A little farther north than other popular skiing states like New Hampshire and Vermont, Maine is home to over a dozen ski resorts, some of which are among the largest in the east. From popular destination resorts like Sugarloaf and Sunday River to smaller, local mountains like Titcomb and Powderhouse Hill, Maine offers a resort for all types of ski travelers.
Identification
According to Ski Maine website, there were 18 ski resorts in the state of Maine as of the publishing of this article. The largest resorts in the state include 1,400-acre Sugarloaf and 671-acre Sunday River. Sugarloaf has Maine's largest vertical at 2,820 feet. Mount Abram offers 650 acres of skiable terrain thanks to its "Boundary to Boundary" policy instituted in 2009 season that nearly tripled the amount of skiable terrain at the resort.
Location
Most of Maine's ski resorts are located in the southwestern half of the state near cities like Portland and Bangor. Resorts like Big Rock and Quoggy Jo are located on the northeastern border with New Brunswick, Canada. Portland and Bangor are the largest cities in Maine and are each home to an international airport. The Northern Maine Regional Airport is considered the gateway to the state's north. Major cities like Boston and Montreal are approximately a four-hour drive away.
Season
Ski Maine website cites the season as running from November through May 1, but specific opening and closing dates vary by resort and season. Sunday River is often the first in the east to open and has been known to push opening dates into October. In fact, in the 2009-2010 season, Sunday River became the first eastern resort to open for a third year in a row when it started the lifts up on October 14.
Distinct Features
Like most other resorts in the east, Maine resorts offer a mix of groomed and ungroomed runs, glades and freestyle terrain. Unlike most resorts of the east, however, some Maine resorts also offer above-treeline skiing similar to mountains of the west. Sugarloaf advertises the "only lift-serviced above-treeline skiing in the east" while Saddleback offers hike-to, above-treeline snowfield skiing. Maine resorts like Sugarloaf, Sunday River and Mt. Abram support a boundary-to-boundary skiing policy in which anything inside of the outer boundaries of the resort is open for skiing.
Lift Tickets and Passes
Ski Maine website sells a number of lift ticket packages that offer skiing at resorts across the state. The Ski Maine Mountain Pass, available on a first-come first-served basis, offers two transferable lift ticket vouchers for each of the state's ski resorts, as well as its two tubing parks, providing discounted and free skiing. The Ski Maine Sampler offers one lift ticket voucher to each of Maine's ski resorts and tubing parks. Season pass prices at Maine's largest resorts ran in the $600 to $700 range during the 2010-2011 season.
Member Comments