Mt. Holiday fundraising aims to keep skiing affordable and accessible

Mt. Holiday launched a summer fundraising campaign on July 30, setting a $100,000 goal by Aug. 23 to keep the Traverse City ski hill “affordable, accessible, and thriving.” The nonprofit operates from 3100 Holiday Road and has long sold season passes, midweek passes and family passes to keep winter recreation within reach.

Mt. Holiday exists to foster community connection through accessible and affordable outdoor recreation in all four seasons, with a special emphasis on supporting disadvantaged youth. It also opened applications for the Mt. Holiday Snow Sports Scholarship for the 2025-26 winter season, a program to help local families who might otherwise face financial barriers to skiing and snowboarding.

For families in Traverse City and across Grand Traverse County, Mt. Holiday has been one of the few places where children can learn winter sports without paying resort prices. The scholarship program is aimed at keeping those opportunities open for households that would otherwise be shut out by the cost of lift access, gear and lessons.

Mt. Holiday was formed in 1949 after a group of local businessmen got permission to build a ski run on state-owned land, and the area was developed with the help of volunteers, prison labor, services and donations. In 1985, Warren Brosch and his wife Sue bought the property and added two chairlifts, a tube run and a terrain park, expanding the hill beyond a single ski run into a broader winter recreation site.

Skiing and snowboarding on the hill are closed and will return for the 2026-27 winter season. Mt. Holiday has been part of the community for more than 75 years.