Industry News
After a five-year closure, Alabama’s lone ski resort, Cloudmont, reopened fully on January 11, 2025. The family-owned hill in Mentone has been a Southeast winter sports staple since 1971.
- Related: Cloudmont – Alabama’s Ski Resort
The revival was driven by community effort. Volunteers, former staff, and the Jones family prepared the slopes for the season. Austin Jones, the owner’s son, said, “The community support shows we’re on the right path.”
Despite its unlikely location, Cloudmont has thrived since the 1970s. The second-most southern resort in the United States (behind Arizona’s Mount Lemmon Ski Valley), Cloudmont offers 150 vertical feet over 800 acres. Located on Lookout Mountain, it reaches an elevation of 1,800 feet. The resort relies on snowmaking to compensate for minimal natural snowfall, averaging 2-6 inches per season.
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Cloudmont offers affordable skiing. Lift tickets are $35 for children under 12 and $40 for adults. The resort offers lessons and equipment rentals from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Last season, the resort failed to open due to family illness, and in 2023, it was due to warm weather.
While not comparable to Western resorts, Cloudmont has introduced generations of tri-state families to winter sports and has been recognized by SKI Magazine.
Weather permitting, the resort plans to stay open through Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
