Welcome to the Mainely Skiing Summer Email! This email will be sent straight to your inbox whenever we release new emails. In this email, we will highlight all the summer activities in or around the Rangeley Area!
Rangeley Birding Festival:
Calling all bird enthusiasts! The Rangeley Birding Festival will take place from Friday, June 7, to Sunday, June 9. From Boreal Chickadees in our vast forests to Loons on our magnificent lakes to the rare Bicknell’s Thrush in the high peaks above, the Rangeley Region is rich with birds.
Upcoming Events:
Make sure to add these events to your calendar to keep yourself up to date with the local happenings. Of course, you can always visit our events page, which is constantly getting updated so you can know about the event before anyone else! Plus, check out our Featured Events page where we dive deeper into the events we don’t want you to miss!
| Event Name: | Start Date: | End Date: | Occurrence: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Of Maine 2024 Voting | May 15 | June 15 | Every Day |
| Trails In The Valley @ Lost Valley | May 17 | October 25 | Every Friday |
| Rangeley Birding Festival | June 7 | June 9 | Three Days |
| Black Mountain of Maine Golf Tournament | June 15 | June 15 | One Day |
| White Nose Pete Fly Fishing Festival | June 15 | June 15 | One Day |
| 43nd Annual Sugarloaf Ski Club Classic Golf Tournament | June 21 | June 21 | One Day |
| 2nd Annual WinterKids Mountain Mayhem @ Mt. Abram | June 22 | June 22 | One Day |
| Hallie’s Hustle 5K Run/Walk @ Black Mountain of Maine | June 23 | June 23 | One Day |
| Walk In The Woods – Bonney Point | June 25 | June 25 | One Day |
| Sunday River Scenic Lift Rides Open | June 27 | October 13 | Every Day |
| Maine’s High Peeks PaddleFest | June 28 | June 30 | Three Days |
| Kingfield Pops Concert | June 29 | June 29 | One Day |
| Walk In The Woods – Hunter Cove Uplands | July 2 | July 2 | One Day |
| July 3rd. Festival in the Park @ Rangeley Parl | July 3 | July 3 | One Day |
Saddleback Bike Park + Shop:
The Saddleback Bike Park and Shop opened today, providing pedal power to Saddleback’s seven trails. While the South Branch Quad isn’t expected to spin for riders until June 28th, you can still get out there!
Do you need some tune-ups to make your rides even sweeter? Visit the Saddleback Bike Shop, which is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Learn more about the Bike Shop and Park along with the trail maps and reports by clicking the link below.
BigRock Lift Construction Update:
On Wednesday, I made it up to BigRock Mountain in Mars Hill to check out the construction of their new Doppelmayr Fixed-Grip Quad. The new lift will have a new alignment that will run up the Uncle Buds trail.
Trails In The Valley:
Lace up your running shoes and drive to Lost Valley tonight for their first Trails In The Valley event, a weekly running club that takes place every Friday at 6:00pm. Led by their experienced leaders, Paula & Jason, this group trail experience is absolutely free and open to all. Learn more about this event on their website, linked below.
New Merchandise:
We’ve just added more merchandise to our website. Perfect for Father’s Day… which is coming right up! Check out a list of great gifts for a fellow skier.
Going Up Is Getting Faster:
Pleasant Mountain announced The Summit Express. After 86 years, the mountain will finally add a high-speed, detachable quad to their lift lineup. The lift, which is a Doppelmayr refurbished High-Speed Quad, will take skiers and riders up to the top in under 5 minutes. The lift came from Sunday River’s Jordan Express lift and will be installed this summer.
Read all the stats about this exciting lift on their website.
Best Of Maine 2024:
It’s that time of year again to start voting for the best places in Maine. Voting ends on June 15, but you can vote every day until then. Here is a rundown of the things you might be interested in:
Golf Course – Travel & Play:
– Sugarloaf Golf Course
Ski Mountain – Travel & Play:
– Camden Snow Bowl
– Pleasant Mountain
– Saddleback Mountain
– Sugarloaf
– Sunday River
Statewide Lift Construction:
Across the state, there are three mountains that are installing chairlifts. Pleasant Mountain is installing a refurbished Doppelmayr High-Speed Quad, BigRock Mountain is installing a new Doppelmayr Quad, and Lost Valley is installing a used Hall Double Chair.
Please Note: Due to lift construction, hiking at Pleasant Mountain is currently prohibited.
Pleasant Mountain:
As of Wed, May 22
On Wednesday, Pleasant Mountain posted a video to their Instagram account showing them blowing up part of the Jack Spratt trail to make way for a road so Doppelmayr can safely transport components of the new lift to the summit station.
BigRock Mountain:
As of Wed, June 5
The lift line has been surveyed, top and bottom terminal foundations have been dug, and the towers and chairs are on site.
Lost Valley:
As of Wed, May 1
On Wednesday, Lost Valley posted some pictures of progress as well as a video that explained what’s happening. Currently, crews are working to remove the existing bearings to replace them before building the lift. This will help maintenance as bearings typically last 7-10 years.
NEW Featured Events Page:
Check out the latest page on the website: Featured Events. This is a page where we share the big events happening at Maine ski areas that you don’t want to miss! Check it out below:
mainelyskiing.com/featured-events
Adding Their 3rd Double:
Lost Valley in Auburn will be installing a used Hall Double on the Coyote Trail marking 3 double chairs at the ski area. The lift comes from Connecticut’s Mt. Southington and will fill a much-needed void on the left side of the mountain. Chair #3 will be installed this summer.
Summer Activities Page:
As the days get warmer, we’re starting to think about summer activities. There’s a lot to do in the Western Maine mountains during the “off-season”, and we want to lay it all out for you. Click over to the Summer Activities page to see the rundown, linked below!
A More Comfortable Ride:
BigRock Mountain in Mars Hill will be installing a brand new Doppelmayr Quad this summer. The new lift, which will have the same name as the double that currently sits in its place, will be called Gemini. BigRock started fundraising for the project back in 2021 but has secured enough for the payment to Doppelmayr. The surveying took place last summer, and construction is expected to start in the spring.
Read more on this project and donate to help BigRock make the Northern Maine ski experience even better on their website below.
Season Pass Sale:
Many resorts have already made their 2024-25 season passes available for purchase. If you want the best deal with the best perks, you need to purchase now. Plus, look to see if purchasing a pass means you can ski the rest of this season with it! For all the pass info and pricing, click the link below.
Mainely Skiing Gear Guide:
Start preparing for next season by stocking up on the best gear! Pro tip: Search around your local shops for amazing deals on winter appeal during the summer.
Webcams:
Take a peek at your mountain and see how it’s holding up throughout the summer by visiting your mountain’s webcams. With multiple cameras, you’re guaranteed to get the best view. Watching the sunset? you can go back in time if you missed the best part. Check them out. by clicking the link below!
Last Chair:
While it was a really good week weather wise, this weekend isn’t shaping out the same. If you’re headed out, make sure to bring your rain coat!
Weather:
Well, there’s no sugar coating it. This weekend is looking like rain. While the precentages are slightly above 50% it might be an indoor type of weekend.
| Day: | Friday: | Saturday: | Sunday: |
| High: | 65  | 62 | 59 |
| Low: | 55 | 52 | 49 |
Congratulations Class of 2024!
– Keegan
