Vertical 845 ft (258 m) Skiable area 260 acres (1.1 km) Phone +1 208-962-3624 Runs 7 | Base elevation 4,721 ft (1,439 m) Snowfall 1.14 m Night skiing Fridays in January | |
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Location Idaho County, Idaho
United States Nearest city Cottonwood: 6 mi (10 km) Top elevation 5,730 ft (1,747 m)
5,566 ft (1,697 m) - lift Address 490 Radar Rd, Cottonwood, ID 83522, USA Similar Magic Mountain Resort, Little Ski Hill, Bald Mountain Ski Area, Kelly Canyon, Pomerelle | ||
Isaa cottonwood butte
Cottonwood Butte is a mountain and modest ski area in the western United States, located in north central Idaho, west of nearby Cottonwood. Its summit elevation is 5,730 feet (1,747 m) above sea level and is the highest point on the Camas Prairie, 2,100 feet (640 m) above Cottonwood.
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Beautiful conditions at cottonwood butte idaho
Ski area
The ski lift unloads about 160 feet (50 m) below the summit at 5,566 feet (1,697 m), yielding a vertical drop of 845 feet (258 m). The slopes are on the northeast flank of the mountain, served by two surface lifts: a T-bar and a rope tow. The average snowfall is 45 inches (110 cm).
The ski area was established in 1967, although skiing had previously taken place on the mountain with portable ski tows.
The area operates from 10 am to 4 pm on weekends and holidays, and Friday nights (6-10 pm) in January.
Radar station
During the Cold War, the mountain was the site of Cottonwood Air Force Station, an early warning radar installation of the U.S. Air Force. The project was made public in 1955, construction began in 1956 and it went operational in early 1959. The radar tower was at the summit and the cantonment of the station was at 4,400 feet (1,340 m), about a mile (1.6 km) below the present base of the ski area on Radar Road. The 27-unit family housing area was built in the city of Cottonwood, on Butte Drive in the north end. The radar was significantly upgraded with a new tower in 1962, but the station was obsolete within three years and was deactivated. The buildings of Cottonwood AFS became a Job Corps center in 1965, supervised by the U.S. Forest Service.
Correctional facility
After nine years, the Job Corps center was transferred to the state of Idaho in 1974, and was converted to the minimum-security North Idaho Correctional Institution (NICI).
The state department of lands built a fire lookout at the summit, which also supports various communications towers.