Sugarloaf (ski Resort)

Sugarloaf (ski Resort)

Sugarloaf (formerly Sugarloaf/USA) is a ski area and resort located on Sugarloaf Mountain in Carrabassett Valley, western Maine. It is the largest ski resort east of the Mississippi, in terms of number of trails (146), skiable acreage (1,400 acres/570 ha), and snowmaking percentage (95%); its continuous vertical drop of 2,820 feet (860 m) is the second longest in New England (after Killington's 3,050 feet (930 m)). Sugarloaf recorded a total of 352,000 skier visits in the 2005-2006 season, ranking it second among Maine resorts and 11th in New England, according to Ski Area Management magazine.

At 4,237 feet (1291 m) Sugarloaf Mountain is second in elevation to Maine's highest peak, Mount Katahdin. The summit of Sugarloaf offers the only lift-serviced above-treeline skiing in the Northeast. The Appalachian Trail crosses within 0.6 miles (0.97 km) of Sugarloaf's peak and the summit offers 360 degree views of Maine's western mountains and New Hampshire's White Mountains.

As of March 2010, there were 54 miles (87 km) of marked trails and a total of 651 acres (263 ha) of developed trails. There were 1,400 acres (570 ha) of skiable area boundary to boundary. The fifteen chairlifts have the capacity to carry 21,180 skiers per hour. There are also 138 marked trails and glades, most of which are named after logging terms in a tribute to Maine's logging history. Trails include thirty-four rated as green circle (25%), forty-four blue square (32%,), thirty-nine black diamond (28%), and twenty-one rated double black diamond (15%). There are also twenty glades (13%), and three terrain parks. Lifts include two SuperQuads, two high-capacity quads, eight doubles, one triple, and one T-bar surface lift. The Sugarloaf season runs from mid-November through early May.