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Sunday River Ski Resort
Rating Details »
11 reviews for Sunday River Ski Resort
Sunday River is a great mountain. Large for the east and usually better snow than many of the other mountains. I highly recommend it for skiing.
What particularly motivated me to write a review though was an excellent experience I had at the the demo/equipment shop with Greg. I don't remember his last name.
I needed a pair of ski boots and he was extremely helpful in determine the correct dimensions and dynamics of my footbed. I had bought a pair there, earlier in the day, and after a few runs quickly realized they were not the correct boot. I went back, he consulted me on a better choice, and let me ski them a couple runs and them come back and complete the transaction. He gave me a generous late season deal on the boots and I was very impressed with his technical knowledge. I will make a point to return here to get custom footbeds at some point and any other gear needs. I only wish I had demo'd skis out of this shop before buying.
Good luck.
Granted, my new Burton Freestyle was lifted from the front of the ticket booth the last time I was here but that's not going to prevent me from coming back this winter. The miles and miles of trails, 8 peaks, awesome glades, minimal lift lanes keeps me interested for a long day of riding. This place has some of the best snow in New England early and late season. At 3.5 hours from Boston, it is absolutely feasible to make it a day trip. The food in the lodges are decent, just remember to buy yourself a lock!
If you are new to skiing or riding, this is probably the BEST place to learn. Sunday River's organization is incomparable. From the minute you arrive you are directed to the Discovery Center which is the base lodge for all new skiers and riders. You sit in front of a fire place while you fill out your rental forms and sign those waivers. Then you and everyone else in your class are escorted to a little room where the instructor introduces themselves, fits everyone for boots, and everyone can get to know each other. Once you have your boots they take you to get your board (or skis), show you how to put them on and then take take you over to the learner's slope.
Most places, you have to go through getting your gear yourself and if you are a true beginner you will have no idea if what you are picking up feels right. Also, usually you have to go find your lesson. Not that the other ski resorts do it wrong, I just think Sunday River does it better. If you are going to learn, this is the place!
Now as an intermediate rider this place is great, I do hear complaints from my friends who are experts that it takes too long to get to the black diamonds because they are so far away from Spruce Lodge. But, the greens and blues are nice and long and wide for practicing turns and picking up speed. Also getting away from Spruce Lodge will get you away from some of the crowds and even find you some fresh snow in the morning. Even though the actual lodge was crowder, the trails by Barker Lodge were really fun and not as crowded as the ones by Spruce.
And if you happen to be a victim of hitting a patch of New England ice, the ski patrol is very friendly and efficient at getting you patched up and up to the bar to watch some football and grab a pint! The Foggy Goggle in Spruce is still one of my favorite apres ski bars. Live music, trivia, and oddly enough the best bloody mary I have ever had.
Really the only downside to this place is the crowds and the at least for me, its distance from Boston, its pretty far for a day trip and it happens to be my friends favorite place to go! Still, it has the best ski school, great if you are up for the weekend and can take a few lessons in a row. And it really seems to have plenty for every level of skier and rider! Combine that with the great facilities and tops customer service, and you have a great ski resort.
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I skied this place over 15 years ago so my recollection is a little spotty. But I am going to tell you what I remember. Ok there was a mountain. I remember there being snow. There were like buildings at the base of the mountain and people were coming down on skies. Yea Yea that's it!!
Seriously I was an intermediate back then and I thought it was cool. I think my other Yelper buddy Tod K is on point when he says it's not for advanced/expert skiers. But if you happen to be in Main this is the place to be.
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Sunday River may not be the black diamond of skiing, but it is a perfect stop for anyone looking for great customer service.
After skiing for a few years I've never been quite sure what boot I fit in best. I was told that although a small portion of skiers needed two boots in different sizes, my feet were happiest with a 12 (30). Through a brief encounter with exceptional people I had one of the best customer services experiences ever.
Santana was kind, patient, and sincere. She switched boots out with co-workers on the fly. Bobby adjusted my skies. Tim was a familiar face. I had come with a new skier a few days earlier and Tim made the rental experience a comfortable, relaxed process. For a new skier this is crucial! These individuals represent the best of us. In any line of work, few find the great people who connect with their clients and can relate on a human level.
Thank you Tim, Santana, and Bobby for a great day of skiing! For more information about Sunday River Ski Resort, click away:
http://www.sundayriver... - Home
http://www.sundayriver... - LIft Tickets/Rentals
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I recently went to Sunday River for a three day ski trip with a large group from Boston. The first morning, as I put on my skis, my left bindings literally shattered as I stepped into them. This made me sad.
I brought my skis in to the ski shop - and they said bindings from the manufacturer of my bindings from the time period of my bindings were well known to fail this way. So much so, that there had been a recall issued for them. This made me a little happier.
They thought they might even have the replacement parts. This made me happy.
Turns out, my exact model had not been recalled, only cheaper models. They didn't have the parts, either. This made me sad.
The guys at the ski shop seemed to understand just how much this sucked for me. They let me demo top of the line, brand new skis for all three days that I was there, at no charge (normally you'd pay $50/day). This made me very happy.
The mountain itself is nice, as far as New England skiing goes. Oz is awesome. Sure, some runs looked and felt as if a Zamboni had been run over them, but others actually had a couple inches of powder! Plus, with how icy it is, I really was forced to set in my edges on every turn. I suppose it's a good way to force one to ski properly.
Lodges were warm, a little busy, and had normal ski lodge food. Everybody was really nice.
So - let's see here... If you gotta ski in New England - Sunday River is a solid choice. They actually seem to care about treating customers well (or in my case, "well" doesn't even begin to describe it), and the skiing is good for the location. Awesome customer service and some awesome runs on Oz have made me a loyal patron!
WINTER
My favorite place to snowboard in Maine, good ski n stay deals. Big enough that lines are not bad as long as all the lifts are running. stay away on windy weekends!!
SUMMER
nice mountain bike park, not for beginners though! beware of that. The trails could use better signage. Not the best lift set-up for mountain biking that I have seen. Check out Highland Mountain Bike park in NH.
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i'll give it 4 stars based on my previous experience here and not this past weekend. the mountain itself is huge with tons of easy trails and not crowded at all. there is a decent amount of space in the lodges area for dining. the lifts are rather a fast wait. there is a chondola which to this day i still don't see the point cuz its 1 chondola after every five lifts or so. the service is relatively friendly. and there is night skiing!
this time around the resort basically closed almost all their lifts on saturday for safety purposes, something u wouldn't see in vermont... things would just stay open... the mountain was icier than usual which was a disappointment. guess i have to come here earlier in the season.
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Sunday River is definitely one of my favorite mountains to ride. It's HUGE and there is a variety of terrain for everyone you happen to be riding with. Plus having eight peaks gives you a chance to steer away from the mobs by the main lodges and head over to the less crowded trails.
Spruce and Barker have the majority of the least challenging terrain and the biggest lodges, so they are usually super packed with people. Even so, the green trails are fun to ride, and both peaks have good jib parks - if park riding is your steez. Barker's Rocking Chair park is a little more intense.
I personally like the blue trails on Locke, Barker and Jordan Bowl the best. They usually have more advanced riders, and are less crowded, so I can get my speed up without worrying about clobbering a group of little pizza/french fry kids learning to ski.
White Cap and Oz are where you can find the steepest double black trails. I rode White Heat this weekend...so steep. So scary. You feel good once you finish, but riding a double black right by a chair lift is kinda intimidating. Especially when you catch some ice, and slip a good 200ft on your butt.
The White Cap and Spruce Lodges have the best pubs I think. The Spruce Foggy Goggle is upstairs and has great windows that look over the ski area. I've never eaten at the pubs though, so I'm not sure on the food.
As for the regular cafeteria style dining - Spruce Lodge has the best choices, but is the most crowded...especially at noon. Barker has a good selection, but is still pretty crowded. White Cap offers less choice than the others, but usually is less crowded for lunch.
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Sunday River has started to grow on me as a ski area. This past season, I had the opportunity to visit Sunday River twice and both times were good. Sunday River has a trail network that spans 8 peaks over a distance of 126 miles of trails. When one area of the resort gets crowded, simply move over to the other side. Personally I enjoy skiing over in Oz and Jordan since it is less crowded, a little more challenging and overall a better experience then say Barker..
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Pros: tons of terrain. Jordan bowl, empty, with good snow and blue skies is close to heaven. It's usually wide open, with less than a minute wait for most lifts. Breaks can be a bit more, but never more than a 5 minute wait. I really enjoy skiing here.
Cons: New England skiing. It's often icy in spots, depending on which year it is. Food isn't great, and it's really expensive.
