Spruce Mountain 2024-2025 Season

NewEnglandSkier13

Tonight was a free ski night at Spruce, and the mountain was packed! The Bunny and Barn Tows were open along with all of the trails off of those lifts. There still isn't quite enough snow to open the Orchard Tow, but they are hoping it will be open by this weekend. Conditions were excellent packed powder with some untouched powder on the trail edges. The newly renovated lodge looks great inside with lots of cubby storage and an upgraded kitchen (still serving $1 grilled cheeses). The mountain was the busiest that I've seen it, and at one point a line even formed for the Barn Tow. You know it's busy when a line forms for a rope tow! It was a great evening of skiing, and it was so great to see so much energy around the mountain!

Barn

Bowl

Two generations of trail signage

Bunny

Inside the newly renovated lodge

NELSAP

Great report! That lodge looks beautiful.

NewEnglandSkier13

Great report! That lodge looks beautiful.

Yes, that barn has come a long way in its 150 years! I also got a tour of the upstairs area which is quite large, but would need significant more work to be approved for occupancy. The flooring upstairs is still all original barn boards, but the beams and everything else have been drywalled in. It's an interesting contrast.

justkeepmovingne

That lodge looks very nice. Especially like the dedicated checkers/chess table - looks inviting.

NewEnglandSkier13

That lodge looks very nice. Especially like the dedicated checkers/chess table - looks inviting.

It is a nice spot for parents to hang out now, especially with the new couch facing the slopes.

lotsoskiing

Their trail map has to be the most confusing I have seen. Had to look at Google satellite pic to get the layout.

Looks like a fun place by the pics, though

NewEnglandSkier13

Their trail map has to be the most confusing I have seen. Had to look at Google satellite pic to get the layout.

Looks like a fun place by the pics, though

It is a little confusing based on the map. Basically the lowest point is the bottom right corner of the map. It takes all three rope tows to go from the very bottom to the very top. However, even if you're coming down Suicide or Ear, you can stay to skier's right and carry enough speed to get directly on the Barn Tow.

ski_it

Ditto NELSAP, except I’m not seeing the crowds in your great pics. Do you mean 10 people total? :D

NewEnglandSkier13

Ditto NELSAP, except I’m not seeing the crowds in your great pics. Do you mean 10 people total? :D

I typically take most photos right after I arrive, so the lodge photos are before the ski area opened for the evening and the trail/lift photos are all before 6:00. It was busiest right around 7:00.

JMaul

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great local place. And, yes, that lodge looks amazing.

Bkroon9175

I went to Spruce Mountain Ski Slope today after I read NewEnglandSkier13’s trip report. I was returning home from Saddleback and stopped at Spruce Mountain Ski Slope. What a great place. I met a volunteer named Nelson. He gave me a tour and a lot of great info. Nelson or I thought his nickname was Nellie, talked about the bleak days when they were down to 3-4 volunteers. I paid the holiday rate of $25 and it was well worth it. The lodge was great, the staff was friendly. There were kids there enjoying themselves and they had free rein of the place. Just a great vibe. I had a blast using the rope tows. The last one I used was at Campton Mountain and it wasn’t anywhere as long as the ones at Spruce. I thoroughly enjoyed myself!!! Here are some pictures.

NewEnglandSkier13

I went to Spruce Mountain Ski Slope today after I read NewEnglandSkier13’s trip report. I was returning home from Saddleback and stopped at Spruce Mountain Ski Slope. What a great place. I met a volunteer named Nelson. He gave me a tour and a lot of great info. Nelson or I thought his nickname was Nellie, talked about the bleak days when they were down to 3-4 volunteers. I paid the holiday rate of $25 and it was well worth it. The lodge was great, the staff was friendly. There were kids there enjoying themselves and they had free rein of the place. Just a great vibe. I had a blast using the rope tows. The last one I used was at Campton Mountain and it wasn’t anywhere as long as the ones at Spruce. I thoroughly enjoyed myself!!! Here are some pictures.

That's awesome, glad you stopped by! Yes, the place has definitely turned around over the last few years, and it's good to see how well they are doing. You'll have to come by again when the Orchard Tow is open, it's the steepest and fastest of the three ropes.

NewEnglandSkier13

Saturday, February 22

Today was another great free ski day at Spruce! I started off with a bit of XC skiing on the freshly groomed Nordic trails. Then, I headed over to the alpine slopes when they opened at 10:00. All three tows and every trail was open today. All trails had good cover and were groomed with packed powder conditions. The narrow upper mountain trails, such as Squirrel, Raspberry, & Suicide were especially fun today. There were lots of people out enjoying the beautiful weather, but they were well spread out between the three tows and it never felt crowded.

Nordic trails

Mountain overview from the base

Junior Trail

Suicide

NewEnglandSkier13

Saturday, March 8

Today was Spruce's last free ski day of the season. The slopes that had snowmaking (Barn & Bunny) still have good coverage, but the rest of the mountain is melting fast. The Orchard Tow is now closed and everything to skier's left of Barn was closed a bit after opening due to minimal cover, firm conditions, and a huge ice flow on Cross Cut. Conditions on Bunny & Barn were excellent loose and frozen granular, and there were many people out enjoying the beautiful weather. This weekend looks to be the last bit of winter weather for the foreseeable future, so it was good to see so many enjoying it while it lasts! One change of note since my last visit is that they got new signs made for all of their trails, which looks really nice!

Bunny Slope

The lodge & Barn Slope

Ice flow on Cross Cut

Looking up from the bottom of Bunny

New signage

NewEnglandSkier13

Sunday, March 9

The Nordic trails are still pretty good as of this morning! There are a couple of thin spots and ice flows, but the entire network is skiable. With the upcoming forecast, I will definitely enjoy it while it lasts!