14 Things To Do At Sunday River

Despite legitimately appreciating having access to four seasons each year as a resident of New England, I also—like many New Englanders!—used to complain an awful lot about winter. That is, until we officially became a ski family last year when Violet caught the ski bug. Now we’re excited about snow and we were literally bouncing off the walls in anticipation of the kick off of our ski season at Sunday River this past weekend.

We first visited Sunday River last February and I recommend reading my traveling with kids to Sunday River post to get acquainted with the general amenities of the property. That visit was wonderful, but also felt a little unfinished because our ski time was cut short given that: 1) the weather was super nutty and curbed lift access, and 2) our lovebird Indie died that weekend in the care of friends. (OMG.) So let’s just say that we were ready to embrace and explore Sunday River with fresh (non-teary) eyes! I thought it would be fun to make a list of recommendations for specific things to do while on the property. Some of these remain Sunday River bucket list items for me given that not everything was open yet!

1. Score a ski deal

One of the biggest barriers to entry that I have heard from my readers is cost of skiing. As you work out your winter plans, definitely check out the special deals page at Sunday River. They have a lot of money-saving opportunities, including Kids Ski Free Week (January 5-10)!

2. Toggle your visit to a fun event

Skiing in itself will be super awesome at Sunday River, but boy did we have fun being there for Santa Sunday (which was extra awesome because the event raised money for a charitable organization)! There are tons of fun events on the schedule to check out so if you like a little spectacle, toggle your visit to one of their special events.

Hundreds of Santas took to the slopes at Sunday River and raised money for the River Fund while they were at it!

3. Stay at the Grand Summit Hotel

We were so delighted to stay again at the Grand Summit Hotel! The set up of our lodging was perfect, featuring an open space including a living area with a Murphy bed, dining table, and compact kitchen, a bathroom, and a separate bedroom for me and Jon. The major bonus of staying at the Grand Summit Hotel, though, is access to the slopes via ski in/out (though the shuttle service, which we used the first day before ski out was ready, is also easy and the shuttle driver was quite possibly the friendliest person I have ever met). On days 2 and 3, we were able to ski out, which was AWESOME, and even though ski in was not ready yet, I didn’t even mind the little hike back up the hill. Also noteworthy, there is a heated pool and ice skating rink right at the Grand Summit Hotel.

4. Take a lesson

I cannot recommend ski lessons enough in general, and especially so if you can take them in a semi-private or private arrangement (as with any type of skill learning, you’ll get more out of a lesson the lower the teacher/student ratio). We took lessons with Bill Corrigan last year and were so fortunate to connect with him again this year, this time in the unique format of a family lesson! Bill not only imparted technical tactics that have improved my skiing considerably but he also really helped me build my confidence, and it was so helpful to have guidance on new trails knowing that he knew them inside out. Even when we were traversing down a blue trail that was laden with moguls, I did not panic one bit. I mean, let’s be honest, my skiing on that trail was slow and ugly, but feeling totally calm and confident in the knowledge that I could, in fact, eventually make my way down, was a huge achievement for me.

Laurel with our instructor Bill Corrigan just after we started making our way down Northern Lights on Aurora Peak. I literally stopped and said, “It’s pretty unlikely I will get back up here so let me take a picture now!”

5. Download the Sunday River app

It’s a big deal that I am recommending downloading the Sunday River app because I am notoriously app download averse because I generally hate the idea of apps clogging my phone and being unnecessarily connected! However, given that it was early in the season and not all the trails were open, the interactive maps on the app were HUGE in helping me figure out routes. Trying to line up the general mountain report against the full paper map was just not working for my brain! The interactive map lights up only the trails that are open, in addition to lots of other information.

6. Find Eddy the Yeti

This remains a bucket list item for us! Violet wanted to find Eddy the Yeti but he will not be on the slopes regularly until December 21 (though you can meet Eddy and Betty as early as December 14 at Winterfest). Backup plan was to find Eddy the Yeti’s house, but the trails that allow for access to the house unfortunately weren’t open. Next time!

7. Hit as many peaks as you can

Sunday River includes an astounding 8 peaks and because of my somewhat goal oriented, obsessive nature, not surprisingly I would like to be able to say that I have hit all 8 peaks. This past weekend of the 6 peaks that were open, we hit four of them (Barker, Spruce, North, Aurora) which wasn’t bad! (And actually, one of the peaks we did not hit, White Cap, wasn’t an option since I didn’t want to ski a black diamond trail!)

8. Ski across the entire property

This is a bucket list item for next time for me since access to two of the mountains was not available this past weekend, but I am positively itching to ski the (amazingly mostly green!) route that takes you all the way from the Jordan Bowl peak (the view of which is supposed to be spectacular) to the bottom of White Cap.

9. Ride the Chondola

The Sunday River Chondola (lift #7) takes you from the South Ridge Lodge to the North Peak and the name comes from the fact that the lift includes a mix of gondolas and 6-person chairlifts. Violet did not get a chance to ride the Chondola last year so we made sure to hop on it this time and it offers a nice break from the wind, as well as an opportunity to take pictures from above without worrying about dropping your phone down below!

10. Try a terrain park

Sunday River has 5 terrain parks; they weren’t open last weekend but terrain is totally Violet’s jam. And I actually think I could be convinced to try one of the easy parks!

11. Order the meatloaf at Camp

Camp is the restaurant at the Grand Summit Hotel and OMG their meatloaf. It comes with a mushroom whiskey sauce, mashed potatoes, and seasonal vegetables and it is insanely good. The portion size is generous so I enjoyed leftovers the next day, despite my best efforts otherwise. This was the perfect meal for calorie loading before a very active 3-day weekend!

Stockpiling calories at Camp with the insanely delicious meatloaf in anticipation of a full day of skiing

12. Get a waffle at the Waffle Cabin

After a full day on the slopes, you should have seen the look of utter bliss on my kids’ faces as they inhaled the waffles (yes, of course add chocolate topping!) at Waffle Cabin. Waffle Cabin is at the base of Barker Mountain, which was the perfect stop before skiing Roadrunner (SO FUN) back towards the Grand Summit Hotel.

Waffles from Waffle Cabin = perfect apres ski for kids

13. Beat me to bi bim bap!

Listen, there is Korean food (Cho Sun) at the South Ridge Lodge and I cried some major Asian tears that it wasn’t open yet when we visited. So a visit to Cho Sun remains on my Sunday River bucket list. Upshot, the salad bar at the South Ridge food court was AWESOME…loaded with veggies, grains, and protein. Given my current dietary needs, I was so happy to have a solid option there.

14. Eat at North Peak Lodge

There’s something magical about eating atop a mountain and we loved visiting North Peak Lodge last year. It wasn’t open this past weekend but be sure to check it out. Laurel loved the loaded potato bar and there are all manner of treats (including some well regarded sticky buns).

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