[2] The 51 hectares (130 acres) park was built on farm land owned by John Bales, which later became York Downs Golf and Country Club in 1922.

[3] The land was saved from development after the sale of the club which relocated in 1969 to Unionville, Ontario and was turned into an urban park[4] in 1975.

It is now the only alpine skiing centre located within the boundaries of Toronto, after the closure of Centennial Park in 2022.

In 2011 and 2012, repeated failures of the now-retired double chair brought up talks of closing the centre.

[9] The park has one named road, Raoul Wallenberg Road, named after Raoul Wallenberg, which connects Bathurst Street with the parking lot at the Earl Bales Community Centre.