Family Ski Report: Sunday River

For the month run-up to our trip to Sunday River this past weekend, I pretty much held my breath. This trip was the one thing on our family calendar for Q1 and I was waiting for COVID to obliterate our plans. Thankfully, it did not, and we ended up embarking on a truly tank-filling adventure.

This was our third time visiting Sunday River. The first time we visited at a great time of year in terms of snow (February) but were newer to skiing so did not even scratch the surface of what the property had to offer. Our second visit we visited early in the season (December) so less trails were open and there was some crazy weather that shut down lifts and our bird died during the trip, so I didn’t feel like we were able to immerse as fully. (I will admit I was a little cold hearted; when we received news about the bird, I was like, “We’re still skiing this morning, right?”) Both of those visit recaps offer perspectives on different elements of our stay and I recommend you read them! And after our visit this past weekend, I have additional details and a deeper lens on skiing for different abilities and as part of a family system. I am so delighted to share these now.

1. Scope

Sunday River is a beast of the very best kind; it is expansive in scope yet still feels friendly. The property features 8 peaks, 135 trails and glades, 5 terrain parks, and 18 lifts. The range is 3 miles wide and includes 870 skiable acres. There is literally something for everyone, and it was during this visit where my family — which includes people ranging in age from 10 to 48 and with different trail appetites — explored a vast amount of the property!

One note to those newer to skiing: at ski mountains trail ratings are relative. Over the years, I have repeatedly heard that in Vermont, Northern Vermont properties are rated with a less cautious hand compared to Southern Vermont properties. Meaning, in Northern Vermont, some greens feel like beginner terrain while others feel more like blues (intermediate), and some blues feel like intermediate terrain while others feel more like blacks (advanced).

Our experiences in Vermont have aligned with that observation, and it was similar for Sunday River (rated more with a Northern hand). It’s notable that trails can also change depending on the weather and how skied off they get, but last weekend some green trails (like Dream Maker off of North Peak and Lollapalooza off of Jordan Bowl) felt more blue than green to me. It wasn’t problematic, just something to note if you are newer to skiing and I will reference back to this point later. But all told, since my family loves skiing a mix of greens, blues, blacks, and terrain parks, and there is so much territory to ski at Sunday River, the property felt like an enormous playground! Note: I saw lots of people skiing in the glades and it looked terrifying to me but I was happy for them LOL.

Violet ahead on a green trail. Image by Christine Koh

2. Happy Place Bucket List Achieved!

Speaking of trails, on my #HappyPlaceFound (Sunday River’s hashtag) bucket list for this trip was to travel back and forth across the 3-mile property without using a shuttle! This was not possible during our first trip due to my ability level or our second trip due to what was open. Last week I sketched out how to zig zag up and across the property to connect to different lifts to go from the Grand Summit Hotel to the top of Jordan Bowl and back down again. I checked this plan against the mountain report (everything was open…yay!), and checked again the night we landed at Sunday River.

In my mind, with this bucket list item I was like Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja, who summited all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks (in the aptly titled Netflix documentary 14 Peaks). Obviously, it was totally not like that. I had peanut M&Ms in my pocket, lifts to carry me up, and skis to take me down, but still, it felt like an awesome accomplishment. I was able to enjoy the experience with my family, and aside from one dodgy section of unexpected black trail (a small piece of the green Cyclone trail was closed), it was all completely joyful and the views were spectacular!

Neurotic bucket list planning. Image by Christine Koh

The journey from Jordan back across the range starts with Kansas. Image by Christine Koh

3. Lessons

Especially if you are a newer skier, or have some less than optimal habits developed, I recommend taking lessons. Like, I really, really recommend it. I only started skiing about five years ago so I need all the help I can get, and it was such a surprise and delight to have Bill Corrigan again as a teacher (I am three for three in visits and lessons with Bill at Sunday River!). Bill is awesome; the perfect blend of guidance and practice and he is a super nice guy to boot. Personally, I think private or semi-private lessons are the way to go, and I recommend doing them the first morning you are visiting so you have the rest of the visit to practice what you learned.

Also, per my earlier note about trail variability, that is one great thing about lessons; instructors know the mountain like the back of their hand. They can give you advice on what trails will support whatever skills you are working on, and what trails to watch out for.

4. Lodging

Sunday River has several lodging options and the Grand Summit Hotel proved an excellent launch point for our family. I would also recommend this property (over Jordan Hotel, which is on the other side of the property) if you have more beginners in your crew and people taking lessons, purely for the logistical fact that it is closer to the launch point for lessons at South Ridge Lodge. Though really, you could lodge at Jordan and take a shuttle too!

Our room was a one-bedroom with a Murphy bed in the living area. It had a full-sized refrigerator and small kitchenette so we were able to bring some food in and store any leftovers bought on site.

An important note: it is possible to ski out of the Grand Summit Hotel to South Ridge Lodge; however, if your family includes true beginners, I recommend taking a shuttle, because while you can ski to the White Cap Quad (lift #9) and ski down to South Ridge Lodge, the only marked green trail option (Bear Paw) is narrow and definitely feels like a harder blue — we learned that the hard way on our second trip to Sunday River! Even my fairly experienced crew opted to take a different blue (Cascades) instead of venturing Bear Paw last weekend!

But otherwise, a huge bonus of lodging at the Grand Summit Hotel is that in immediate proximity is the White Cap area, which has three lifts and plenty of mixed terrain if you just want to stay close to your home base. After exploring all the way out to Jordan Bowl on Day 1, on Day 2 we spent the first half of the day on Barker, Spruce, and North Peak, returned to our room for lunch, and then spent the entire afternoon in the White Cap area and there was plenty to ski. And on our final morning, we just skied Little White Cap Quad and it was awesome. Also, this side tends to be less busy than the main South Ridge Lodge area, so it’s great for not waiting in lines!

Finally, presumably this was a COVID addition but the hotel had a couple of covered picnic tables + several of these rad shelter domes. And actually, the heated pool and hot tub got a lot of action while we were there! Between these elements, the fire pit, and nearby Apres Aglow (described below) the winter ambiance vibe was strong!

5. Food…in the Time of COVID

I couldn’t be more grateful for food service at Sunday River (and all of the people working…THANK YOU), especially in this time of COVID when none of my crew is at a comfort level to eat indoors with other people. Sunday River includes a variety of dining options but there were a few notable things that worked beautifully for us given our comfort level.

First, I discovered before the trip that Sunday River has made online advanced ordering possible at four of their food outlets. This meant that as we were driving up, I was able to order online in advance from CAMP (the Grand Summit Hotel restaurant) for a specific time window and we were able to bring our food up to our room right after checking in.

Second, CAMP also allows both dine-in and take-out options, so for breakfast, we asked for take-out boxes and could just pack food and bring it back to eat it in our room. And all of their packaging is compostable. This was huge in helping us feel more comfortable! When we ate lunch at Peak Lodge on Day 1, we bought lunch and ate at picnic tables outside; it was cold but beautiful.

And third, it’s worth noting that CAMP has gluten-free options and I was super grateful for this! This shot is from the breakfast area, but the evening we arrived I ordered their burger and was able to switch to a G-F bun.

6. Events

Obviously skiing generally happens in the 8/9 am to 4pm window (though Sunday River does offer twilight skiing on Fridays, Saturdays, and holidays!) so if you’re looking for a property that offers additional happenings, Sunday River has an active events calendar and other winter activities. I need to hand it to my squad because on Saturday it was very cold and we had spent the entire day on the mountain. We were settled back in at the hotel and people were still trying to warm up as our 5pm ticket reservation for Après Aglow approached. I offered people the out, but they were like, "WE ARE COMING!" and we all bundled up for a cold but beautiful sparkly walk through the woods, complete with hot chocolate. It was utterly delightful.

Après Aglow at Sunday River. Image by Christine Koh

7. A recommendation For the Ski Moms

At the very end of the trip I had an epiphany that I want to share because I cannot imagine that I am alone in this as a ski mom. I love skiing with my family. It is, without a doubt, the most fun thing about winter for us. Laurel is now several inches taller than me and a far better skier than me so I don't worry about her on the slopes, but Violet — while a very good skier — is still a peanut who prefers to be close. If she is ahead of me my eyes are always flickering to keep an eye on her. If she is behind me I am continually glancing over my shoulder to check on her. In both cases we are communicating about trail merges, super speedy people, etc.

On our final morning we had about an hour and I wanted to ski and everyone came with me. It was great. But after a few runs my crew wanted to head in and get ready to go home and I said I really wanted to ski a couple more runs. HOLY LIFE CHANGING MOMENT. The experience of just focusing on my skiing and the view and the solitude for two whole runs...it was beautiful and focused and worry-free and I finally had a technical breakthrough that felt so overdue. This is not rocket science but it was really eye opening for me and I am thinking about how I can make space for some solo skiing again soon.

In a nutshell, Sunday River is a wonderful ski destination. It’s especially great if you have a range of ski abilities in your family, want options for ski on/off lodging, and desire amenities. My travel during COVID has been sorely limited but this trip was worth the wait, and I felt completely safe with given the protocols and options they had in place. #HappyPlaceFound indeed.

Disclosure: Sunday River kindly hosted my family while I explored the property for editorial consideration. All opinions and experiences are, of course, my own.