The Sad Demise of Talisman Ski Resort

Talisman Ski Resort is one of two ski hills in the Beaver Valley, and has been a popular public ski hill for nearly 60 years. I remember it as the place I learned to ski in the mid-sixties. But now it sits closed and seemingly abandoned, deteriorating fast.

As a ski resort, Talisman is public, not a private club, and drew a lot of its users from schools. I'm told it was not unusual in the past to see 20 school buses in the parking lot almost every day through the winter. It also operated as a year-round resort, with a hotel and golf course to attract visitors the rest of the year. The golf course wasn't large, but was popular.



But a few years ago the resort was sold, and local opinion seems to be that the new owner was more interested in real estate than in running the resort. It has gone downhill ever since, while plans were laid for condos and ski chalet subdivisions. Full-page ads appeared in glossy real estate magazines, but apparently not a chalet lot or condo has been sold. By last March the money had run out, both the ski hill and the hotel operations were failing, and the resort closed - apparently with numerous unpaid employees and bills to local contractors. Rumour is that it is for sale, or has already been sold.


Meantime, 4 months of no maintenance has left the resort looking pathetic. The hotel just sits there, weeds growing through what was once a nicely landscaped entrance. The golf course has been virtually destroyed very quickly, with fairways grown up in grass, sand traps filling with weeds, and greens hardly recognizable if it weren't for the fact that they are roped off.



And nearby sit the real estate signs - what's left of grand plans, while 100 local people have lost their jobs. A sad situation all 'round.