About

• Each Season all efforts are made to open limited terrain by the first part of December, temperatures permitting. Operations usually begin seven days a week just before Christmas break. The skiing and snowboarding season generally ends the final week of March or the first week of April.
• Terry Peak Ski Area is open on all holidays throughout the season including Christmas, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Martin Luther King, and President’s Day, from 9 am to 4 pm.

In 1938, the Bald Mountain Ski Club installed a rope tow up Stewart Slope and initiated the Terry Peak Ski Area.

Back then, club members groomed the slope by hiking horizontally up and down with skis to pack the snow.

During this time, Berth Stewart donated the land known as Stewart Slope at Terry Peak.

Many of the Bald Mountain Ski Club’s founding members left the area to serve in World War II. Ed Keene, one of the founding members, served with the 10th Mountain Division and, upon his return, started what is now known as Black Hills Chairlift d.b.a. Terry Peak Ski Area.

1952, Ed Keene, Ken Keller, Ken Stormo, John Finola, Jack Morcum, and Richard Morcom formed the Black Hills Chairlift Company. The Ringer Chairlift was originally installed going up Kussy, but it was only utilized for the Summer Chairlift Ride business. In 1954, the Black Hills Chairlift Company began winter ski operations.

The Ringer Chairlift was replaced in 1967 by the Blue Chairlift (#1). The Empress Chairlift (#2) was installed in 1975, followed by the Surprise Chairlift (#3) in 1978.

Development continued, and in 1985, two surface Poma lifts on Stewart Slope were replaced by the Stewart Chairlift (#4). Business was booming, and lift lines were growing, so an additional Blue Chairlift (#5) was installed in 1986, parallel to the #1 Blue Chairlift going up Kussy. In 1996, the Beginner Chairlift was installed for ski school classes and beginner skiers and snowboarders.

Due to the unpredictable Black Hills winters, Terry Peak began snowmaking in the 1970s. Snowmaking improvements have continued through present day, with coverage on 60 percent of the slopes. In 2002, Terry Peak acquired three wells and three holding ponds as part of the reclamation of the Golden Reward mine. The acquisition gave Terry Peak over 14 million gallons of water storage for snowmaking.

At the base of Stewart Slope, the original lodge, K-2 Bar, and ski school building were replaced by the current Stewart Day Lodge in 1988. In the summer of 2001, a 3,000-square-foot sun deck was added to the lodge.

In 1999, the Black Hills Chairlift Company approved a five-year plan for significant improvements at Terry Peak Ski Area. The Kussy Express, a high-speed detachable quad chairlift, replaced the two Blue chairlifts (#1 and #5). In 2002, the Yellow Chairlift (#3) was replaced with the Surprise Express, a high-speed detachable quad chairlift.

The first Half-Pipe was built on the top of Holy Terror in 2000. A Pipe-Dragon grooming machine was shared with neighboring Antelope Butte Ski Area, but eventually, Terry Peak purchased its own. In 2003, the first Terrain Park was implemented on Snowstorm. A lack of snow made it a struggle the first year, so snowmaking was added to Snowstorm the following year.

Heading into the 2004-05 Season, Terry Peak began its most significant terrain expansion in over 25 years. Newly developed trails include North Side Glades, Ben Hur Glades, Maringo, Missing Link, and Lower Black Moon. This 100-acre expansion accommodates intermediate to expert skiers and snowboarders.

In 2013, Coeur Wharf Mining Company, partners with Terry Peak, made a major investment in the ski area.  The #2 red double fixed grip chairlift was replaced by a high-speed quad detachable lift with the investment.  Also, slope contouring was completed on the summit, creating easier run access.

The main day lodge at Terry Peak is The Stewart Lodge. It was originally built in 1988 and provided a huge upgrade to the ski area at the time. In 2015, it was time to remodel and expand Stewart Lodge. Improvements and additional space made it easier to accommodate more guests.

In recent years, natural snow has seemed to be less and is arriving later than in the past seasons. With this trend, it is evident that snowmaking is the key to providing guests with the quality snow surface they’ve become accustomed to.  So, in the summer of 2024, the Terry Peak Board of Directors invested considerably in the snowmaking system.  Six and half million dollars was used to replace and add underground piping, hydrants, and permanent and portable snow guns. The storage pond was redone, and a huge pump was installed to expand the pumping capacity by 4 times.

Today, Terry Peak Ski Area maintains the title of South Dakota’s largest ski area. Winter sports enthusiasts throughout the five-state region and beyond come to ski the Black Hills at Terry Peak. Over 25 trails, 600 acres of skiable terrain, three high-speed quad detachable chairlifts, a triple chairlift, and the snow carpet make Terry Peak the perfect affordable family winter vacation.