The Closest Ski Resort to Los Angeles Is Up For Sale

Mt. Waterman is up for sale for 2.275 million dollars. Located in the Angeles National Forest, it’s Southern California’s oldest ski resort and only 46 miles from Pasadena, making it the closest ski lifts to the Los Angeles Basin.

The deal comes with three working, insured ski lifts, three snow cats, and five snowmobiles, along with the resort’s infrastructure like warming huts and bathrooms.

The snow cats and snowmobiles alone could easily be worth more than 2.275 million.

The resort is 390 total acres with a 3,432 square foot building, which breaks down to $663 per square foot. It also has a brand new 20 year permit to operate year round for skiing, mountain biking, disc golf, hiking, and whatever else the future owners would want to do.

There are no snow making capabilities, but there is a five million gallon water tank that was implemented to eventually make snow, which could substantially increase the winter availability.

The issue with the resort is the road that it’s on. It hadn’t opened since 2020 until this year. It’s an old road that doesn’t get much love, and the area is known for getting big dumps that can halt operations.

Related: Southern California Resort Check In

The peak is at 8,030 feet with over 1,000 vertical foot drop, and on average, it gets the most snow in Southern California with 180 inches.

It’s also north facing and heavily tree shaded, which makes the snow stay for longer with less sun exposure.

Some concerned Reddit users have some big ideas for the future of the resort.

Mt Waterman (Los Angeles) for sale. Only $2.3M for your own personal ski hill!
by u/caleyjag in skiing

One member of the r/skiing subreddit suggested all 1.5 million users of the group pitch in a few bucks to buy it.

Some aren’t as hopeful and think that it could easily be scooped up by a rich business person to turn it into their own private ski hill for them and their high-class posse.

Either way you look at it, this is an extremely rare opportunity for someone to come in and make the most out of this resort. Not only for snowsports, but a mountain bike park could ramp up the activity in the area, and make it more accessible by being open in the summer when the road is clear.

This could be your big break for a young entrepreneur. All you need to do is convince a couple investors and you can run a ski resort.