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If you love skiing, you know how difficult it can be to get away from Castle Rock to hit the slopes. Everything from the distance to the weather can make it hard to head to the mountains and take some time for yourself. What if Castle Rock was home to a synthetic ski hill? It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. Here’s what we know so far about the possibility of a synthetic ski hill coming to Castle Rock.

Last summer, Weston Solutions filed a letter of intent with the town of Castle Rock to help develop a year-round snow sports complex at Philip S. Miller Park. Weston Solutions’ Development Director, Shawn Temple, put the plan in action. While Temple is based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, he has offices in Colorado Springs and Lakewood. Weston Solutions is a national company focused on environmentally friendly and sustainable building projects across the nation. Now, they have their eyes set on Castle Rock.

Temple is currently evaluating and researching how workable it would be to develop this snow sports complex, including a synthetic ski hill and how that would factor into Philip S. Miller Park’s own development plans. The complex would house tubing, snowboarding, and skiing slopes utilizing the synthetic snow material Snowflex.

Jeff Brauer, Castle Rock’s Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation, has informed the public that every six months, the city will re-evaluate Weston’s letter of intent for up to two years. Once Temple brings a financial plan to the table, then the council can vote on whether to add the complex to the park.

While the project from Temple originally went nowhere, P3 Advisors LLC, entered a memorandum of understanding with the Castle Rock Town Council to build a synthetic ski hill and snow park named SnowSports365 on December 1st. Details are still emerging, but this snow park would be open year-round becoming only the second one in the US to do so.

While questions are swirling about whether Castle Rock and surrounding areas, would use the facility, it almost seems like a no-brainer for those who can’t drive the distance every week to hit the slope. It also introduces the possibility of year-round skiing, snowboarding, and tubing for anyone in the area.

Synthetic ski hills and other snow sports complexes are growing in popularity across the country. Cities who never see snow are investing in the synthetic snow to boost tourism and offer different options for residents and visitors to take part in year-round. Will Castle Rock become the next city to invest in a synthetic ski hill? Time will tell. We’ll keep you updated on any new developments from the town and Weston Solutions.

Image Credit: E01