Spout Springs Ski Area grew into a regional winter sports center in Oregon’s Blue Mountains after organized skiing expanded around Tollgate before and after World War II. Favored for its snow and highway access, it developed through cooperation between the Blue Mountain Ski Club and the Forest Service, adding parking, runs, tow equipment, and later lifts. By the late 1940s and 1950s it drew large crowds and strong ski school participation. Management shifted in 1959 from the volunteer club to a private operator as the business outgrew nonprofit oversight. The ski area remained a modest local hill until closing after the 2017–2018 season amid a dispute over parking and snowmobile access, and it was still closed in late 2024.