Delightful experience, away from the fracas, cacophony, disorganization, lack of service, and…read moreanonymity of the corporate ski areas. Black Mountain of Maine is a wonderful anti-corporate answer to the "big" areas. Cozy, friendly, and beautiful runs down the mountain. A place where kids can run around without fear or the need for parental hovering. A kick-butt bar with live music. Simply, what skiing was and should be.... We got here for the first time on the Indy Pass as we have been visiting Indy areas, some of them for several years in a row. Black Mountain is a short drive away from downtown Rumford, a paper mill, quaint town of 6,000 people featuring historic homes and a working downtown. Arriving at Black Mountain, the large lodge is quite welcoming, with just about every conceivable need within the lodge. Once outside, the beginner's Novice Lift provides optimal runs for novices or warmups. The main lift, although a slow fixed triple, allows access to most of the 1,100 vertical terrain and a variety of trails. It should be said that with some effort and uphill hiking, there is another side of the mountain, glades galore, that is accessible from this area. There is yet another T-bar that provides access to even more terrain. Apres-ski, we were treated to a superb pub with great rock music, plenty of beer, and great company. Overall, the vibe in this mountain is what I remember skiing was like from my youth. Unhurried, civil, friendly, and simple. Awesome place.

Great place to ski and I spend time Snowtubing with family and friends…read more I would recommend it definitely for family events

We have a home mountain (Mohawk Mountain in CT) and are regulars at Sugarbush, Mad River Glen,…read moreKillington, and a few other east coast ski mountains as well. We sometimes get to ski in Europe, Canada, Japan and the West Coast of the USA. All that is a long-winded way of saying that when it comes to skiing, we get around. And with all that getting around, we can confidently say that Sugarloaf is one of our favorite mountains. What Sugarloaf has going for it: - It's incredibly friendly. There are a lot of locals / Mainers who ski here and they are the nicest. Employees are helpful and awesome, from folks in the tuning shop to lift operators to restaurant staff. The tuning team did a fantastic job on our skis. - Terrain is varied and fun, appropriately graded. Many runs are quite wide, which makes everything feel easy. And the mountain is HUGE with good, long runs. It almost feels European in that sense. There's a section of the mountain for woods / off piste skiing. - Employees are low key and nice about where you boot up and leave bags -- at least in March on a weekday when there aren't huge crowds. We try to be respectful and follow rules, but when we asked other skiers whether it was kosher for us to leave bags in a conference room / dining room area (where we could see lots of others leaving bags), they were almost indignant: "This isn't Sunday River!" ;) - My dear college buddy, a self-appointed whoopie pie connoisseur, Mainer, and former Sugarloaf ambassador, claims that the Base Lodge cafeteria has the best whoopie pies around. - They're on the IKON pass! Only two downsides I can think of for us: - Some of the parking lots are super duper far from the Base Lodge. My buddy and I explored some areas of the mountain that were new to him and ended up at a way-far-down lot. We had a long, hot, uphill hike back to the Base Lodge area. - The mountain is about 7 hours from home. If only we could teleport. This is such a great mountain. It's one that makes me glad and grateful to ski the East!

Sugarloaf Ski Resort was fun as always. I've been coming here since I was a kid -- going on 35-40…read moreyears now -- and it still feels like a winter tradition. That said, the prices have climbed steeply over the years, and it's definitely one of the most expensive mountains to ski in Maine. The snow today was on the icier side. The trails were groomed, but the top layer of powder wore off quickly -- within about an hour and after only a handful of skiers -- leaving large icy patches across the mountain. It would've been great to see a bit more attention to grooming given the conditions. On the bright side, our ski instructor, Terry, was absolutely fantastic. Truly one of the best instructors we've ever had -- patient, skilled, and a pleasure to learn from. Overall, we still had a great day on the mountain and will be back, just like always.

Hands down one of the top three ski resorts in New England and when it comes to customer service,…read moreeasily the best. After a superb trip to Saddleback three years ago, we decided to make another trip to Saddleback. We stayed about an hour away in the beautiful town of Andover, and came up early enough to make first tracks. Three years ago, the Resort had almost just opened up again after many years of being idle. This time, it had matured into an even better place, with a fantastic group of ambassadors greeting the guests at the resort entrance and being present on the mountain trails to answer questions, a wonderful staff that made our stay quite pleasant, great food, service, and most of all, superb conditions, grooming, and ski operations. Mother Nature had contributed copious amounts of snow before our arrival, and the conditions were awesome. Glades, steeps, groomers, it was all absolutely fantastic. We skied the very steep Tight Line several times, and many of our family members enjoyed the challenging tree-line skiing available at the resort. The outstanding food and drinks available at the Nest restaurant in mid mountain gave us a welcome break in our skiing day. We will definitely be back. This is a gem of a place in the entire nation.

We went to Saddleback for one of the summer Mountain Music Series shows. Fantastic show, beautiful…read moreviews, however, the ticket purchasing process was intrusive and the food selection was disappointing. The venue itself is about 2,000+ feet up on Saddleback Mountain and the view from the lawn is breathtaking. The lawn seats (byo blanket or chairs) are on a gentle slope which allows for great views of the performers and the mountains. The weather on this particular July evening was perfect, low humidity, a cool breeze, and the sun was shining on the lawn for almost the entire performance. The show itself was terrific. There were a few problems with this venue which started with the ticket purchasing process. They insist on capturing too much personal information: the usual name, address, credit card of the person buying the tickets, but also the names and dates of birth of every person in the party. I called to ask about this and the woman on the phone assured me that our info was safe in their "secure system". This, just on the heels of the Ticketmaster breach. She told me I could either put our dates of birth in or buy tickets at the mountain on the day of the show. The other big problem was the food. Doors opened at 4:30, the show was 5:00 - 8:00. Understandably they have a no outside food and drink policy, so I assume most people plan to buy dinner there. We were very disappointed by the food menu--the only non meat item was the "walking taco"--an actual bag of Doritos with beans dumped in--not an option for someone who can't have dairy, etc. When the show ended (again, it was fantastic) all of the restaurants in Rangeley had closed, so we ended up getting dinner at the IGA. There are several more shows in this series, I hope in the future Saddleback will consider all of its guests when planning the menus for the remaining summer musical performances. Alternatively, eat before you go!

If I could give this place a -1,000 I would! This place had the worst set up of a campground I have…read moreever seen! Trash everywhere and sheds falling apart right on camp sites! My experience here was disgusting and scary. Let alone the owner who almost attacked my friend over just moving some tents. The owner and officer lady was very rude and unpleasant to say the LEAST! The whole place looked like a dump! Rusted metal and a trash can over flowing with trash next to a shed falling apart and broken chairs and rusted grills just in my campsite. I also had several dead trees that broke off several limbs that almost hit my kids while camping here. I would not recommend to anybody to come to this place! STAY FAR AWAY! Any other campground is better than this one! The unprofessional approach at this place is disgusting! They kicked us out over tents not being moved within 20 minutes of them telling us.My kids were terrified of the owner screaming and running at my friend as we are trying to eat our dinner after a long day out. Mind you we are from out of state for this campground by a long shot. Not to mention the so called 'playground' is 2x4's put together with some swings that looks like it would fall over if u touched it. VERY UNSAFE! Broken wood and nails sticking out of things everywhere and broken and rusty machinery laying about. The trash can could have attracted bears and nobody came to clean it up! There also was a RV parked there that had junk laying around everywhere. This place needs to be shut down! This place is a dump!!!!

This is one of our favorite downhill ski mountain. We arrived just before 9 o'clock on the west…read moreside (the lifts begin running at nine). And even though Thursdays are the discount lift ticket days for Maine residents, we were able to park very close to the small lodge. It was under $40 for two adult all-day lift tickets. The west side is much smaller with easier trails. But it like the main lodge, offers ticket window, rentals and a full service snack bar. We always pack our cooler and drinks and eat inside or sometimes on the outside patio when all the inside seats are taken. The restrooms are clean. Staff is friendly. It is a great place for families and new skiers.

Small mountain with a "locals' vibe, especially on Maine Day Thursdays where lift tickets are only…read more$19.60 (a nod to the mountain's inauguration in 1960). L.L. Bean subsidizes these lift tickets (available for purchase in-person with proof of Maine residency). I was so thankful to learn of this super deal as I had pretty much given up skiing because of lack of affordability, Mt. Abram doesn't have the variety of terrain that its neighbor Sunday River has, but it also doesn't have the astronomical prices or crowds either. For someone who just wants to get out a few times a year and do some hot-dogging (jk!) in the crisp Maine air without breaking the bank, this is a great option, with lift tickets a max of $42/day. Note - I was glad we brought lunches because the Loose Boots Lounge was closed. It's only open for lunch Fri. - Sunday. However, looking at the menu and beer prices, I'm sorry it was closed. A Stella Artois for $5 at a ski mountain? Unheard of. So glad to have this option only an hour away :)

Lost Valley is a local gem. Great snow, sweet (albeit short) runs, solid food, great beer, friendly…read morestaff, and a cozy vibe. Hard to beat if you want to get some fun in close to home, and it also has excellent XC trails past the 3rd lift.

Paying customer wits kids, we got yelled at for doing nothing wrong, waiting for the liftread more

The parking and shuttles are major bummer but once you on the trails, the experience is much…read morebetter. The lifts move quickly for the amount of people. The mountains and trails have plenty of options. Stay away from weekends or holidays for the best time.

This was my first time at Sunday River. I looked online before I went and the website said for…read moremilitary discount you had to purchase tickets at the place. So when I arrived I explained to the gentleman that I have never been skiing before and wanted to know about taking lessons, renting gear, as well as applying a military discount. Since I have never been skiiing I assumed these were the main things to do. He told me he had nothing to do with the lessons and I would have to go talk to the school, and as far as gear I would go talk to the rental place. He then proceeded to sell me ski lift tickets for each day I would be there. Mind you, knowing I have never skied before, he still chose to sell me the higher priced tickets for "all access lifts." Something I had no idea was even a thing and didn't find this out until later that day. I then proceed to the ski rental place, which was right around the corner from "Guest Services." I picked up gear for a day and a half and then proceeded to the school where they give lessons. Come to find out, if you take a lesson the school provides you with gear and a beginner ski lift pass. I signed up for their next available class which was the following morning. Then, the school said I should talk to "guest services" to see if I could switch my lift pass for the next day since the school was already giving me one. I went to "guest services" to inquire about changing the lift passes that I was sold. The woman at guest services said she could refund me as a credit or switch it to a different day. That's when I found out that I in fact had been sold the "all access" lift passes which apparently is more expensive than if I had bought a beginner pass. When I asked her why the gentleman who sold me the lift tickets didn't explain there was a difference in the lift passes nor say anything about the school possibly providing a lift pass and gear she said it wasn't their job to explain everything. She also stated if she had to explain things like that to customers then the line would be out of the door. So, even though I walked into the first building at the ski resort and went up to the desk that said "Guest Services" that still meant that I needed to get that information somewhere else? For the amount of money this place makes off of everyone that walks in those doors, the last thing they should be doing is not providing customer service when it is needed. Needless to say I didn't need the "all access" lift pass after I took a first time beginner lesson, with the gear I rented and made it on the beginner ski lift 2 times. This has really left a bad impression on me and the friends I attended with. They do have an area to keep your shoes and anything you'd like to not take with you on the snow. It is not locked up so I would keep anything of value in there. Overall, the employees handling the rental gear were all very friendly and patient. The women at the school seemed confused when I showed up with my own gear. I took a first time adult lesson with the school. The lesson was with me and 3 others with an instructor learning the basics. Since I was able to catch on fairly quick I was told to continue practicing going down the small hill by myself. I was fine doing so but after about 45mins of me doing this by myself I started questioning why I was paying for a lesson. I checked in with the instructor and she was finally able to take me on the ski lift and down the mountain. And then of course the lesson was over. In hindsight, I should have taken a private lesson and hopefully would have gotten my moneys worth. This place is pretty kid friendly. They could use more equipment stands as there were quite a few people laying their gear anywhere they could find someplace to put it. I don't plan on going back, I'd rather take my money to Loon where everyone is friendly.

If you're in Midcoast Maine in late January/early February, the annual Toboggan Championships in…read moreCamden are a must-do. So fun to watch the competitors, walk out on the ice, check out the vendors and the food trucks, and just bask in one of the pleasures of wintertime in Maine. Dress warmly and have FUN!

Outdoor concert venue during the summer among other things. We went for the free concert put on by…read morethe Camden Opera House. Camden Opera House presents free concerts at the Camden Snow Bowl, 20 Barnestown Road, Sundays in August. Each week features a different genre. BYO picnics and lawn seating. We were there to hear The Gawler Family Band. A local band that plays folk music with a variety of instruments and sing. We enjoyed it but the slope we walked up to sit on had a few very muddy areas so be mindful.

Went to watch my daughter snowboard for her first time. I am disabled and cannot walk up stairs…read more I went with my daughter to get her rental equipment, everyone was so nice and made the process easy. After that The shop called someone to take me up the elevator!! Which I was grateful for. I was able to watch my daughter from a distance. The mountain was stunning the day was beautiful!!! Snowboarding instructor was great teacher. Highly recommend

Great family mountain. Get there early to avoid the school crowds, this is so close to Portland,…read moreit's a wonderful mountain to ski for a day trip and challenges all levels to have a great day of skiing!