Lunada
The only ski station in the province of Burgos, opened in 1973 on the Cantabrian divide and known to generations of Bilbao skiers; its operator went under in 2019 and the province has had no ski area since.
- Region
- Castile and León
- Country
- Spain
- Status
- closed
- Year opened
- 1973
- Year closed
- 2019
- Reason for closure
- The concession holder, Snow Mountain, which had signed up to run the station for 15 years, fell into debt and stopped paying the operating fee; Espinosa de los Monteros council cancelled the contract in 2019 after two winters without the station opening. Two of the four lifts, along with the refuge and much of the plant, needed replacing, and only two lifts had been used at all since 2015.
History
Lunada stood at the Portillo de Lunada, on the boundary between Burgos and Cantabria in the municipality of Espinosa de los Monteros, and was one of the smallest ski stations in Spain - roughly 1,300 m to 1,500 m, four drag lifts distinguished by the colour of their pylons, and around 2.9 km of piste. It opened in 1973 and mattered far more than its size suggests: it was the nearest snow to Bilbao and much of the Basque Country, and a large part of two generations of Bilbao skiers learned there. Its altitude was always marginal and its equipment aged badly; only two of the four lifts ran at all after 2015. The company Snow Mountain took a 15-year concession but ran up debts and stopped paying its fees from 2019, and the council rescinded the contract, leaving Burgos as a province without a ski station. Sources differ on the station's size - the Spanish Wikipedia entry credits it with seven drag lifts and around 8 km of runs across three green and four red pistes, against the four lifts and 2.9 km reported at the time of closure - and no source found names the individual pistes. The buildings have since been worked up as a mountain refuge rather than restored for skiing.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rojo | Surface lift | One of four drag lifts identified by the colour of their pylons | |
| Verde | Surface lift | One of four drag lifts identified by the colour of their pylons | |
| Azul | Surface lift | One of four drag lifts identified by the colour of their pylons; only two of the four were in use after 2015 | |
| Amarillo | Surface lift | One of four drag lifts identified by the colour of their pylons; only two of the four were in use after 2015 |
Sources and further reading
- https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estaci%C3%B3n_de_esqu%C3%AD_de_Lunada
- https://www.tourinews.es/resumen-de-prensa/notas-de-prensa-espana-turismo/cierre-estacion-esqui-lunada-burgos_4458884_102.html
- https://www.burgosconecta.es/provincia/recuerdos-lunada-antigua-estacion-esqui-burgos-medio-20251205091218-nt.html
- https://www.lugaresdenieve.com/?q=es/noticia/la-estacion-de-esqui-de-lunada-cerca-de-abrir-sus-puertas-como-refugio-de-montana
More in Spain
Location
43.1663, -3.6546