NH-->ME Weekend Need Reccomendations

[braciole]

Thinking of pushing off my usual Sugarbush/Stowe weekend to opt for personally uncharted territories of NH and ME. My question is where? I like what I have read and seen of Wildcat/Cannon on here, is it possible to go from Wildcat/Cannon one day to Sugarloaf or Sunday River the next? Or any other resorts in NH one day to ME the next, etc. Driving distances, accommodations, where to ski, any recommendations would be appreciated. We will be up there 3/5 to 3/8, skiing Fri-Sat-Sun.

 

[deadheadskier]

Cannon to Wildcat roughly 45-1hour
Cannon to Sunday River roughly 1.5 hour
Cannon to Sugarloaf, plan on three
Wildcat to Sunday River 45-1hour
Wildcat to Sugarloaf 2+ hours


While NH and ME are your targets, don't rule out Burke and Jay if you've never been. You could stay in the Littleton area of NH and be 15 minutes to Cannon, 45 to Burke, 1 hour to Wildcat and 1.5 to Jay

 

[braciole]

Cannon to Wildcat roughly 45-1hour
Cannon to Sunday River roughly 1.5 hour
Cannon to Sugarloaf, plan on three
Wildcat to Sunday River 45-1hour
Wildcat to Sugarloaf 2+ hours


While NH and ME are your targets, don't rule out Burke and Jay if you've never been. You could stay in the Littleton area of NH and be 15 minutes to Cannon, 45 to Burke, 1 hour to Wildcat and 1.5 to Jay

Yes...Burke was on my short list this year as well, we hit Jay last year. So we could do Cannon to Burke in +/- 45 mins. Dhead where do they (Cannon, Burke, Sunday, Wildcat) rank on your list of places you must ski?

 

[Vortex]

Monday could be windy. not sure when you were going. Consider bretton woods or loon if that happends. They handle the wind better.

Looks like everyone gets snow on Sunday. Wildcat thenSunday River is a nice option.

You could stay in Groham Nh. 20 min to Wildcat at most. 30 to the river. Cheap places to stay in gorham nh.

 

[deadheadskier]

Yes...Burke was on my short list this year as well, we hit Jay last year. So we could do Cannon to Burke in +/- 45 mins. Dhead where do they (Cannon, Burke, Sunday, Wildcat) rank on your list of places you must ski?

Depends a lot on recent natural snow. I've never been to Burke, so I can't comment on there, but will be going at some point this season.

Sunday River hass the best intermediate mountain of them all and does the best when snowfall is limited. It is a HUGE complex to, more than double the size of the other areas.

Cannon and Wildcat I'm equally fond of, though a bit more so of Wildcat simply due to it having in my opinion the best quad chair in the east. 2100 vert covered in six minutes, so you can get a ton of skiing in there.

Sunday River is the most 'resorty' of all of the places if those types of amenities appeal to you.

 

[frozencorn]

Wildcat to the Loaf is way more than 2 hours. 3-plus, at least. Wildcat to SR OTOH is a simple drive down 16 to Rt. 2, no more than 45 mins. Town and Country, right near the junction there offers a ridiculous special Sunday-Friday. Buy a $65 Cat ticket, and you room and eat breakfast for free. Probably not available this weekend because of vacation, but that's a deal.

http://www.townandcountryinn.com/packages.html

 

[Vortex]

Sunday River to the Loaf is jsut under two hours.

So just under 3 from Wildcat to the loaf. Its 65 miles from Cannon to bethel another six to the mountain. About 1.5 hours. I drive right by cannon on my way to the River every weekend,

Many evetns this weekend at most places casue of the vacation. This weekend is the quietier weekend. The river has more amenities, but it gets poked at for its social life. Plenty to do, but not like Killington. The loaf does have a nice little base village.

 

[SIKSKIER]

I must drive faster.I usually get from my house at Cannon to SR in 1 hour 15 min.I can usually get to the Loaf from Cannon in about 3 hours.Rt 3 to 115 to 2 to 27.That's with clear roads.

 

[braciole]

Wildcat/Cannon>Sunday River sounds good to me, whats the best spot to stay for food/pubs/lodging? Above town and country inn looks like a good home base, any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[mikestaple]

Find lodging and do Sugarloaf and then Saddleback. I love Sugarloaf for the variety of terrain and nice long runs. But it is very remote. Saddleback gets nothing but positive reviews here and is only 30 minutes further up the road. Make a remote Maine weekend out of it.

 

[Skimaine]

Agree with Mike. I would consider making it a triple. Sunday River on Friday, Saddleback on Saturday and Sugarloaf on Sunday. Find a place in Kingfield on Friday night to launch for Saddleback and Sugarloaf.

 

[braciole]

Agree with Mike. I would consider making it a triple. Sunday River on Friday, Saddleback on Saturday and Sugarloaf on Sunday. Find a place in Kingfield on Friday night to launch for Saddleback and Sugarloaf.

Thanks for the info guys, the town and country motel looks like a good home base for us to do Sunday River and Wildcat. We have 3 days, 3/6 - 3/8 Fri-Sat-Sun, Sunday River looks massive, I would think it requires two days? any input is appreciated.

 

[bigbog]

...with the temps holding...

As the temps are holding for the positive...just my $.01..but once you get in 1/2 a day at the Loaf...you're gonna forget about traveling back down to Bethel or even farther over to Wildcat. ..And there is more snow coming sooooo things are really looking good...*Not to knock the River...great skiing as well..with lots of less pitched, great intermediate terrain in addition to the steeper...
$.01...Stratton has some places that are far less pricey than anywhere else, and a few choices for food are:
1) in Stratton
2) bottom of mountain(couple pubs, pizza+, great burgers..etc.)
3) Tufulios (~3mi south of access rd...on main road.)

*Admittedly Biased Beyond Belief...:lol:

 

[braciole]

As the temps are holding for the positive...just my $.01..but once you get in 1/2 a day at the Loaf...you're gonna forget about traveling back down to Bethel or even farther over to Wildcat. ..And there is more snow coming sooooo things are really looking good...*Not to knock the River...great skiing as well..with lots of less pitched, great intermediate terrain in addition to the steeper...
$.01...Stratton has some places that are far less pricey than anywhere else, and a few choices for food are:
1) in Stratton
2) bottom of mountain(couple pubs, pizza+, great burgers..etc.)
3) Tufulios (~3mi south of access rd...on main road.)

*Admittedly Biased Beyond Belief...:lol:

That is one long ass haul from CT to the Loaf. I'm not even going to ask you how much better you think it is than Sunday River, I think I get your drift. But oh...that drive looks hellacious, though its only 50 more miles but according to google almost 2 hours farther ?

 

[deadheadskier]

That is one long ass haul from CT to the Loaf. I'm not even going to ask you how much better you think it is than Sunday River, I think I get your drift. But oh...that drive looks hellacious, though its only 50 more miles but according to google almost 2 hours farther ?

From CT it would be an hour further tops, unless it makes more sense from where you are to take 93 to Northern NH and cut over to SR.

As a reference, Sugarloaf is 2.5 hours from Portland, ME. Sunday river is 1:45

 

[Skimaine]

Thanks for the info guys, the town and country motel looks like a good home base for us to do Sunday River and Wildcat. We have 3 days, 3/6 - 3/8 Fri-Sat-Sun, Sunday River looks massive, I would think it requires two days? any input is appreciated.

T&C would make a good base for SR and Wildcat. SR looks massive but is quite manageable. During mid-week you can hit most of it in a day. They have a great lift system and you can make a lot of laps when there are no crowds. However, you need a good plan. Park at Barker Lodge. Head over to Whitecap. Work from Whitecap to Jordan Bowl hit the all the peaks as you go. Late lunch at Jordan and head back to Barker and hit what you liked on the way back.

 

[braciole]

T&C would make a good base for SR and Wildcat. SR looks massive but is quite manageable. During mid-week you can hit most of it in a day. They have a great lift system and you can make a lot of laps when there are no crowds. However, you need a good plan. Park at Barker Lodge. Head over to Whitecap. Work from Whitecap to Jordan Bowl hit the all the peaks as you go. Late lunch at Jordan and head back to Barker and hit what you liked on the way back.

What would you guys compare Sunday river to terrain wise in VT ? Is it like Stratton, well groomed, nice lift system, somewhat mellow terrain with a few nice steeps here and there?

 

[bigbog]

...to the Loaf

Better route = stay on I-95 to #201 exit...thru Skowhegan(just get to/thru Skowhegan!), left on #148 just outside Skowhegan(at yellow blinking light) to Madison/Anson..then after passing thru small town you pass over the Kennebec, hang right onto #16, then bear left at N.Anson ....to Kingfield.
You can make better time to Kingfield...good road but watch for traffic/deer...several twists and turns in road...but much shorter than to bail onto #26..up by Bethel = the windy route.....but agreed, Vermont's base altitudes are great.

 

[Geoff]

What would you guys compare Sunday river to terrain wise in VT ? Is it like Stratton, well groomed, nice lift system, somewhat mellow terrain with a few nice steeps here and there?

Sunday River sprawls like Killington. You get your vertical 1000 feet at a time. Similar number of acres and similar size snowmaking capacity. It has rational trail pods rather than all the trail intersections at Killington. It has much more intermediate terrain than Killington. It gets half the natural snow of the 250" Vermont snow belt so the surface is typically either machine groomed manmade or pretty firm manmade bumps. Their marked glades are good but not open as often as things in Vermont. There basically aren't any natural snow trails other than their glades and a few lift lines.

It's more challenging than Stratton or Okemo but a number of the trail pods are Stratton-like or Okemo-like.