Grab your goggles and step onto your skis, because Earl Bales Park’s ski hill has officially opened for the 2025 winter season.
After a particularly lacklustre winter season last year, featuring negligible snowfall levels and — in my opinion — pleasantly palatable temperatures, Toronto’s very own ski hill is back in action, officially opening for the season on Monday, Jan. 20.
Ever since the Centennial Park ski hill — a decades-running winter tradition in Toronto — was officially scrapped in 2021, Earl Bales has held it down as the last remaining ski hill located within city limits, giving avid skiers a chance to hit the slopes, no road trip required.
The 2023-2024 winter season, however, put even Earl Bales in jeopardy, as unseasonable conditions made it near-impossible for the attraction to operate.
It’s time to hit the slopes! City of Toronto opens Earl Bales Ski and Snowboard Centre today
News Release: https://t.co/RgWLTStAWY pic.twitter.com/THoNIFPOgy
— City of Toronto (@cityoftoronto) January 20, 2025
Come 2025, though, and the conditions are perfect — although you may have noticed a considerable lack of quite possibly the most important condition required for skiing: snow.
Luckily, the park is home to its own snow-making machine, so as long as temperatures remain steadily at or below -5 degrees celcius, you should have no problem partaking in some wholesome winter hoopla.
Earl Bales Park, which is located around Bathurst and Sheppard, is home to a beginners’ hill with a rope tow that’ll carry you up to the top of the run, as well as a main hill with two runs that are accessible by chairlift, making it a go-to for seasoned skiers and bunny-hill riders alike.
The season is set to run until March 16, but that date is weather-dependent, so keep an eye on the sky — as well as the hill’s website — for updates before lugging your gear all the way there. Thank me later.
The Earl Bales Ski and Snowboard Centre is open from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Ski memberships, lift tickets, and equipment rentals can all be purchased on site.
