Top 25
1. Killington
Killington opened last Friday with its classic opening week lineup with Reason and Rime serving as the first trails open for skiing on the east coast this season.
2. Ski Ward
While Ski Ward really didn’t open officially for the season, they did have a rail jam scheduled in October but it got pushed back to November for the Veterans Day Rail Jam.
3. Stowe
Stowe is looking to rebound after a slow start to the season last year and get off to a strong start.
4. Sugarbush
With an opening week scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, Sugarbush is already making snow in preparation!
5. Jay Peak
Jay Peak offers a lot of terrain and will likely have a lot to offer at the start of the season compared to other ski areas in New England.
6. Sugarloaf
Coming off an offseason expansion, Sugarloaf will be one of the first ski areas to open in Maine this season.
7. Sunday River
With Barker getting an upgrade the Jordan Bowl will be the first part of Sunday River to open this season.
8. Wildcat
Which will be the first to open at Wildcat? Polecat? Lynx? Or Catapult? We shall see.
9. Saddleback
One of the best independent mountains in New England, Saddleback has tremendous skiing and is thriving right now.
10. Okemo
Okemo survived the flooding in Ludlow well when we went there this summer, and they will likely have a good start to the season.
11. Smuggler’s Notch
Smuggler’s Notch is right next to Stowe and got a solid amount of snow at the summit recently.
12. Bretton Woods
Bretton Woods is celebrating their 50th season Thanksgiving week while also having some of the best snow in the east.
13. Mad River Glen
Mad River Glen will likely get off to a slower start to the season than most places, but they rely heavily on natural snow which affects how they stack up to other ski areas at the start of the season, but the quality of skiing is better on natural snow mid-season.
14. Mount Snow
Mount Snow was projected to be one of the earliest opening Vail owned resorts in the east last year but Vail has not released open dates yet for the east coast so we will wait and see.
15. Cannon
Cannon is looking to have a bounce back year in terms of lifts as they had to rely heavily on the Tram that is likely to be replaced soon.
16. Loon
Loon experienced offseason expansion with Timbertown but we likely won’t see that until later in the season.
17. Stratton
Stratton will look to have another strong season where they consistently have over 90% of trails open again.
18. Bolton Valley
Bolton Valley often gets overlooked in the Vermont skiing landscape but still offers a great product.
19. Gunstock
Gunstock has made some upgrades around the base area this summer and should have another exciting season with night skiing.
20. Waterville Valley
Waterville Valley actually made snow at the very top of the mountain, but it remains to be seen what they will open first.
21. Sunapee
Sunapee will likely open around Thanksgiving and has some of the most overlooked views in the east.
22. Berkshire East
Berkshire East is the first southern New England mountain on the list and is currently working to complete a lift upgrade before the season starts.
23. Attitash
Attitash has faced a lot of scrutiny in the past few years and is working on making a major lift upgrade with the Summit Triple becoming a quad.
24. Wachusett
Wachusett is one of the best family mountains in New England and provides great value in an area where the snow may be a little rough.
25. Pleasant Mountain
Pleasant Mountain is one of the most underrated ski areas in all of New England and made some significant upgrades this summer with the parking lot being paved, snowmaking added, steps widened, and Sunset Boulevard has been added to the night skiing slate.
NEXT FOUR
Jiminy Peak
Bromley
Burke
Magic Mountain
Comments