Located in Far North Bicentennial Park near Chugach State Park at the base of the Chugach Mountains, Hilltop Ski Area is owned and operated by Youth Exploring Adventure, Inc., an Anchorage nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1979[1] to provide recreational programs for Anchorage youth.

In 1962, Hilltop Youth installed a rope tow powered by a surplus military troop carrier motor in a gravel pit west of what is now known as Old Seward Highway.

In the early 1980s a 10-meter jump for novices designed by Karl Eid was also built on this site.

This site, the original Hilltop Ski area, was in operation from 1967 to 1983, when the Hilltop Ski area was moved to its current location about half a mile north of the original site.

[5] Since its establishment in its current location in 1984, Hilltop Ski Area has been operated by Youth Exploring Adventure, Inc.[6] In the early 1980s, operators of the "old" Hilltop replaced the rope tow engine, rope, and motor shack through a grant from the State of Alaska.