Hype for the Future 63G: Notable Ski Resorts in Northern New England

Overview

Each of the three states within the Northern New England region is home to ski resorts and associated resort towns, most notably located in Stowe, North Conway, and Carrabassett Valley. The following content will be organized on a state-by-state basis and will focus primarily on the more significant resort communities:

Maine

The Sugarloaf Mountain and Sunday River Resorts are each physically located within the interior section of the State of Maine, with the Sugarloaf Mountain Resort in the Town of Carrabassett Valley and the Sunday River Resort in the Town of Newry in Oxford County.

New Hampshire

The State of New Hampshire is home to numerous White Mountain ski areas, including Wildcat Mountain located partly in Pinkham’s Grant and otherwise in Bean’s Purchase as well as the more substantial Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway within the Town of Conway. Within the Town of Jackson is the Black Mountain Ski Area, while within the Town of Lincoln and bordering on Livermore is the ski area at the Loon Mountain Resort. Waterville Valley is served by a separate resort in the area known as the Waterville Valley Resort, located otherwise in a very rural Grafton County community in the State of New Hampshire. The Franconia area is also home to the Cannon Mountain resort zone, containing a New England Ski Museum independent of the location in North Conway on the eastern side of the State.

The additional ski resorts in the area include the Attitash Mountain Resort in Bartlett, the Bretton Woods ski area partly in Carroll and otherwise in Bethlehem, and the Gunstock Mountain Resort of Gilford further south. In the southern portion of the State is the relatively urban McIntyre Ski Area, located strictly within the city limits of Manchester, the largest city by far in the State of New Hampshire. Additional resort locations also exist at Pats Peak in Henniker, Mount Sunapee mostly in Newbury and otherwise in Sunapee, and Whaleback Mountain located in Enfield, along with numerous other ski resorts relatively dispersed within the White Mountains.

Vermont

Within the State of Vermont, much of the Green Mountains is largely determined by the different mountain resorts along the central longitudinal spine of the State. Most of the ski resorts are within relative proximity to Route 100, though many are also further away from the main route. The major ski resorts around the highest point of the State at Mount Mansfield are the Smugglers Notch Resort primarily in Cambridge and the Stowe Mountain Resort in the northwestern portion of Stowe. Further south along Route 100 and the relative vicinity are the Killington Resort of Killington and Mendon in Rutland County; the Okemo Mountain Resort of Ludlow in Windsor County and Mount Holly in Rutland County; the Magic Mountain Ski Area of Londonderry in Windham County; the Stratton Mountain Resort of Stratton in Windham County; the Bromley Mountain Resort of Peru in Bennington County; and the Mount Snow Resort of Dover and unincorporated Somerset in Windham County. Further north in Vermont are the Jay Peak Resort of Jay and Westfield in Orleans County and the Burke Mountain Resort of Burke in Essex County. To the west of Route 100 are more ski resorts relatively nearer the Burlington area, including the Bolton Valley, Sugarbush, and Mad River Glen resorts. The Mad River Glen Cooperative is located primarily in Fayston in Washington County, though the western portion is located in Buels Gore in Chittenden County. The Mad River Glen Ski Area is also identified as a historic district within the State of Vermont in the United States and is located somewhat to the north of (and disconnected from) the Sugarbush resort of Fayston, Warren, and Lincoln in Washington and Addison Counties. The Bolton Valley Resort is located further north in the Town of Bolton and is accessible via backroads north of the Winooski River, Interstate 89, and U.S. Route 2.

Hype for the Future 62CBV: Town of Carrabassett Valley, Maine

Introduction

The Town of Carrabassett Valley is located in the northern part of Franklin County, Maine, with a permanent population hovering around to just under seven hundred residents for the scope of the entire town.

Sugarloaf Mountain

The Town of Carrabassett Valley is a very iconic town for the ski and snowboard industry as a resort town in the State of Maine home to Sugarloaf Mountain. The Maine Ski and Snowboard Museum, like the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum, is located within close proximity to the ski area, as the resort represents the flagship skiing opportunity in the State of Maine. While the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum is located in Stowe, the Maine Ski and Snowboard Museum is located in Carrabassett Valley, and the Sugarloaf Inn and Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel represent the primary places to stay in the resort area. The town is also home to the Hostel of Maine, located along Route 27 and south of the Eustis and Stratton areas.

Hype for the Future 56I: Additional Resort Communities of the East

Resort Communities in New England

Within the Northern New England states, the communities associated with the ski industry are often recalled as Stowe, Killington, and North Conway, though the last community is in New Hampshire and may not be as much a conventional ski destination as a mountain sightseeing destination containing an indoor waterpark area. The States of Vermont and New Hampshire are otherwise very similar, though the Commonwealth of Massachusetts also maintains a few, often smaller, ski areas, even in eastern Worcester County where the slopes are often significantly gentler.

The few ski areas associated with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that are indeed the most traditional of such resorts are typically located within the Berkshires of the extreme western portion of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including the geologically distinct Taconic Mountains of Berkshire County. Extremely close to the New York state line, the highest point in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a whole is actually Mount Greylock, not far south of the Williams College campus or the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). Also of interest in the nearby area is the Birthplace of Susan B. Anthony in Adams as well as the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown.

Hype for the Future 56H: Stowe and Killington Compared

Ski Resorts

Stowe and Killington are both known for primarily being ski resorts. However, Stowe is typically nicknamed the “Ski Capital of the East,” while Killington is typically the “Beast of the East.” Both are located along Route 100, with Stowe at the southern end of Route 108 and Killington about halfway from east to west along United States Route 4. Stowe is located south of Morristown along Route 100 in Lamoille County, while Killington is on the eastern end of Rutland County, about midway between Rutland to the west and Woodstock to the east. Rutland is physically located within Rutland County, whereas Woodstock is located within Windsor County to the east.

Resorts

While Stowe is most notable for the Green Mountain Inn within the central village and the von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort to the southwest, the Smugglers’ Notch Resort is located primarily in the Town of Cambridge along Route 108 (closed winters) to the north and the Stowe Mountain Resort is located in the northwestern portion of the area.

Killington, unfortunately, does not maintain a single resort as dominant over all other resort areas within the State of Vermont. However, the area of the Town of Killington is home to a strip of resorts of various types, typically located along the north-south Killington Road between the official Killington Resort to the south and the main routes 4 and 100 to the north.

Hype for the Future 56F: Lodging in the Killington Area

Overview

The Town of Killington is located along United States Route 4 and Vermont State Route 100 and covers the vast majority of the highway concurrency. From the northern end of the concurrency, travel nearly due south provides access to the Killington Resort, the more southerly of the major ski resorts of the State of Vermont, though Okemo Mountain is further south.

Like the novaTop Travel Itinerary, most of the following hotels are identified from the map on Google Maps. Ideally, the hotels should be verified hotels before further research can be conducted. The bullet points shall represent the hotels and resort areas, especially the official resort areas, as follows:

The Resorts

Because the list of possible hotels, inns, lodges, vacation homes, condominiums, and other rental types can be exceedingly long, please check the special list of potentially identified places to stay in the Killington area at https://maps.app.goo.gl/SYtCcNBrM3SoGG167?g_st=i.