975-1976). It had a 1050' vertical drop and three Mueller lattice tower chairlifts. The area closed in 1982, lifts were removed in the early 1990's, and today, the trails are very much grown in. However, the huge base lodge still stands and apparently is still rarely used.

The entire saga of Evergreen Valley from start to finish is documented in excruciating detail in a nine-volume set of papers owned by the Lovell Historical Society.

For skiers at least, one of these documents closes the torturous case. The prolonged shuttering of the ski area violated the terms of the federal land lease, and National Forest Service ordered Evergreen Valley to remove the lifts in 1991.

Of the three double chairlifts, the concrete platforms of the lower terminals are the only remains that are visible to the occasional curious visitors who stop by to gaze and wonder.

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