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    Vermont, Usa · Ikon / Mountain Collective

    Sugarbush

    581 acres, 111 runs across two peaks in the Mad River Valley. Ikon Pass access, legendary glades.

    Season 2025 - 2026
    Opens
    6 Dec 2025
    Closes
    3 May 2026
    Days open
    148
    Annual snow
    15ft
    The Overview
    MF
    Michael Fulton
    Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.

    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.

    2,598ft
    Vertical
    111
    Runs
    581 acres
    Skiable
    15ft
    Annual snow
    Ikon / Mountain Collective
    Pass
    The Terrain

    111 runs across 581 acres skiable

    Sugarbush spreads 111 runs across 581 acres skiable of terrain. It leans intermediate at 42%, with 27 beginner runs to find your feet and 38 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.

    Terrain split
    111
    runs
    111 runs across 4 grades
    Beginner27 runs · 24%
    Intermediate47 runs · 42%
    Advanced30 runs · 27%
    Expert8 runs · 7%
    Time it right

    When to visit Sugarbush

    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.

    Season 2025 - 2026
    6 Dec 2025
    Opens
    3 May 2026
    Closes
    148
    Days open
    15 ft
    Annual snow
    Getting there

    Getting to Sugarbush, and where to stay

    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.

    Where to stay

    Search all stays →

    Hotels and lodges near Sugarbush, powered by Stay22.

    Latest News

    From the SnowStash desk

    View all news →
    Sundance Mountain Resort Is Getting a New High-Speed Quad and More Back Mountain Terrain This Winter

    Sundance Mountain Resort Is Getting a New High-Speed Quad and More Back Mountain Terrain This Winter

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    19 Aug 2026
    Nassfeld Invests €13 Million in New 6-Seater Chairlift for 2026/27 Season

    Nassfeld Invests €13 Million in New 6-Seater Chairlift for 2026/27 Season

    Nassfeld is putting €13 million into a new 6-seater chairlift, the Tressdorfer Almbahn, connecting Sonnleitn with the Tressdorfer Alm from December 2026. It replaces three ageing drag lifts and will run through summer too, from June 2027, moving up to 2,500 people an hour on the roughly three-minute ride. It's the latest step in Carinthia's largest ski resort building out a genuine year-round offering, following last year's Gartnerkofelbahn gondola.

    17 Aug 2026
    Stelvio Glacier Suspends Summer Skiing, Leaving Continental Europe Without a Lift-Served Slope

    Stelvio Glacier Suspends Summer Skiing, Leaving Continental Europe Without a Lift-Served Slope

    Italy's Stelvio Glacier has pulled the plug on summer skiing from August 15. It was the last lift-served ski option left standing in continental Europe, and now there's none. Operator SIFAS pointed to persistent heat, storms, and a snowpack that simply wasn't refreezing overnight anymore. The cable car keeps running. Whether skiing comes back later this summer depends on the weather turning - and right now, nobody's promising anything.

    15 Aug 2026
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    Maverick Mountain's Only Chairlift Destroyed as Sand Creek Fire Tears Through Montana Ski Area

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    15 Aug 2026
    Fairmont Niseko: New Luxury Resort Revives Stalled La Plume Site for Early 2028 Opening

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    12 Aug 2026
    Saas-Fee Closes Its Glacier to Summer Skiing as Heat Wave Drags On

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    8 Aug 2026
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    5 Aug 2026
    Ski Pass on Your Smartphone: Dolomiti Superski's Plans for the Next Three Years

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    4 Aug 2026

    Current conditions

    Snow Report
    Updated 19 Aug 2026
    4,081ft
    summit
    +0in
    new snow · last 24 hours
    Partly Cloudy58°F / 71°F · W 10mph
    Snowfall
    24 hours
    0in
    48 hours
    0in
    7 days
    0in
    Base depth
    0in
    Season total
    0in
    Total lifts16

    Live open status isn’t available right now.

    6 Dec 2025 - 3 May 2026

    Hour by Hour

    Next 45 hours· Updated Aug 19, 2026 at 6:02 PM
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    Conditions
    Temp°F · feels
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    Snowfallin
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    Precipin000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
    Wind / gustmph
    9G13
    8G11
    10G17
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    4G4
    3G4

    Scroll for the full outlook · Open-Meteo

    7-Day Outlook

    4,081 ftUpdated Aug 19, 2026 at 6:02 PMOpen-Meteo

    Days 1–7

    0.0"

    Days 8–14

    0.0"

    Unlock days 8–14

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    Wed, Aug 19

    Overcast
    Temp71° / 58°°F
    Snow0.0"(12%)
    Wind10 mph W

    Live snow from the resort feed; forecast from Open-Meteo, via Supabase.

    Understanding the Sugarbush snow report

    Get the latest Sugarbush snow report — real-time snowfall, snow depth, and mountain weather for this Vermont resort, spanning 452m to 1244m in elevation.

    Snow measurements

    Our snow reports measure snowfall in centimeters over multiple time windows — last 24 hours, last 7 days, and the season total. Base depth reflects accumulation at the 452m base area, while summit depth captures conditions 792m higher at 1244m, where snow typically stays colder and lingers longer. Imperial conversions are shown alongside for convenience.

    Weather conditions

    Snow quality tracks closely with temperature and wind. We surface both alongside the snowfall data so you can judge whether conditions at Sugarbush are holding up or starting to soften.

    Data sources

    We pull Sugarbush's conditions from on-the-ground mountain reporting, then layer in forecast data so you get a fuller picture than either source alone. The mountain is served by 16 lifts, including 10 quad chairlifts.

    When to check

    The biggest swings usually happen right after a storm. Check Sugarbush's report in the morning for the freshest numbers, and again in the afternoon as conditions evolve.