River vs. Loaf...please help

[Brn4353]

Ok..I need some help. The GF and I want to take a trip to Maine. It will be a weekend trip w/ possibility of a 3 day w/e depending on the driving. Likely in February or early March. It will be either Sugarloaf or Sunday River. Few questions:

1. Is the extra drive to sugarloaf worth it? Do you have any lodging suggestions off the mountain? Looking at either Mountain View motel or Herbert Grand Hotel…any thoughts?
2. Any thoughts on lodging around Sunday River…? One with shuttle access to the mountain?


Thanks in advance. Happy New Year....THINK SNOW!

 

[Newpylong]

Well, I think with the limited snowfall this year I would recommend the River.

 

[ga2ski]

I personally like the river. The loaf is too far for me to drive for a weekend. I agree if the winter continues like has been the river will have the best conditions.

In terms of hotels off-mountain, The rostay, the Norseman, and the bethel inn are all on the Mountain Explorer route.

 

[ALLSKIING]

With how the season is going I would pick the river as well. If it was a normal or good snow year and you had a bit more time then the Loaf would be my pick.

 

[loafer89]

This year the snow so far has been better at Sunday River as they have more skiers to justify the added expense of extra snowmaking. If snowfall does pick up Sugarloaf is superior in terms of challenge and the length and vertical of the runs. I do not have experience at either resort with off mountain lodging, but Sunday River and Sugarloaf both have alot of ski on/ski off condo's and hotel rooms and both offer a free shuttle bus route through their resorts.

I would wait about one month to see who has better snow conditions and a higher trail count before making the final decision. If natural snowfall continues to be sparse then Sunday River is the better bet. You can drive to Sugarloaf for the day if you wanted to and it takes about 2 hours, I have done this a few times.

Usually I have a 60 trail minimum to make the drive worth it for me for more than a weekend as I like to ski Gondi Line, White Nitro, King Pine Bowl and have Whiffletree and Timberline opened. Right now Sugarloaf is struggling to get King Pine Bowl opened while Whiffletree just opened. With the winter weather going like it is it is doubtful that White Nitro will open.

 

[klrskiah]

If you are not going until march then i would wait and see. IMO sugarloaf is a better vacation spot, with better dining and other amenaties centralized at the base, but SR definately has the snowmaking edge which is why i ski there almost every weekend. Sugarloaf doesn't have off mountain shuttles like SR so that could be a problem if you stay in kingfield or eustis. Bottom line is you'll have fun at either place, but i'd check conditions before you book. and stay on mountain if you can!

 

[snoseek]

yeah wait, a lot can happen between now and early march, but if you need to choose now go to the river. Stay anywhere in bethel and you can grab the explorer bus to and from the mountain. I'd wait though as march can be real good times at the loaf.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

My son(18yo) spent the weekend at the Loaf at a friend's condo and told me this morning the sking was great. Realize he is young and possible overly positive about the skiing experience. Today he drove over to SR to hang out with some other friends and ski tomorrow and Wednesday. Due to the weather not fair to compare this trip. He skies every weekend, as long as he keeps his grades up, mostly at SR, just like everyone else mainly cause it closer. He likes sking at SR but he loves the Loaf and will mooch a place to stay there every chance he gets...:lol:

Regarding lodging there is no comparison. The Loaf has more lodging at the base area than any resort in the east. Lots of condo options. They even built a lift and trail down into the lodging area, very cool. I'm sure the extra 300 vf they got didn't factor at all into the decision to build the lift...:wink:

 

[AHM]

A couple ideas

As all have said, loaf has better terrain, Riv makes more snow. Riv can fog out easily due to the massive amounts of low elevation terrain. Riv is basically a ME version of the K. Loaf has real character, it all starts with the pics of Amos Winter in the base lodge.

Off mt lodging: For the loaf, that is in the towns of Kingfield and Stratton. I would vote for Kingfield, a bit more to do. Try 3 stanley Ave for a pretty cheap BB. The restaurant, 1 Stanley is very good, but makes reservations in advance. Stratton has less, but the Widow's walk is one option that is quite reasonable.

Go in March, the skiing will be fine and the loaf will be the cooler hill. For an even better idea, extend the weekend into a week. Drive to Quebec city, ski Massif (but stay in the city) and then drop down to the loaf.

 

[riverc0il]

1. Is the extra drive to sugarloaf worth it?

yes

 

[Vortex]

The loaf is wonderful. Nice destinations location. With a iffy winter go to the River.

Bus route is nice. I stayed at the Roostay over the Vacation week one night. not fancy, buy not real high in cost. convience store close outdoor hot tub.. A couple of bars in walking distance. Walking distance to a couple of food options. On the Bus route. Be on the road though. We missed it once. Long wait for next one. I booked another weekend in Feb at the River.

 

[Goblin84]

week at the Loaf

I just came back from a week up at the Loaf. The skiing was great as long as you hit up the trails early. I mostly rode up with patrol on the lifts and got some really great runs in.

I am a big fan of The loaf over someday bigger (aka...sunday river). They are pretty different. the loaf has a bigger vert and more challenging terrain. March is the best time to ski up in Carbasset Valley, better snow cover and all that jazz. Plus there are a ton of on mountain condo's and great bars and restraunts. SR has more intermediate terrain with those long sweeping trails. so my largly biased suggestion for you is the loaf

I went up to the loaf last march and actually caught the Alpine Nationals which was really fun. Check both mountains calandars and see if anything fun like that is going on. I met a couple of real big names that trip which made it all the more fun.

 

[bigbog]

...

$.02 for the Loaf, but as BobR posted...conditions have to be weighed..and the River has more guns!...plus the distance to Bethel is really an easy trip from the Boston/Mass Pike area...one's mind can sometimes opt for the closest...but sometimes isn't always the best choice for snow...once you get there!;-). Stay on I-95(Maine) for Sugarloaf, but if in Bethel....Bethel to Farmington = ~1hr+ ..(with motels around Farmington), ~45min? on #27 to Kingfield(lodging there..as mentioned), then 30min to Sugarloaf, thus if you ever wanna do both and start out in the AM, gotta give yourself the mentioned time to get up/down there.
*In all honesty...I have to plead the 5th as the Loaf is much closer 4me(via back roads).
Weigh the conditions...but the Loaf has a little more elevation @base, more vertical...all over..& thus drier snow(imho), better food/drink @base/access rd, or ~5mi back on main rd(Tufulios).

$.01

 

[Edd]

Something nobody's mentioned is crowd control. Sugarloaf on a Saturday in March will be a true test of your lift line tolerance. SR, while crowded, can handle and move these crowds along better than any resort I've seen, including Killington.

However, if you go to the loaf, I've found that going up the 95 to Waterville and then heading west is a great route. You can do it in just over 3 hrs from Portsmouth, NH.

 

[Goblin84]

$.02 for the Loaf, but as BobR posted... better food/drink @base/access rd

$.01

Amen. I love the Rack