About Us
Peak'n Peak's story began in 1963 with a vision that would eventually include a year-round family vacation destination featuring Alpine and Cross Country Skiing, world class golf courses, a conference center, and the region's most beautiful destination wedding location.
Founders Phil Gravink, who skied in college at Cornell, George Boozel, who owned some land on Pekin Hill, Myrl Babcock, Jim Caflisch, and Jack Dean pooled their money, secured additional outside financing and formed Western Chautauqua Recreation, Inc. in the early 60s. With nearly 400 acres of property acquired in 1964 and 1965, a suitable name had to be chosen. Since the ski slopes were located on what was known as Pekin Hill - the homestead of the Pekin Family - a derivation of that name was chosen, Peek'n Peak.
With a 400-foot vertical drop providing enjoyment for many future generations, the founding team convinced Otto Schneibs to come down from Lake Placid to design the trail layout. An Old English theme was adopted - thus, Robin Hood's Retreat, Long Bow, Will Scarlet's Secret, Friar Tuck's Trek, and Little John's Jaunt were Peek'n Peak's first trails. With hopes of attracting not only locals, but skiers from Ohio and Pennsylvania as well, Peek'n Peak opened in the winter of 1964-65 with the offices and ticket sales housed in an old school bus. The ski resort featured two ski lifts (a J-Bar and a T-Bar), six trails, and a $4.50 lift ticket. A ski lodge was built soon after, and was less than half of the size of today's Main Lodge.
Since the 60s, the resort has grown to include additional trails and night skiing, state of the art snowmaking and grooming - guaranteeing great winter conditions - conference facilities, condominiums, two championship golf courses, and a luxury day spa. In 2011, Peek'n Peak was purchased by Scott Enterprises, an Erie, Pennsylvania based family company that owns and operates locations throughout the region, including restaurants and hotels, as well as the Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center and Splash Lagoon Indoor Waterpark.
Since acquiring Peek'n Peak, The Scotts have renovated all 108 hotel rooms, introduced Segways to the resort, added a snow sports BagJump, expanded the Terrain Park, and have made improvements to the Spa. Most recently, the Scott family opened its multi-million dollar Aerial Adventure Park and Mountain Ziplines. This addition to the resort is another summer activity that will continue to transition the Peak into a family-friendly 4-season resort.
In the years ahead, the Scott Family looks forward to continuing to expand and make additional improvements to the resort while maintaining the integrity of the Peak's history and olde world charm.
