EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published in 2014.
MANSFIELD — Look up the coordinates of “Mt. Mansfield” on your global positioning system and it will probably send you to Vermont.
But local folks recognize that it is a Richland County landmark — located right here in the Possum Run valley — you would need to be more familiar with Snow Trails Winter Resort.
When Snow Trails was established in 1961 as the first commercial ski area in Ohio, the high forested ridge that divides the watershed of Possum Run from the Clear Fork River valley was given a new name to christen its modern life as a destination for winter sports enthusiasts.
So don’t look for Mt. Mansfield on any maps more than 50 years old.
Though the Possum Run valley runs northwest to southeast — making most of the hillsides open to the seasonal warming influences of the sun — the Mt. Mansfield slopes actually face due north: making them the last hillsides in the valley to lose their snow in the spring … and ideal for skiers and tubers.
