
Ragged Mountain
250 acres, 57 runs near Danbury. Uncrowded slopes, affordable family skiing, now locally owned.
Ragged Mountain's summit reaches 2,251 feet, dropping 1,250 vertical feet to a base at 1,001 feet across 57 runs spread over 250 acres near Danbury, New Hampshire. Terrain splits 37 per cent advanced, 30 per cent beginner, 26 per cent intermediate and 7 per cent expert, with average annual snowfall of roughly 97 inches. Five lifts, including one quad chair and one six-person chair, serve the mountain alongside one triple chair and two t-bars.
Ragged Mountain has weathered a genuinely turbulent operating history, including a bankruptcy and a period of closure, before emerging as a value-focused, community-oriented ski area under a succession of committed private owners. Its recent transition to local ownership after 60 years of operation reflects the resort's enduring appeal to skiers seeking uncrowded slopes at an accessible price.
Ragged Mountain Ski Area opened in 1965 with seven runs, a T-bar and a Hall double chair, though the site had been considered for skiing development as early as the 1930s. Amid limited natural snowfall and the absence of snowmaking equipment, the resort went bankrupt in 1974, was purchased by the state, and was then sold to private investors who operated it for roughly a decade before it, too, failed and the mountain closed.
Developers Al and Walter Endriunas purchased Ragged Mountain, reopening it in 1988, expanding the terrain onto adjacent Spear Mountain, and installing New Hampshire's first six-person chairlift. In November 2025, marking the resort's 60th year of operation, new local owners purchased Ragged Mountain for 6.4 million US dollars, pledging to preserve its character. Adult daily tickets run from 69 to 89 US dollars, with free access for children aged 5 and under and seniors aged 80 and over.
Ragged Mountain spreads 57 runs across 250 acres skiable of terrain. It leans advanced at 37%, with 17 beginner runs to find your feet and 25 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
The 2025-26 season at Ragged Mountain ran from 13 December 2025 to 5 April 2026, a roughly sixteen-week season supported by average annual snowfall of around 97 inches. This season also marked a significant ownership transition, with new local owners purchasing the resort in November 2025 as it turned 60 years old.
Midwinter, from December through February, typically brings the most consistent conditions to Ragged's advanced-and-beginner-weighted terrain. As an independently operated resort without major multi-resort pass affiliation, Ragged draws a value-conscious, regional New Hampshire visitor base seeking uncrowded slopes at accessible pricing.
Free access for children aged 5 and under and seniors aged 80 and over reflects the resort's long-standing commitment to affordable, family-friendly skiing. School holiday periods bring increased family visitation given this generous pricing structure and the resort's varied terrain. Weekend crowds draw primarily from central New Hampshire given the resort's roughly 90-minute drive from Boston.
Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Following the November 2025 sale to new local owners, who have pledged to preserve the mountain's character after 60 years of operation, Ragged continues building on a history shaped by both hardship and resilience since its 1965 founding. This renewed local ownership remains a defining point of interest for the resort's community this season.
Ragged Mountain sits near Danbury, New Hampshire, with a base elevation of 1,001 feet and a summit at 2,251 feet across a 1,250-foot vertical drop over 250 acres spanning both Ragged Mountain and adjacent Spear Mountain. This central New Hampshire setting places the resort within a genuinely rural part of the state.
Danbury and the surrounding central New Hampshire communities offer modest local lodging and services within a short drive of the resort. New London and the broader Lake Sunapee region lie within a reasonable drive as well, providing additional visitor amenities.
Interstate 89 provides access to the broader region, with local roads connecting to the resort itself near Danbury. Winter driving conditions on regional roads can include snow and ice, though the well-travelled routes are regularly maintained. There is no direct public transport service to the mountain.
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, within a reasonable drive, is among the nearer airports with commercial service, making Ragged accessible for visitors flying into the region, though the resort's visitor base is drawn predominantly from central New Hampshire and the greater Boston area by car.
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Ragged Mountain runs five lifts: one quad chair, one six-person chair and one triple chair, serving 57 runs across 250 acres near Danbury, alongside two t-bars. This network has been rebuilt substantially since the resort's turbulent early history, including a bankruptcy and period of closure in the 1970s and 1980s.
The original 1965 opening featured just a T-bar and a Hall double chair serving seven runs, modest infrastructure that proved insufficient to sustain the resort through a lack of snowmaking investment and the 1974 bankruptcy that followed. Following purchase by the state and a subsequent decade of private operation that also ultimately failed, the mountain closed entirely before its 1988 reopening.
Developers Al and Walter Endriunas, who purchased and reopened Ragged Mountain in 1988, expanded the terrain onto adjacent Spear Mountain and installed New Hampshire's first six-person chairlift, a significant technological leap for the region at the time. This six-person chair remains a notable feature of the current lift network.
Following the resort's sale to new local owners in November 2025, marking Ragged's 60th anniversary, continued investment is expected to support this five-lift network under the new ownership's stated commitment to preserving the mountain's character. Specific further planned lift projects are not confirmed in available resort information.
More Ragged Mountain intelligence: trail map, snow report, webcams, resort overview.