Sunday River Resort in Maine. I had the chance to ski at this mountain twice. I will do a separate blog post on where we stayed because the Yurt deserves a story of its own.
Skiing
The skiing over at white cap is honestly the best out of the whole mountain for daytime skiing.
The mountain is not designed for snowboards. By this, I mean many traverses end up walking uphill if you are trying to get across the mountain. This mountain is spread out and not tall. It took us 2 1/2 hours to go from the White Cap side to the Jordan Bowl side, but only 30 mins to get back.
All of the green trails we took ( to get across) were full of walking. This is primarily the seasons' doing; all the advanced trails were closed.
Night skiing was terrific here! The South Lodge is where night skiing happens, and it is more of twilight skiing. This skiing goes on from 4- 6:30 PM. It is far less crowded at night, and with the sun setting, it is magical. I loved seeing all the cabins lit up in the distance. They had a fire pit with chairs to sit around and warm up between your night runs at the base area.
Website: https://www.sundayriver.com
Lodges
Around lunchtime, we stopped at the North Peak Lodge. It was packed to the extent people couldn't even walk around each other. They also served two food items, so we decided to leave and have lunch in our Yurt. If you plan to eat at the resort, I suggest bringing your food in a bag or leaving it in your car.
Atmosphere
Before coming, I didn't research the resort of lifestyle aspect, and it was a bit of a culture shock. Legalizing substances; led to considerable differences on your way to the mountain. People around the resort were using the items purchased at the dispensaries. If that is the kind of skiing/ riding style that interests you, this party mountain could be the place for you.
Drinking and riding also seemed like a massive thing at the resort. I have never seen people actively holding an open beer get onto the lifts. It was kind of scary, and no one stopped people from doing this. The culture is very lazafare.
I would not recommend this resort if you have children for multiple reasons. There is a lot of walking and strenuous for little legs. The people around; create an environment not suitable for children.
The Ikon Pass did have some great advice on parking. We parked at white cap, which is more of a local area.
Breweries
There are so many craft breweries in the area, so if beer is your thing, you are going to love it. We went to the Sunday River Brewing Company for lunch. They had a beer sampler with all of their beers, and you could pick one to take home in a growler. The food was terrific; we got buffalo chicken mac and cheese and chicken tenders and fries. The chicken tenders were some of the freshest I have had in a long time. I also picked out a Titos margarita which the bartender made stiff. If you want craft beer or a stiff drink with fantastic food, this is the place to come.
Website: http://sundayriverbrewingcompany.com
Dispensaries
We can't have a Maine blog post without talking about the dispensaries. Out of curiosity, we checked out Stoned Moose, across from the Brewery. There were two stores: one with medical marijuana also selling CBD and one with recreational use only. These stores are cash only and 21+, so they have a large variety for you if that is your thing.
Website: https://mooseheadfarms.com
Final Thoughts
I had a much better time here the second time around when we had more funds to explore the town. Suppose you are coming, budget some cash to try the local cuisine because it is worth it. Next time, I would love to try the sushi place in town when we come back.
