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Sugarbush's summit reaches 4,082 feet, dropping roughly 2,599 vertical feet to a base at 1,483 feet across 111 runs spread over 581 acres in Warren, Vermont, across two connected mountains. Terrain splits 42 per cent intermediate, 27 per cent advanced, 24 per cent beginner and 7 per cent expert, with average annual snowfall of roughly 177 inches. The resort carries Ikon and Mountain Collective pass affiliation. Thirteen lifts, including ten quad chairs and one double chair, serve the mountain's Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen alongside two triple chairs and three surface lifts.
Sugarbush earned an early and enduring reputation for attracting sophisticated New York visitors to Vermont's remote Mad River Valley, a glamorous image that helped establish the resort as a genuine social and skiing destination from its earliest years. Its two connected mountains, Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen, linked by the Slide Brook Express, give Sugarbush a considerable combined scale within the valley.
Damon and Sara Gadd, together with Jack Murphy, opened Sugarbush on 25 December 1958 after the Gadds moved to the Mad River Valley four years earlier. The Gadds took a genuinely innovative approach to resort development, installing the first enclosed Italian-built gondola in the United States, opening one of the country's first on-mountain apres-ski bars, the Wunderbar, and founding an international ski school, innovations that helped cement Sugarbush's fashionable early reputation.
The Gadds sold Sugarbush to Roy Cohen in 1977, and Cohen purchased the neighbouring Glen Ellen Ski Area, now Mount Ellen, in 1979, unifying the resort's two-mountain footprint. In 2001, Win Smith and a group of investors formed Summit Ventures NE LLC to purchase Sugarbush from the American Skiing Company, before Alterra Mountain Company acquired the resort in November 2019. Adult daily tickets run from 135 to 195 US dollars, with discounted access to Mount Ellen only.
Total Runs
111
Total Area
581 ac
235.1 ha
Sugarbush runs thirteen lifts: one double chair, ten quad chairs and two triple chairs, serving 111 runs across 581 acres spread over Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen, alongside three surface lifts. This extensive network connects the resort's two mountains via the Slide Brook Express, a considerable engineering achievement linking previously separate ski areas.
The lift heritage at Sugarbush dates to founders Damon and Sara Gadd's genuinely pioneering approach, which included installing the first enclosed Italian-built gondola in the United States upon the resort's December 1958 opening, a landmark moment in American ski lift technology at the time.
Following Roy Cohen's 1977 purchase of Sugarbush and his 1979 acquisition of the neighbouring Glen Ellen Ski Area, later renamed Mount Ellen, the resort's lift network expanded to serve both mountains, eventually connected by the Slide Brook Express to create a genuinely unified two-mountain ski experience.
The ten quad chairs now distribute the bulk of skier traffic across both Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen, supporting Sugarbush's considerable combined terrain. Since Alterra Mountain Company's November 2019 acquisition, bringing Sugarbush into the Ikon Pass and Mountain Collective networks, continued investment has supported this thirteen-lift system. Specific recent individual lift replacement projects beyond this ownership transition are not confirmed in available resort information.
Total Lifts
16
Lift Types
4
The 2025-26 season at Sugarbush ran from 6 December 2025 to 3 May 2026, a roughly twenty-one-week season supported by average annual snowfall of around 177 inches across the resort's two connected mountains. Season dates can shift depending on early and late-season weather in the Mad River Valley.
Midwinter, from December through February, typically brings the most consistent conditions across Sugarbush's varied terrain spanning Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen. As an Ikon and Mountain Collective pass resort, Sugarbush draws substantial visitation from pass holders alongside its traditional Mad River Valley visitor base, still drawing on the resort's long-standing fashionable reputation.
The Mad River Valley's genuinely close-knit community, shared with neighbouring Mad River Glen, continues to shape Sugarbush's seasonal character alongside its considerable scale across two mountains. School holiday periods bring substantial family visitation given the resort's varied terrain across both peaks. Extensive gladed terrain and challenging steeps, including the legendary Castle Rock area, draw dedicated expert skiers throughout the season.
Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Since Alterra Mountain Company's November 2019 acquisition, Sugarbush has continued operating within the Ikon Pass network, building on more than six decades of history since Damon and Sara Gadd's December 1958 founding. The resort's two-mountain scale and Mad River Valley setting remain central to its seasonal identity.
Current Season
2025 - 2026
Opening Day
12/6/2025
Closing Day
5/3/2026
Days Open
149
Sugarbush sits in Warren, Vermont, in the Mad River Valley, with a base elevation of 1,483 feet and a summit at 4,082 feet across a roughly 2,599-foot vertical drop over 581 acres spread across Lincoln Peak and Mount Ellen. This setting places the resort within one of Vermont's most storied ski valleys, alongside neighbouring Mad River Glen.
Warren and the broader Mad River Valley offer lodging, dining and a genuinely close-knit ski community atmosphere within a short drive of the resort. Waitsfield, a nearby village, provides additional visitor services, while Burlington, Vermont's largest city, lies within a reasonable drive.
Vermont State Route 100 provides access to the resort through the Mad River Valley. Winter driving conditions on this route can include snow and ice, though the well-travelled road is regularly maintained given the valley's status as a significant regional ski destination. There is no direct public transport service to the mountain.
Burlington International Airport, within a reasonable drive, is the nearest airport with substantial commercial service, making Sugarbush accessible for visitors flying into northern Vermont, supporting its long-standing draw for visitors from the greater New York and Boston metropolitan areas.
