Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History
Saving Park City's unique mountain mining heritage
We are local Park City residents, visitors, and friends who cherish mountain sports and our historic mine sites.
More than 300 mines once operated in Park City, with the last silver mine closing in 1982. Twenty historic mine structures still exist today, many can been seen while skiing, hiking or mountain biking on our mountain trails. Due to the ravages of time and our harsh winters, many of the mine structures are dilapidated and in immediate need of repair. We are committed to preserving this rich mining legacy for future residents and visitors before we lose these historic structures forever.
In the past four years, our dedicated volunteers have completed stabilization of the King Con Counterweight, California Comstock Mill, Jupiter Ore Bin and Little Bell Ore Bin. Previous projects included the Silver King Aerial Tramway Towers and two Silver King Water Tanks adjacent to the Silver Queen ski run.
We are currently preserving the Thaynes Conveyor and two more Silver King Water Tanks. The cost to preserve all the remaining historic mine structures is estimated at over $3 million.
In addition to our historic conservation work, we host free lectures at the Education & Collections Center about our rich mining history.
