SOUTH BERWICK — Residents of South Berwick have bragging rights to something not found in many towns: Their own ski hill.

Powderhouse Hill, located on Agamenticus Road, may not have the glitz and amenities of large ski resorts, but many locals flock to it for a convenient and affordable afternoon of skiing or snowboarding.

The ski hill has 175 feet of vertical elevation, and a single, 800-foot tow rope carries skiers and snowboarders up the hill.

The tow rope is powered by a rehabilitated 1938 Ford truck, which has been on the top of the hill since the 1950s, said volunteer Eric Mundell, who was working at the ski area on Sunday.

The hill offers three trails: One traveling straight down the hill; another ”“ popular with snowboarders ”“ which travels straight down but with the addition of speed jumps; and the third that veers off into the woods.

The hill is owned by the town, and Mundell said shifts are staffed by a team of volunteers and one town employee.

At the bottom of the hill, there is a small cabin where skiers can warm themselves in front of a wood stove and purchase refreshments.

There is also a free sledding area next to the ski slopes.

“We call ourselves America’s Smallest Ski Resort,” said Mundell.

Powderhouse Hill began operating in the 1930s, said Mundell, but the hill was not in operation for a period in the 1970s and early 1980s. The town purchased the property in the 1990s, according to the Powderhouse Hill website. Some may assume the name Powderhouse Hill is a reference to snow, but, according to the website, the hill was once the site of an actual powder house, where gun powder was stored, in the 1800s.

The trails are currently groomed by volunteers with a homemade groomer dragged by a snowmobile, said Mundell, but the club is saving up to buy a “real snow groomer.”

The ski hill relies on natural snow, and the recent weather has been good for business, said Mundell.

On a typical weekend afternoon, about 150 people are at the hill, he said, with Sunday being the busiest day.

Powderhouse Hill is open on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

It’s also open from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday. The evenings are less crowded than the weekend, and he encourages people to go out and try skiing at night under the lights.

“It’s good for kids. They can get a few hours of skiing in instead of watching ”˜Wheel of Fortune,’” said Mundell.

Powderhouse Hill is a good place for families, said Mundell, and his children learned to ski there when they were each 3 years old.

“It’s a good community activity. Everyone’s out having fun for not a lot of money,” said Mundell.

His children are not the only ones who have learned to ski at Powderhouse Hill at a young age.

Three-year-old Olivia Drake was skiing for her second time ever on Sunday, with the help of her father, Jeremy Drake.

Drake said he and his wife moved to South Berwick before they had children and thought Powderhouse Hill would be a great place to take their future children.

“It’s great the town can offer this,” he said.

Snowboarder Corrin Hoyt, 15, of South Berwick said she’s been going to Powderhouse Hill for about two years.

“I like it. All my friends come here,” she said. “It’s easy because it’s only $5.”

Hoyt said she’s at the hill almost every day it’s open. Some people may think the hill would get boring after a while, but she said it doesn’t.

Her cousin, 14-year-old Abby Doyle, also of South Berwick, said she’s been going there for about three or four years. Doyle, a skier, said she also goes skiing other places, but said she frequents Powderhouse Hill for the same reasons as her cousin.

“It’s really close. A lot of my friends go here as well,” she said.

For more information about Powderhouse Hill, visit www.powderhousehill.com.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.