Donations | Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Area

Help Save Enchanted Forest!

After 32 years Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Snowshoe Area is in danger of closing. This year’s continued dry weather could mean the end of Enchanted Forest so we are asking for your help to open this upcoming season.

Since moving to Red River in 1963, Judy and John Miller have made skiing their life’s work — from their ownership of Powder Puff Mountain to the founding of Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Area in winter 1985-86. They were led by optimism and love, along with so many of their dear friends, customers and customer/friends (is there a difference?). Drought, and the ups and downs of business have made it hard to get by. “Snow farming” is not for the timid!

In 2010 Geoff Goins and Ellen Miller bought the business and, in subsequent years, tried different ways to expand. Some — yurt camping —worked really well. Others — a retail shop — left the business in debt. It’s debt Enchanted Forest could have weathered without… well… the weather. Since the 2014-15 ski season the business has operated at a deficit it was oh so close to erasing — until this year. We call it “snow farming” but when drought years hit hard — and this year has hit especially hard — it can be devastating.

This year’s dry weather could mean with end of Enchanted Forest. So we are asking for your help. We need to bring our payments to the USDA Forest Service up to date. We need to pay for workers’ comp insurance. We need a shuttle and snowplow. We have other expenses, too. If we were able to take care of these, we would be able to carry forward this season — and beyond.