Ski Cape Smokey
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| Ski Cape Smokey | |
|---|---|
  Ski Cape Smokey Location in Nova Scotia | |
| Location | Victoria County, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Nearest major city | Ingonish, Nova Scotia |
| Coordinates | 46°26′26.4″N 60°28′7.2″W / 46.440667°N 60.468667°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | 1970 |
| Vertical | 305 m |
| Top elevation | 320 m |
| Base elevation | 15 m |
| Skiable area | 100 acres |
| Trails | 15  2 – Easiest  10 – More Difficult  2 – Most Difficult  2 – Expert |
| Longest run | 2.4 km |
| Lift system | 1 Gondola 1 Poma Lift |
| Snowfall | 393 cm (13ft) /year |
| Snowmaking | 60% |
| Website | Ski Cape Smokey |
Ski Cape Smokey is a ski hill located in Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia, Canada; a coastal community on the Cabot Trail, flanking the boundary of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Cape Breton.
Since reopening under new ownership in 2021, Ski Cape Smokey offers 15 alpine runs, a gondola to summit operating year-round, a poma lift, snow-making and grooming, a ski school, a rental and retail shop, and a restaurant and bar.[1]
Many other amenities are planned for the coming years, including a new Lodge, hotel accommodations, an elaborate look-off structure at the summit, and additional year-round trails and ski runs.[2]
Ski Cape Smokey is known for being Nova Scotia's highest elevation ski mountain at over 320 meters, 305 of them skiable, and for its expansive ocean views. Conceived in the early 1970s after a 1968 wildfire blew northwards from Wreck cove and razed large swathes of forest on Smokey Mountain.[3] Cape Smokey Provincial Park was established there in 1983.[4] The ski runs are visible in their entirety from nearby Keltic Lodge, a historic golf resort on the opposite side of Ingonish Harbour. The hill receives 393 cm of snowfall per year.[4]
After years of intermittent operations, the Ski Hill was purchased in 2019 by Cape Smokey Holding Ltd. from the Nova Scotia Government for $370,000.[5]
The new owners' plans for the revitalization of the hill and facilities include year-round operation for a large variety of sports including Alpine Skiing, Mountain Biking, Snowshoeing, Tubing, and Hiking. An ambitious project of rehabilitation is well underway, including the gondola, which opened for 4-season operation in 2021, and is the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada.[6]
In 2022, Ski Cape Smokey received a $950,000 grant from the federal government, for state-of-the-art snowmaking equipment to be installed halfway up the mountain. It is expected to extend the winter season for approximately 2 months per year, from November to April.[7]
Trails
| Easy
(Green Circle) |
Intermediate
(Blue Square) |
Difficult *
(Black Diamond) |
Expert *
(Double Black Diamond) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Bunny Hill | Racers Edge | Pit Fall | Cliff Hanger |
| Country Mile | Hecklers Highway | Hickory Dickory Dock (g) | Check Me Shorts |
| Jigs & Reels | Boomerang | ||
| Racing Pitch | |||
| Chicken Chute | |||
| Jigs & Reels | |||
| Far Side | |||
| Snowboard Heaven |
- Not Groomed: *
- Gladed trail with trees: (g)