Six major Ikon Pass East Coast Ski Resorts:
- In Vermont: Sugarbush, Killington, and Stratton
- In New Hampshire: Loon Mountain
- In Maine: Sunday River and Sugarloaf
We planned a 10-day road trip from Toronto, hitting four of these ski resorts. We spent two days at each resort, plus two days for travel. The trip took up two weekends and six weekdays in December – perfect timing to check out the early season conditions in the East. I hope this guide will help IKON passholders from both the US and Canada plan their own East Coast ski adventures.
Why We Skipped Some Resorts
Stratton is the southernmost resort, just an hour from Killington (you could actually do it as a day trip if you’re staying at Killington). We skipped it this time – when we went a few years back, we hit bad conditions and found one icy mountain. The new lifts weren’t ready yet. Accomodation probably pricey because it’s close to New York, and there aren’t many rentals nearby.
Loon Mountain was on our route but we passed on it too. It’s smaller than others, and didn’t have many trails open yet. Plus, Facebook groups say it gets super crowded on weekends as it’s close to Boston.
Quick tip: There’s an Ikon Pass Facebook group where local people are super helpful with any questions you might have.
Travel Time between Ski Resorts
We drove a Caravan which is good for our group of four. Here is the drive time:
- Toronto to Sugarbush Ski Resort: Almost 10 hours (including border crossing and two grocery stops)
- Sugarbush to Killington Ski Resort: 1 hour south on a scenic route
- Killington to Sunday River Ski Resort: 4 hours
- Sunday River to Sugarloaf Ski Resort: 2 hours
Where We Stayed
We found amazing deals for our nine nights! We checked Booking.com, VRBO, and Airbnb. Six nights were at slope-side lodging, one night in Rutland (two standard rooms), and two nights in a two-bedroom Airbnb in Bethel.
Pro tip: Look for early/late season discounts on resort websites for slope-side lodging. It’s super convenient and sometimes cheaper than you’d expect.
The Maine resorts (Sugarbush and Sugarloaf) had sweet deals on lodging. We even got ski-in/ski-out at Sugarloaf for less than what you’d pay at some random motel in the middle of nowhere! At Sugarbush, we went with resort lodging again – we learned from last Easter season that there’s not much lodging else around.
Killington always offers more options. Besides resort lodging, you can stay in Rutland, a big city convenience just 15 minutes away. They’ve got plenty of budget-friendly places like Econo lodge.
Sunday River was interesting. A few years ago, the resort lodging and nearby hotels were pretty expensive with limited options. But this time, we found a great Airbnb deal in Bethel, just minutes from the slopes.
This was my fourth time at Sugarloaf. I’ve stayed at Stratton Motel and Mountainview Inn before – both about 10-15 minutes from the slopes. This time we lucked out with a resort deal at Timberwind. Talk about convenient – it’s ski-in/ski-out right next to the mid-station gondola that takes you to the base. The Fitness Center is right across with indoor and outdoor hot tubs. Our stay included fitness passes and Perfect Turn ski lessons. Bonus: we caught their Christmas tree lighting ceremony and a 15-minute firework show right from our room!
Food and Supplies
We left Toronto Saturday morning and planned our route that has more supermarkets as possible after crossing the border. We wanted to save money by cooking our own meals.
Everyone loved my slope-side sandwich lunches – though I’m pretty sure that was just because we were hungry!
Quick note: Not all Ikon Pass resorts offer food discounts. Killington and Sunday River don’t.
On the Slope
Our place at Sugarbush was on Sugar Run road. All four ski resorts have tons of vacation homes close to the resorts.
Allyn’s Lodge – Sugarbush has a nice mid-mountain lodge where you can use the bathroom, get water, and warm up. It’s perfect for lunch breaks. The small shop wasn’t open early season but had basic snacks and drinks.
At Sunday River, we got lucky with clear weather at Jordan Bowl summit. The view was amazing – you could see Mount Washington in the distance!
Resort Comparison
Sugarbush had great conditions thanks to recent snow. No ice, some good powder, and we even got to ski through mushroom glades.
Killington lives up to its reputation as the East’s biggest resort. They were making lots of snow, and we tried all kinds of terrain, including some tree runs. Bear Mountain wasn’t open yet. LuLu met up with two ski instructors from Boston at their PSIA sale and bought some ski poles and gloves for her husband.
Sunday River’s seven peaks line up perfectly. We found one good tree run and some mushroom trails, but many glades weren’t open due to low snow. Definitely want to come back when conditions are better.
Sugarloaf saved the best for last – it started snowing on our final day!
