As you head along the highway in Canton, you sometimes catch a swath of pure white above you on the town’s Great Blue Hill. For the winter lover, since the surrounding area is usually gray and snowless, it can feel like a mirage.

But turn off the highway and head closer and you’ll find skiing’s best kept little secret: Blue Hills Ski Area (https://bluehillsboston.com).

For those who grew up skiing in past decades it’s a vivid memory; a place where so many learned to turn, trained to race and even just popped in for night skiing with the gang. After all, Blue Hills has officially been a ski area since 1950 and somewhat unofficially for about 25 years prior.

For those unfamiliar, it seems like a trick. How can a 309-vertical, 60-acre ski spot just a handful of miles from downtown Boston – in an era when snow surfaces can be a challenge – be a real thing?

It’s real, and it’s spectacular.

By focusing on what it is and how it can best serve the skiing and riding world, Blue Hills has persevered. And while it’s had its rough times, this year, under the new stewardship of Boston native Geoff Homer, who holds a five-year lease for the area and is brimming with experience (he ran Maine’s popular Pleasant Mountain with his father for 27 years), Blue Hills is teed up for skiing wins.

Already, thanks to their investment in two new groomers and an HDK snowmaking fleet paired up with a new approved tie-in to Canton’s water rather than just Milton’s, they’re showing signs of strong product delivery: Dec. 14 was their earliest recorded opening in 15 years.

“Increasing our water supply is a game-changer for Blue Hills,” Blue Hills General Manager Mollly Ross said. “We will now be able to take full advantage of good snowmaking weather windows.”

They’ve also amped up their rental fleet with new Head gear, spruced up their classic base lodge and will be rolling out new food and beverage offerings all season long.

Their ski and ride schools will be cranking – as always – and local high school ski teams will be out honing their skills all winter long.

But it’s what won’t change that the resort operators believe is their secret sauce: In an industry where just plain recruiting workers – never mind keeping them long term – is a top challenge, Blue Hills has held on to staff, from operators to instructors to ticket folks, for decades.

That, Ross said, is in part due to location. But more so, she said, it’s because Blue Hills has a way of serving as a memory and history backdrop for many a multi-generational family.

“It’s the people here that make it fun; not just for the staff but for everyone,” Ross said. “We’ve built this great community; kids who learn here and then come back to teach; employees who come back year after year because it’s like a family. They say it all the time; they have their family and then they have their Blue Hills family,”

That vibe spills over to guests. With just three lifts and a big enough but not too big base lodge, its easy to get to know the staff and even the other regular skiers.

That, Ross said, is something they keep at the forefront as they improve the area.

“There’s a lot of nostalgia here,” she said, “and we never want to lose that.”

They take special care with little touches like repainting the lodge in fresh paint, yes, but in the exact color those walls were when built.

Blue Hills has a vibe that shifts as the day goes on. Weekday mornings are about seniors and empty nesters as well as adults taking a mental health day. Afternoons bring in high school teams to train along with all ages for lessons. Nights are a mix of more lessons and folks just out having fun. Weekends mean busy times with both lessons and day skiers.

Most of all, it’s like a secret winter world tucked into a hill just a quick drive away. It might be gray and cold and not sparkly at all along the highway. But head toward that lovely white strip of winter and you’ll find the secret passageway to a full-on ski escape.

And should you toss aside the notion of a visit as being too tame, consider this: Some of the best skiers in the world cut their teeth on the 12 trails of Blue Hills.

“Blue Hills was the ultimate playground in the winter for me,” said Dan Egan, pioneer extreme skier (he’s appeared in 13 Warren Miller films) and US Skiing & Snowboarding Hall of Fame member. “It was freedom day and night to explore skiing, racing and to make friends from other towns.  I still have some of those friends today. The place shaped me as a skier and a person.”