Nestled in Madison, New Hampshire, King Pine Ski Area boasts a rich history and a family-friendly, community-based atmosphere. King Pine is a family-owned resort, along with nearby Purity Spring Resort.
Prior to the advent of lift-served skiing, the establishment of three entities paved the way for the creation of King Pine. Circa the late 1800s, Edward Hoyt created the Hoyt Natural Spring Water Company, which shipped bottled water to regional cities. By 1902, Edward Hoyt and M. H.
My trip started out at King Pine, where I learned how the Hoyt family, who owns the ski area along with nearby Purity Spring Resort, began establishing the ski area nearly a hundred years ago.
In the midst of the lift served skiing boom of the 1960s, Purity Spring Resort constructed a larger ski area on the opposite side of East Madison Road in 1962. Serviced by a double chairlift, the new King Pine ski area initially consisted of 3 trails and an open slope. The Purity Spring rope tow operation overlapped with King Pine for one season.
King Pine is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and now offers three triple lifts bringing skiers up the 350 feet of vertical to 17 trails ranging from meandering green runs to short but steep double black pitches.
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In 1938, Milt Hoyt constructed a rope tow using a Ford Model A engine to carry people up the hill. Downhill skiing was added as an activity for Camp Tohkomeupog in 1938, when a small rope tow was installed below Bald Ledge. Initially a rope tow powered by Ford Model A work trucks (reportedly tied to trees and put on blocks for the winter), the ski operation grew from a part time endeavor to a larger, multi-tow operation after Purity Spring Resort became a full time, year round operation in the mid 1940s.
In 1962, trails were cut for the King Pine ski area, named after two giant white pines that stood on the property and had been marked by the Royal Navy in the 1700s to be saved for use as ship masts (interestingly, an early source of tension between the Crown and the colonists, who wanted to use the trees for construction).
The family continued to develop the resort over the years, adding lights for night skiing, a tubing hill, and snow-making equipment that covers 100% of the runs.
The King Pine facility was improved in 1964, when a J-Bar was added for beginners. The King Pine was nearly doubled in size in 1968 when the North Side area was developed. The expansion was a challenging one, as Milt Hoyt nearly drowned in a swamp where the base of the chairlift was to be constructed. Then, after much of the lift was installed, the project was halted due to delays in delivery of the electronics. Things finally came together in January 1969, when the new complex opened.
Snowmaking was likely added in the mid 1970s. Chairlift served night skiing may have commenced in 1982-83, initially on weekends and vacation weeks.
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Starting in 1987 with the installation of the Polar Bear triple chairlift (and expansion of the base lodge), King Pine underwent a steady campaign of modernizing its infrastructure. Following the closure of King Ridge, King Pine acquired a modern CTEC triple chairlift. Portions of it were used to install the Powder Bear Triple in 1996, followed by the Black Bear Triple in 2006.
King Pine offers illuminated trails for skiing and snowboarding in the evening. Eight trails are open at night and are served by two triple chairlifts: Powder Bear and Polar Bear. Hours of operation vary.
The ski area takes pride in its grooming capabilities, and I quickly found out why - every run I took during the day was perfectly groomed corduroy. With no lift lines on a quiet weekday, I was able to ski all of the open runs in the course of the morning (the only closed runs were the double blacks, which was fine by me), meandering down the green Pokey Pine Trail or getting some speed up on the black Jack Pine run. For intermediate skiers like myself, King Pine is a great place to get in a bunch of laps and work on your technique on the smooth runs. It also looks like the perfect place to learn to ski, with dozens of kids french-frying and pizza- slicing down a variety of bunny slopes, and taking advantage of the carpet lift and a rope tow.
King Pine offers more than just downhill skiing. The Tohko Dome is an outdoor, covered ice rink. It is Zamboni groomed weekly as conditions permit. The Purity Spring XC & Snowshoe Reserve features 20 km of scenic, back-country Nordic, and snowshoe trails. There are 20 km of snowshoe trails around King Pine and Purity Spring, including the adjacent New Hampshire Audubon wildlife sanctuary. The trails wind through the forest surrounding Purity Lake, twisting through tall pines to the adjacent New Hampshire Audubon wildlife sanctuary.
General view of King Pine Ski Area.
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King Pine Skiing 2025 🎿
By Bart Beeson“In the age of cookie-cutter ski resorts, this is New Hampshire skiing,” says Tom Eastman, local ski historian and journalist. His sentiment summed up my recent skiing experience at two of New Hampshire’s independent resorts: King Pine Ski Area and Gunstock Mountain Resort.
After a great two days of skiing, I was able to reflect on my experiences at King Pine and Gunstock. With so many ski areas being bought up by large companies, often accompanied with complaints about overcrowding or price increases, it was refreshing to ski at two resorts that put so much emphasis on community and family. Personally, at the end of the day, it’s not about how many runs I got in or how much vertical drop a mountain has, but the overall experience - whether that be skiing on the perfectly groomed runs at King Pine, or just taking in the amazing views from the top of Gunstock. That, for me, is New Hampshire skiing.
On the White Pine Trail at Kind Pine. Photo King Pine.