The Town of June Lake has a long history of winter sports. The Eastern Sierra it has always gotten large amounts of snow averaging 250” to 300” inches a year. Skiing on June Mountain started in the 1940s with a rope tow set near Oh Ridge for $1 a day. In 1945 Chuck Osborn began Dream Mountain Ski Tows a couple miles west of where June Mountain is today. In 1946 June Lake got electricity, making dreams of a resort more realistic. In 1955 Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort opened just 14 miles south to many excited skiers. It was Bud and Lois Hayward, however, who made the June Mountain dream come true. It took enthusiastic crews nine months to construct the J1 chairlift and chalet which still stands today. Whew! On President’s weekend in 1961 June Mountain opened with a foot of fresh powder.
June kept expanding with more lifts and by 1964 there was 15 miles of skiable terrain. In 1986 Dave McCoy, owner of Mammoth Mountain, bought June Mountain and replaced and added more chairlifts. June was a pioneering resort in the west coast snowboarding scene, being one of the first resorts to allow the new sport in the 80s. In 1989 it built one of the first half pipes in snow and hosted one of the first televised snowboarding competitions, the OP Pro. In the summer of 2012 it was announced that June Mountain would be closed for the 2012-13 season. This was devastating for all who have a special place in their heart for June Mountain, but as promised it re-opened for the 2013-14 season. In 2014, Mammoth Mountain announced that it had purchased Big Bear and Snow Summit Resorts. This opens many opportunities for season pass holders to experience different trails and mountains, while stabilizing June Mountain’s future.