Grass Parking Lot

Everett’s dream for the Boyne Ski Club initially slated the lodge to be set further off the ski hill to allow for longer runs. Look across the road to the large open field just before the Mountain Grand Lodge. That land belonged to the Skop family and wasn’t part of the original 40 acres from Pearson. The Skop family lived in Detroit and worked for Dodge. Everett and his lawyers tried everything to acquire the land but the family was adamantly against selling. This one factor shaped the runs at Boyne Mountain and taught Everett a valuable lesson. He stated in his autobiography, “If I ever started another ski area I’d lock up all the land needed before a single tree was cut.”

Fast forward 15 years to the early 1960s when Everett purchased Harbor Highlands, now called The Highlands. Even though there was only one run and one tow rope to start, Everett had big plans. He purchased all the land at the base of the ski lift as well as the hill so he could expand to his heart’s content. The ski runs are a bit longer at the Highlands for this reason and the resort layout is more spaced out than the Mountain.

📸 Attached Media:

-1940 Boyne Valley, Deer Lake Plat Map

-Looking across the old Skop Land, photo from SnoCountry.com

-1961 USGS Topographical Map - Boyne Falls

-1986 USGS Topographical Map - Boyne Falls

🏃Turn right. Continue on the road back toward the red airport building. Follow the road around the soccer fields to the left.

📚 Bibliography: ® β Δ ♥

1940 Plat Map
From Charlevoix County 1930c, Michigan
Published by W. W. Hixon & Co. in 1930