NEWRY, Maine — Thursday at 9 a.m., Sunday River Resort will open for New England passholders, Ikon passholders, and New England 5-Day and Maine 4-Day ticket pack holders.
According to a release from the resort, the mountain will be open to skiers and snowboarders with day tickets starting Sunday.
The resort will open advanced terrain on the T2 and Upper Sunday Punch trails, accessible via the Locke Mountain Triple lift in Barker Basin, with downloading from the lift's mid-station. All plans depend on weather and snow conditions. The resort will provide updates on its online mountain report.
Officials said the weather was favorable for snowmaking conditions Monday evening through Wednesday afternoon, allowing the resort to run 225 snowguns to build enough snow for opening conditions.
Skier services will be available out of Barker Lodge, and the Barker Food Court and Barker Bar will also be open for guests.
"I am incredibly proud of the hard work our team has put in these past few weeks," general manager Brian Heon said in Wednesday's release. "We're always pushing to get our trails open as fast as possible for our passholders and loyal guests, and our team is making it happen."
Sunday River is owned by Boyne Resorts, which also owns Sugarloaf and Shawnee Peak in Maine and Loon Mountain Resort in New Hampshire. Of these mountains, Sunday River is the first to announce an opening date.
Sunday River is planning to add an eight-person chairlift by the 2022-2023 ski season. According to a release from the resort, the "Jordan 8" will be "the fastest eight-person chair in North America."
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video below is from the final day of the 2020/2021 ski season at Sunday River.