Sugarloaf

As one of the northernmost ski resorts in the eastern United States, Sugarloaf aims to be a viable alternative to more convenient competitors further south. With a 1,360 acre footprint and some truly unique terrain features, this interior Maine resort does offer a strong case in many respects. However, this complex mountain has a number of qualities that don’t exactly work in its favor.

Due to its rural western Maine location, Sugarloaf is colder and more out of the way than most other comparable mountains. However, the lower temperatures result in some of the best snow preservation in the Northeast throughout the core season. Sugarloaf sees fewer freeze-thaw cycles than its competitors, resulting in less variable conditions and more consistently skiable terrain.

But Sugarloaf’s environment results in a few major drawbacks. The resort sees its fair share of significant cold spells throughout the season, and temperatures can drop to the point where it’s nearly impossible to have an enjoyable experience. In addition, Sugarloaf is an exposed, windy mountain, and the resort sees regular wind holds—especially in upper-mountain areas. These factors unintuitively make it one of the most fickle ski resorts in the Northeast. That said, the resort employs snowmaking on a considerable portion of on-piste terrain to ensure a decently resilient mountain experience.

At 1,360 acres, Sugarloaf has the second-largest skiable footprint on the East Coast. The resort’s terrain exhibits surprisingly varied degrees of uniqueness, with some areas feeling one-of-a-kind but others feeling quite pedestrian.

The overwhelming majority of terrain lives on Sugarloaf’s main face. For the most part, this terrain isn’t the most interesting in the world, with neighboring trails feeling very similar to one another and views that mainly look down into the same valley. But options for all abilities exist, making for a well-rounded experience. Terrain in this area generally becomes more difficult as one progresses up the mountain, with beginner and intermediate offerings in lower sections and advanced and expert trails near the top. That said, while some bump runs exist, most trails—including double-blacks—receive regular grooming. When conditions allow, the trees off many of these trails are home to excellent glade terrain.

The 120-acre West Mountain terrain expansion adds 12 new trails of beginner and intermediate difficulty, all served by a new high-speed quad. While the new trails themselves aren’t uniquely diverse, they’re generally further spaced apart than the closely-bunched trails elsewhere on the front side, and they do offer a distinct feel and set of views over the runs in the main areas of the mountain.

To get to the true resort summit, guests will need to go through the Timberline pod, which faces a bit further west than Sugarloaf’s main face. This upper-mountain area offers better views than the main face, with much more mountainous terrain visible from its trails. This zone also offers surprisingly well-rounded terrain, with trails ranging from beginner to expert.

Things start to get a lot more interesting in Sugarloaf’s Brackett Basin and Burnt Mountain sidecountry zones, which host over 650 acres of remote, natural glade terrain. This area features some of the East Coast’s best expert terrain, with steep pitches, obstacles such as rocks and cliffs, and glades of varying widths. And best of all, the majority filter right back down to the bases, with little catwalking required. The top 200 acres of Burnt Mountain require hiking to reach, but the resort has started running a snowcat service to the top of this zone that can be accessed with an in-advance paid reservation.

On a really good day, Sugarloaf has one of the most astounding features of any East Coast resort—actual bowl terrain. Accessible from the top of Timberline, the Snowfields are very short, but this expert zone hosts the only treeless skiable terrain east of the Mississippi. However, this area is extraordinarily wind exposed and rarely open. During most times, the Snowfields effectively function more as uncovered, unskiable rocks than western-style bowls.

In fact, all of Sugarloaf’s most unique terrain requires significant snowfall to fill in. The resort’s sidecountry and bowl runs aren’t reliably open until mid-February, making Sugarloaf one of the last major East Coast destinations to drop the ropes on its full footprint.

Sugarloaf’s lift infrastructure is decent for an eastern resort, but it’s starting to fall behind competitors. The resort has three high-speed quads serving the lower part of the main resort face, one of which is new for the 2023-24 season to serve the West Mountain expansion.That being said, the other two lifts are over 20 years old, and the Whiffletree SuperQuad is showing its age in terms of speed. All other chairs are slow, and on cold, windy days, the rides up can be quite trying. On the plus side, the main face has some lift redundancies, meaning the lines—which are already typically manageable for the East Coast—never truly get out of control.

Also a bit behind competitors is Sugarloaf’s on-mountain lodging infrastructure. The resort has one mid-mountain restaurant where guests can stop in for a break, but it’s somewhat out of the way and too far removed to get back to key upper-mountain lifts.

Unless the parking lots are full everywhere else, one place guests won’t need to check out is the West Mountain pod. Sugarloaf’s westernmost mountain zone is basically just one vanilla lift line trail, and a trip to the bottom means an agonizing 14-minute lift ride up a double chair to get out. There are some mid-trail bailouts back to the main mountain base, but they’re on the flat side and not worth it unless you really want to see what that side of the resort looks like. The West Mountain zone is set to see significant revitalization in the coming years, and the setup is likely to improve substantially.

Sugarloaf boasts something nearly unheard of in its similarly-sized rivals—a local feel. The mountain feels significantly less commercialized than its competitors, with very little buildup above the base. And when open, Sugarloaf’s sidecountry and Snowfields zones boast aesthetics that are unmatched anywhere else on the East Coast.

The resort’s simple layout also comes with some logistical benefits, making it easy to find one’s way around the resort. With nearly everything being on one peak—and filtering into one primary base area—guests won’t have to traverse between mountain zones or worry about ending up in the wrong area at the end of the day. There are a few issues, however; Sugarloaf’s flat, wide base means a bit of traversing to get between certain out-of-base lifts, and the resort’s cross cut trails are flat and catwalky. In addition, the resort’s trail map does a poor job of presenting the layout of the sidecountry Burnt Mountain and Brackett Basin zones, making it too confusing to understand what the references actually mean.

Getting There

Sugarloaf is a two-and-a-half hour drive from Portland and approximately four hours from Boston with no traffic. The resort is also about three-and-a-half hours from the Canadian cities of Montreal and Québec City. For those looking to make the trek from New York City, the drive is nearly eight hours. The final two hours of the drive from U.S. cities (and the final hour of the drive from Canadian cities) involves rural roads with little cell service and messy conditions after recent snowfall. There is no public transportation from major cities to Sugarloaf, so guests will need to use a car to get to the resort.

Lodging

Sugarloaf offers a wide variety of lodging options on premise, including on-mountain condos, the Sugarloaf Inn, and the Sugarloaf Hotel. The Sugarloaf Inn offers direct ski-in/ski-out mountain access, but the Sugarloaf Hotel is a bit more upscale, with a pool and hot tub, and still only a short walk from the lifts. Condos are spread across lower mountain areas and have kitchenettes. A sports and fitness center with a pool and hot tub is accessible to everyone staying on site, but it’s a pay-per-use facility.

For those looking to stay off site, numerous Airbnb options are available in the Carrabassett Valley area, as are some budget hotels.

Aprés-ski

As far as East Coast base areas go, Sugarloaf’s is certainly one of the more lively. Three notable bars—the Shipyard Brewhouse, the Rack, and the Widowmaker—offer enjoyable aprés vibes and live music on weekends. Brewhouse and Widowmaker stay open through 11pm on weekends, meaning guests won’t be forced to turn in early. Brewhouse is at the base of the bunny hill, and it’s great for families thanks to sledding available for kids and fire pits outside.

For late night adventures, visitors can leave the premises to checkout the Stratton Plaza hotel, which stays open through 1am. A resort-run shuttle provides service between on-premise areas as well as to some areas in Carrabassett Valley.

Verdict

Sugarloaf’s size and one-of-a-kind terrain features make it one of the most competitive mountains on the East Coast. But a number of factors, including regular wind holds and unreliable openings for its most unique terrain, unintuitively make it one of the most fickle ski resorts in the region. That being said, Sugarloaf’s lift tickets significantly undercut more conveniently located mountains, with ticket discounts of over 45% off for those who book early enough. For those willing to make the trek, the resort may well be worth it for a trip later in the core season.