The history of the Mt. Arrowsmith ski resort is an interesting story that spans several decades. The resort's roots trace back to the 1940s, when skiers would hike for hours up the mountain and make use of an early rope tow to ski down. However, due to the arduous trek, use of the rope tow was discontinued around 1950.

In 1970, logging company MacMillan Bloedel donated 1,400 acres of land to the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District for a park. In lieu of this, a ski resort was planned to be developed on some of the recently turned-over mountain lands.

The road to development of the Mt. Arrowsmith ski resort was not without its challenges. In 1973, the provincial government was initially unwilling to build a public road to the proposed ski hill, which threatened to derail the project. However, with much public support and increased pressure from the Chamber of Commerce, the government eventually agreed to finance the road.

By 1974, the first runs down the mountain were cleared and the ski club had purchased a Dopplemayr double chairlift, which cost the club $85,000. This chairlift was purchased practically new from Mt. Norquay, who had hoped to use it in an expansion. That expansion at Norquay was ultimately killed by Parks Canada, which resulted in the equipment being sold at a significant discount.

The ski club was an instant hit, but due to the low elevation of the double chairlift, skiing operations could be hit or miss. To address this, in 1978 a decision was made to expand the ski resort with a separate ski area higher up the mountain, which opened to the public in 1979.

Unfortunately, in 1980 the original lodge caught fire and burnt down, temporarily closing the lower slopes until a new lodge could be constructed later that year.

Despite these setbacks, Mt. Arrowsmith ski resort continued to operate as one entity, largely unchanged throughout the 1980s and the early 1990s. However, poor snow conditions plagued the lower ski area, leading to its permanent closure in the mid-1990s. The ownership of the ski area also changed hands, with an Ontario-based company taking over.

In 1990, two Port Alberni farmers proposed a massive ski resort that would include the existing Arrowsmith ski facilities. This would have included a gondola from the town of Port Alberni to the mountain, and many more ski runs up Mt. Cokely. Unfortunately, it was around this time that the existing Mt. Arrowsmith ski facility shut down.

The ski area opened for one weekend for the 1999–2000 ski season before the company closed the ski hill, blaming too much snow that made the access road impassable. The hill never reopened after that one-weekend season of 1999.

In the summer of 2000, vandals trashed the lodge, and later that year it was mysteriously burnt to the ground. This was the final nail in the coffin for Mt. Arrowsmith ski resort, as it never reopened after this incident. The chairlift still sits in the old parking lot and the T-bar towers can still be seen on the mountain.

Images from the Alberni Valley Museum