Ski Southeast Messageboard

As the only ski and snowboard destination in Georgia, Sky Valley, elevation 3,500 feet, closed its doors for good in 2005. Following the changing of ownership in 2004, the resort decided to close following the season to evaluate a possible rejuvenation of the area, but decided to raise the ropes forever.



Sky Valley was located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northeast tip of Georgia and had five trails spanning around 20 acres. Sky Valley was accessed with two lifts.



Sky Valley changed hands in Summer of 2004 and they closed for the Winter 2004-2005 season while the new owners talked the resort's future. In the Summer of 2005 Sky Valley came out with an announcement about closing their skiing operation. SkiSoutheast.com spoke with the new owners at the time of their purchase and there was some serious talk about reopening the ski resort with upgraded amenities, etc. A lot of local talk was going around and the excitement caused quite a stir. Rumors about improving the facility proved false and Sky Valley no longer caters to Winter sports.



Sky Valley Resort still operates and offers exclusive mountain homes, golf, tennis, and swimming.



If you have any information or photos about this ski area, post here or drop us an email at [email protected]. This portion of the messageboard was implemented so that those who have skied or played at any of the closed ski areas can share their experiences and discuss "old times". Understand that the content shared may not be 100% accurate.

This was emailed to us...



David Bridgers of Atlanta wrote:



I used to love going to Sky Valley. With a 210 foot drop from top to bottom it's was not the tallest hill there is, but Sky Valley made up for it in other ways. There are still a lot delightful comfy hotels there.



This ski mountain was a small spot with a pleasant staff. The place had a lot of beautiful drives around the ski mountains. Lots of skiers drove up there from Toccoa, especially on the weekends.

I went to Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, about a fifteen minute drive away, and I remember people talking about how we used to have the only high school ski team in Georgia. From what I know, they used to practice at Sky Valley and race at Cataloochee. I still have a few friends that will go up there and sled the old slopes when there is a good enough storm.

Here are a couple photos I dug up online:













Also, here is an overview of the slopes area on Google Maps:

View of the Slopes

I learned to ski at Sky Valley. Was a short 1.5 hour driver or less from mys house. Had lots of fun there as a teenager.

skinc used to have a bunch of pictures, but the way they appear on the website has changed, and I cant find them.

I went to Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, GA and we would go up to Sky Valley almost weekly during the winters. They would have college nights on Thursdays with lift/equipment deals for something like $20 total and have bars outside on the slopes. It was packed from people from TMC, UGA, and other schools up there in the area. It was a lot of fun to go there, as it was only a skip and a hop away from Atlanta. I would love to see it come back, but know it's never going to happen.



If you look at the slopes on Google Maps, you can tell that they did cut some new trails many years ago, but that's when the financial situation really kicked in and they couldn't expand the lift /snow-making systems. I think the money problem wasn't with Sky Valley directly during this time, but it's parent company who filed for chapter 11 or 13 protection and then nothing ever came of the trail expansion.

The place that started it all for me... I was 7 years old and my parents took me to go ski. They told me I didn't know how but I told them I had learned by watching Nickelodeon... Nickelodeon taught me the pizza and the french fry and I went to the bunny hill and went straight down and then asked to go on the real lift. My parents were very impressed at how fast I picked it up and They continued to let me do snowsports. After a year I picked up my true passion snowboarding because I fell so bad on my ski's that i was in a wheelchair for a couple months... So i threw my hat in snowboarding. Best decision of my life. But Sky Valley started it all and I will never forget it.

Hate I missed this place. Seems cool

@gmo1011 244906 wrote:The place that started it all for me... I was 7 years old and my parents took me to go ski. They told me I didn't know how but I told them I had learned by watching Nickelodeon... Nickelodeon taught me the pizza and the french fry and I went to the bunny hill and went straight down and then asked to go on the real lift. My parents were very impressed at how fast I picked it up and They continued to let me do snowsports. After a year I picked up my true passion snowboarding because I fell so bad on my ski's that i was in a wheelchair for a couple months... So i threw my hat in snowboarding. Best decision of my life. But Sky Valley started it all and I will never forget it.



Lol, that's classic, especially the bold.