After kicking off the season at Sunday River in October with what I thought was one of the best opening days in a decade, this ski season never found its footing. Snowmaking capacity aside, a mix of warm temperatures and no natural snow was a killer. Maine, like the rest of New England, had its warmest winter ever recorded. March is typically the snowiest month of the year for western Maine’s mountains, but it’s been a quiet month for snow so far.

The writing for most of Maine’s ski areas is on the wall – as of today, most have either closed or are celebrating the final day.

I say most because Sugarloaf and Sunday River hold on. And, surprisingly, they’re offering very good spring skiing. (Just forget, for a moment, that it’s technically still winter.)

“We’ve definitely turned the corner to spring,” Sunday River marketing VP Nick Lambert told me. “The skiing has been generally been soft and fun.”

With one of the industry’s most impressive snowmaking systems (and 80-plus days of snowmaking thus far), Sunday River has the East’s most open terrain by a margin of more than 100 acres.

Lambert’s statement isn’t just marketing talk. I spent four days last week at Sunday River, and the skiing is great – although it certainly feels more like late April than early March.

Sugarloaf’s director of marketing, Ethan Austin, reported similarly strong conditions. “We’re still kicking … and will be for quite a while. Conditions right now are good on trails where we’ve made snow.”

Sugarloafers are hoping for a strong finish to a season that typically extends through late April. The resort isn’t called the “King of Spring” for nothing.

Both Lambert and Austin are hoping for about six more weeks of skiing, projecting closing dates on the first weekend of May. Between now and then, both Sunday River and Sugarloaf have full events schedules.

Next weekend, Sunday River is bringing the jam band sound with music from Pardon Me, Doug and A Band Beyond Description. The former is a Phish tribute band, while the latter will be covering the Grateful Dead. The two bands will be playing a free concert from 2 to 6 p.m. outside the South Ridge base lodge on Saturday. Sugarloaf will celebrate Easter on Sunday with a meet-and-greet with the Easter bunny, a morning scavenger hunt and a spring costume parade.

On April 2, Sunday River’s Spring Festival (also called the Parrothead Festival) kicks off two days of bands and events, including food-centric competitions like a key lime pie eating contest, a margarita mix-off and a chili cookoff. On the same day, Sugarloaf will have a rail jam on the beach in front of the lodge.

Sugarloaf’s annual East Coast Pond Skimming Championships have been moved up from April 23 to April 9, followed by the Season Passholder BBQ on the 10th. In Newry, the proceedings are fairly similar, with Sunday River’s “Pond-A-Palooza” pond-skimming contest on the 9th, and their passholder barbecue on the 10th.

The following weekend (April 14–17) sees the return of Sugarloaf’s Reggae Festival, which the resort boasts is “the biggest springtime party in ski country.” Now in its 28th consecutive year, the four-day festival will feature eight reggae (and reggae-influenced) bands, including headliners Ballyhoo! Speaking as a skier who has attended about half of the 28 reggae fests, it’s something every Northeastern skier should experience at least once, even if you aren’t a reggae fan. The atmosphere is fun and electric – and, despite the huge influx of people, the slopes stay relatively open as revellers stick around the base lodge.

Sunday River, meanwhile, will host a massive tailgate party on the 16th and 17th. Every year, attendees are asked to follow a theme, and this year’s is Fourth of July – so get your Uncle Sam accoutrements ready. During the party, the Ski Museum of Maine will hold a donation “Skee Spree” in Barker Lodge, so bring any historic equipment, apparel, photos or memorabilia you can spare to help celebrate Maine’s skiing heritage.

Finally, the season will close out on the first weekend of May. Sunday River skiers will find the added bonus of the annual “Ski Maynia” celebration on May 1, which gifts free lift tickets to everyone for the day. Assuming the snow lasts until then, it will cap an astounding 195-day season.

Josh Christie is a freelance writer and lifetime outdoors enthusiast. He shares column space in Outdoors with his father, John Christie. Josh can be contacted at:

joshua.j.christie@gmail.com