Iiyama Hokuryu Onsen Family Ski Area Closed
Official name いいやま北竜温泉ファミリースキー場 · Formerly 野沢温泉北竜湖ファミリースキー場
Nagano
Open 1962–2018
Iiyama Hokuryu Onsen Family Ski Area was a small hill on the slopes below Lake Hokuryu in Iiyama, Nagano, southwest of Nozawa Onsen and about 5 km from Togari-Nozawaonsen Station. Opened in 1962, it had two sections: the No. 1 area with a pair lift and the smaller No. 2 area with a single chair, together offering seven courses including a 40-degree pitch. Named after the nearby Hokuryu hot spring, it served families looking for an easy local hill, but visitors fell from about 18,300 in 1989 to around 3,400 in 2015. The No. 2 area closed a few years early and the whole ski area ended after the 2017-18 season. The No. 1 pair lift and the No. 2 lift towers still stand.
History of Iiyama Hokuryu Onsen Family Ski Area
- Opened
- 1962
- Closed
- 2018
- Formerly
- 野沢温泉北竜湖ファミリースキー場
- Why it closed
- Falling visitor numbers (about 18,300 in 1989, 3,366 in 2015); no official closing statement found.
- The site today
- The No. 1 area's pair lift is still standing and lift towers remain in the No. 2 area; the Bunka Hokuryukan stands at the top of the No. 2 area.