Picture Vernon: Remember Skiing At Henry Park?

VERNON, CT — Remember when there was a ski hill at Vernon's Henry Park?

One of the more fascinating Web sites for the snow sports enthusiast is the New England Lost Ski Areas Project (NELSAP), a chronicle of an era of local ski hills that has come and gone. To date, NELSAP has listed 60 lost areas in the state and many are from the area.

Henry Park is one of them.

The ski hill at Henry Park was booming in the 1970s with a warming hut, a ski school and even Ski Patrol service.

The old trail is visible after a fresh snowfall and can be traced just below Fox Hill Tower on the back side of the park. It's a bit too overgrown to be poached.

The best view of it is from Lower Butcher Road in Ellington.

It closed in the 1980s and the old rope tow stanchion was still visible up until a couple of years ago, when age and rust got the better of it.

A sledding hill with lights is now featured on the main side of Fox Hill at Henry Park.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

Picture Vernon is a column that looks look at the town — past and present.

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