The ski areas of Maine were less than 55,000 visits away from breaking their all-time record.
Ski Area Management reports that Maine alpine ski areas saw 1,372,128 skier visits during the 2022-23 season. Historically, this is the second most ever for Maine ski areas, only being beaten out by the snowy 2007-08 season, which saw 1,426,543 visits. This major tally was one of the reasons why the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) reported an all-time record of 64.7 million skier visits during the 2022-23 season.
This news was announced by the Ski Maine Association, which represents 16 alpine ski areas and 21 Nordic centers in the state. Dirk Gouwens, who is the Executive Director of the Ski Maine Association, said the following about the 2022-23 season:
“Despite less-than-ideal winter weather across much of the state, skiers came out in droves to enjoy what Maine ski areas have to offer. We are seeing continued capital improvements at our ski areas this summer and are confident that with a little help from Mother Nature, we will continue to see more and more visitors to our ski areas in the future.”
While the late-season snow likely helped with visitation, continued investments also probably factored in. Offseason improvements before the 2022-23 season included a new chairlift over at Saddleback, a new t-bar at Sugarloaf, and the introduction of the Jordan 8 bubble chairlift at Sunday River. Investments going into the 2023-24 season will include a terrain and lift expansion over at Sugarloaf and replacing the Barker Express with a bubble chairlift at Sunday River.
Image Credits: Sunday River Resort (Featured image), Saddleback Mountain (Header Image), Ski Maine Association
