Sunday River, ME, Opens 3 Hours Before Killington, VT, and Is the First Ski Area Open in the Northeast This Season

Sunday River, ME, opened for skiing at 9 am this morning. Although Killington in Vermont opens at noon and was originally scheduled to be the first resort open in New England (and the Northeast), Sunday River made a last-minute announcement that they would open at 9 am.

This isn’t the first time that Killington’s midday opening has caused them to just barely miss being first. In 2019, Cataloochee, NC, opened before Killington by 2.5 hours.

• Related: Cataloochee Ski Area, NC Was the First Resort Open in the East | Beat ‘The Beast’ by 2.5-Hours!

I think everyone enjoys the race to open. The resorts get the marketing benefit of opening early, and skiers get to ski earlier due to the competition to open early. You really could call it a win-win. At the end of the day, a three hour difference on a Thursday morning is not a huge deal, but the spirit of the race to open is very noble. Thank you to all of the resorts and individuals who go the extra mile to make this all possible.