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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

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    Hotels and lodges near Sugarbush, powered by Stay22.

    Latest News

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    Trail map & terrain

    Sugarbush trail map↓ Download PDF
    Terrain split
    111
    runs
    Beginner24%
    Intermediate42%
    Advanced27%
    Expert7%
    581 acres skiable235 hectares
    Resort Stats
    Elevation
    Base1,483ft
    Summit4,081ft
    Annual snowfall
    15ft
    Season
    2025 - 2026
    6 Dec 2025 - 3 May 2026
    Trail coverage
    111 runs
    581 acres (235 ha)

    About Sugarbush's trail map

    Explore Sugarbush's full trail map with 111 runs across the mountain, colour-coded by difficulty and shown alongside the terrain split. Use it to plan a day that matches your ability, find lift-served pockets of your favourite grade, and see how the resort links together. Download the piste map (PDF) ↗

    More Sugarbush intelligence: snow report, lift system, webcams, resort overview.