Today, Mt. Holiday stands as a four-season recreation location and the cornerstone of the Holiday Hills neighborhood on the east side of Traverse City. Seventy-three years ago, in 1949, Mt. Holiday was just a tree covered chunk of state land when a group of recreation hungry community members came together to build a single ski run. It marked the beginning of something special.

Mt. Holiday Executive Director Nate Noyes explained, “This neighborhood in Traverse City was just evolving. They made their first rope tows; they were literally made out of farm equipment and ropes, and they got people up the hill. There was no such thing as snowmaking. There were no groomers.” Together, they cleared the land, leaned on each other’s talents, and created a place to enjoy the long, cold winters of northern Michigan.

A few years later, in the 1950s, word spread that the old Coast Guard barracks at the airport would be torn down. So, Noyes said this resourceful group saw an opportunity. “They were like, ‘Don’t throw all these timbers away!’ They brought them all over here, and boom, they made this lodge,” he said. The same lodge is still standing at the foot of the hill today. Pictures from the past prove Mt. Holiday quickly became a beloved place to gather, laugh, and play together as a family and community.

The hill changed hands several times between private owners before landing in the Brosch family’s lap in the mid-1980s. Mr. Warren Brosch and his wife Sue owned a hotel downtown and teamed up with a few other hotel owners to buy the old ski hill down the road, thinking it may help them drum up some business. “And they joke that he was the only one that showed up to the closing, so by default, Warren and Sue were the ones that got it,” Noyes quipped.

“I think for them, there was a shift in what Mt. Holiday was to them,” Mt. Holiday General Manager Josh Rhem said. “You know, it started out as something to try and help fill up hotel rooms, but they fell in love with serving the community and the kids in particular. I think it was only a few years before it was really, truly only a passion project.”

Under the Brosch ownership, they took what had become a run-down, vandalized, old ski hill and revived it to its former glory. They added chairlifts and a tubing hill. Noye reflected, “Warren was a legend known for just wanting to put smiles on kids’ faces. He wanted to do that out here. This thing never made any money for him, but as his wife says, he just loved this place.”

After Warren passed away, many tried to purchase and develop the property, but his widow Sue knew Mt. Holiday belonged to the community. “It was actually one of the sons of one of the original owners—his name was Dr. Hall; he’s the one that kind of anchored the idea to start a nonprofit and save Mt. Holiday,” explained Rhem.

It was 2001 when the group successfully raised $1.5 million and purchased the hill. Shortly after, Mt. Holiday became a member of Cherryland Electric Cooperative. “Now, we’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We have a board of directors, and we’re back to what this started to be,” said Noyes.

A lot has changed in the last 73 years, but the mission has stayed the same. “Our mission is to connect this community, connect families through recreation, and we want to do it affordably,” Noyes explained.

Family generations have learned to ski here. They’ve watched every run, tumble, and turn while sipping hot cocoa, perched in the cozy lodge by those seemingly endless windows. The team a Mt. Holiday expects that to be the case for generations to come.

“One of the things that I’m really proud of is on any night in the wintertime, you’ll see family generations together. It’s not uncommon to see grandkids, mom and dad, and grandma and grandpa out here together,” reflected Rhem, who has been working at Mt. Holiday since it became a nonprofit over two decades ago.

As the infrastructure ages, things need to be updated. In the coming years, Mt. Holiday will see some upgrades to ensure its operation runs as efficiently as possible. But one thing is sure, the magic of Mt. Holiday is here to stay. “This is a place where cell phones get turned off. It’s timeless. Kids out there skiing, it’s like it’s 1960 or 1980, you know,” said Noyes.

And so, as the world we live in continues to change, Mt. Holiday stays frozen in time, ready to be the place where memories are made, relationships are forged, and community is cherished.

For more details on Mt. Holiday’s history, programs, scholarships, and how you can support the hill, visit mt-holiday.com.