Opened in 1961 using land that connected their two parcels, Otto Wallingford and Dr. Camille Gardner opened Lost Valley Ski Area. At Lost Valley, Wallingford, who had a degree in agricultural engineering, put together the state’s first snowmaking system and introduced Mainers to night skiing. But his biggest contribution to skiing came in 1971 when he started towing a cylindrical steel grate behind a tractor to convert hard snow crust into groomed powder. The Powder Maker became an essential grooming tool in the ski industry.

Lost Valley had several different owners & management through the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. The Ski Area was on the verge of closing when it was purchased in March 2016 by Scott & April Shanaman. Shanaman, and industry veteran with nearly 20 years in the ski industry quickly turned things around and began with major improvements that are still underway to this day.

In 2017 Lost Valley’s Lift 1 was completely overhauled and modernized with a new variable speed drive. In 2018 The Maine Family Snow Tube Park was opened with a 4 lane 600’ long ground lift-served tubing attraction. Trail counts climbed from, 15 to 22 trails with the introduction of new trails including a new beginner-focused terrain park called Possum Park.

During 2018, many improvements continued with expanded snowmaking efforts and modernization. Lost Valley Brewing Company, a 3-barrel nano-brewery was opened in the basement of the lodge in Feb 2018 and served to customers in the bar area which was open throughout the summer as a brewpub and expanded in Nov. 2018.

In 2019 Lost valley had a banner ski season and improvements continued over the Summer and fall with lighting upgrades and additions, a complete overhaul of Lift 2, a new outdoor patio and the addition of 9 gladed trails, bringing the trail count up to 31, an increase of over 41% in skiable terrain. Future major improvements are planned with a focus on year-round, family-friendly outdoor activity.