You have all helped with vacation plans before and now I am hoping you can come through again.
The first and most obvious question is that although I am originally from Maine, it has been many years since I’ve been skiing in New England. How are the slopes generally during the week of Thanksgiving (we would be returning home on the day before Thanksgiving)? I ask because I see this is ‘value season’ so I worry that the slopes won’t have snow yet.
That said, I have been looking at and torn between:
Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Attitash/Wildcat. I’ve skiied at Sunday River in my teenage years and climbed Wildcat during the summer, but have not stayed at any of the lodging in the area.
I would love slopeside lodging so that ideally I can ski right into our hotel (although we will likely rent skis so that may not work out) and although I cannot say money is no object, it looks like from most of the rates I’ve seen so far, money should not be a problem. Assume no more than $250/night, not including tickets and food of course.
Does anyone have any recommendations for places to stay in these areas? I also assume coming from Atlanta I would want to fly into central NH or Maine and get a rental car (avoiding Boston would be very important).
So please, spill your guts, and if you know of a nice slope that will entertain for 4 days outside of what I’ve listed in the New England area, please share!
Go with Sugarloaf or Sunday River, they are most likely to have the best conditions at that time of year. Wildcat can be nice but they have much less slopeside lodging and don’t have as good a snowmaking infrastructure. Avoid Attitash like the plague; it doesn’t hold a candle to the other areas you mentioned.
Look for a condo rental over a hotel, you’ll get a much better deal with more room and a nice kitchen. For Sunday River or Sugarloaf you’ll want to fly into Portland ME or possibly Manchester NH.
You’re pretty much at the mercy of Mother Nature and what she decides to put up by way of snow. Depending upon the year, you might not find much. Killington, on the other hand, makes a point of being open early, even if they have to put down straw and make the snow. If you want to be certain of being able to ski, you might want to go there. On top of which it’s a huge area with a lot of variety in its terrain.
Attitash has made vast improvements over the years, so I wouldn’t rule that one out. Wildcat would be behind in terms of snowmaking, and at a disadvantage.
Also, unfortunatly, it seems like over the last 5 years or so the thanksgiving weekend has become very popular with snowboarders, so expect to be greatly outnumbered.
Sunday River has great coverage, snowmaking-wise, even that early in the season and lots of slopeside lodging. Not terribly much in the way of nightlife though, but the lift lines will be short!
Jeez, it’s been 10 years since I worked at SR, and I still sound like a company girl.
I don’t ski, but it’s probably worth mentioning that by Thanksgiving there’s usually very little natural snow even in Maine and New Hampshire - the big storms don’t usually begin piling up until late December. Last year was an exception since there was a big storm that dropped close to a foot the week of Thanksgiving (the night before Thanksgiving, actually) in NH and ME both. It’s probably a little better in the mountains, but you may want to make your pick based on who has the best man-made snow.