Big Rock

Per Big Rock's own history page, "the first attempt to create a ski hill was in 1954," when Vaughn Cole and Carol Anderson "put a rope tow up the western side of the mountain... it lasted only a couple of years." After a shipping delay, a Poma lift's grand opening followed on March 5, 1961, under the name Mars Hill Skiway. Wendell and Marie Pierce purchased the area in October 1967, registering it as Ski Way of Aroostook, Inc. and renaming it Big Rock Mountain. In the season of 1993-1994, "they installed the 4,616 feet Mueller double chairlift servicing the top of the mountain," replacing a lift purchased from the closed Evergreen Valley Ski Area. In the fall of 2000, the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC) purchased the 290-acre Big Rock Ski Area, "thanks in large part to a $1.5 million grant from the Libra Foundation." In June 2013, MWSC "announced plans to get out of the alpine ski business," and that October, Big Rock's closing was announced; "the mountain was saved by a group forming a nonprofit with the area being transferred" to them. Per Big Rock's own "Chairlift Capital Campaign" page, on December 8, 2021 the area "initiated a capital campaign to replace the aging double chairlift to the top with a new quad chairlift... costing approximately $2.9 million." On August 18, 2022, Big Rock was "Awarded $2.5 Million Grant from US Department of Commerce Economic Development," toward a $5 million total project, putting the campaign "at 75% raised." On October 4, 2022, U.S. Senator Susan Collins visited to discuss the grant, quoted saying, "BigRock Mountain is a powerful economic engine for Aroostook County, contributing to the local economy and supporting jobs, small businesses, and rural communities." On March 6, 2023, Big Rock signed a contract with Doppelmayr for the new quad chairlift, targeting installation in the summer of 2024 for the 2024-25 season. Big Rock's own website describes it as "a 501(c)(3), getting the community on the slopes," and a blog post titled "End of the 2025/2026 Season" states, "After 65 days of operation, we are officially wrapping up the season."