What ski areas have impressive panoramas from their summits?

IBRAKEFORTBARS

I’m a huge fan of the gorgeous panoramic views from Killington Peak. What other NE resorts have wonderful views? Brownie points if other resorts are viewable in the distance!

IBRAKE

NewEnglandSkier13

There are so many that I could list, but here are a couple of my favorites. Dartmouth has a couple of different faces so you can get great views in pretty much any direction if you ski the right trail and the views of the other side of the ski area across the notch are unique. Camden has amazing views that are unlike any other US ski area.

View from Near the Summit of Winslow Mountain at Dartmouth SkiwayView of Don Worden’s from Winslow Mountain at Dartmouth SkiwayView from the Top of Camden Snowbowl (RIP Big T)

lotsoskiing

In NE, tough to beat Cannon’s view from the top of the tram, or Wildcat’s view into Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines.

View west over Champlain and the Adirondacks from Sugarbush is pretty cool in VT.

The view from Little Whiteface south over the High Peaks is best in NY, IMO

teighs

Smugglers Notch.  View includes Stowe, Bolton, MRG, Glen Ellen, Sugarbush, Pico, Killington, Burke, Mt Washington, Jay, the White Mt’s and the Adirondacks.  If you are there at sunrise you can see the sun reflecting off the sky scrapers in Montreal.

casual_weekday

Gore mountain has some nice views. You can see Hickory most days, and if its clear you can see Whiteface.

mapnut

Top of Sugarbush North. 360 degrees, Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks.

steamboat1

Stowe has impressive views & none of their lifts even go to the summit.

steamboat1

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“IBRAKEFORTBARS”>I’m a huge fan of the gorgeous panoramic views from Killington Peak. What other NE resorts have wonderful views? Brownie points if other resorts are viewable in the distance!

IBRAKE </blockquote>

While it’s not the most stunning view in my opinion you can see quite a few ski areas from the summit. On really clear days I’ve even seen Jay Peak.

joshua_segal

According to dictionary.com, panorama is “an unbroken view of the whole region surrounding an observer.”  I would assume that it implies equal to or greater than 180 degrees.

I’m not sure what IBrakeforTBars had in mind when he started this thread but while Wildcat has the best view (IMO) from any New England summit (looking into Tuckerman Ravine), I’m not sure it qualifies as “panoramic.”

mapnut

That’s why I nominated Sugarbush North. Sunapee, whose view is panoramic but more pretty than spectacular, might include the most ski areas: Haystack, Snow, Stratton, Bromley, the back side of Magic which includes lost Timber Ridge, Killington and most prominently, Okemo.

rickbolger

I guess it depends on your definition of what a panorama is.  Agree Wildcat…very few places I bother to pull out a camera when I’m skiing but Wildcat is one of them, however I don’t consider it “panoramic”

Personally I think of “panorama” as 360 degrees, as in, you can stand in one spot, spin around completely, and see an unobstructed view all the way around…“whole region surrounding an observer”  whole being 360º.   Not many ski areas in New England have a place where you can do this, certainly not wildcat, stowe, killington, cannon; the summit of each obstructs the 360º.  Gore I suppose you can get most of 360º from the top of the gondola.  I recall something of a panorama from the top of Bromley, at least from the height of the chair, however the view itself isn’t as inspiring as many others.

I’ve never been to the top of Sugarbush North as Mapnut suggests, but if it’s anything like nearby Mt. Abraham I’d have to say that’s a definite consideration.

pagamony

That means you have to define lift summit or hike-able summit.  I’ve really never been to a ski area with bad views but I’ve never really been to a ski area I did not like.  I have low standards :)  Probably easier to list the ones with bland views.  

IBRAKEFORTBARS

<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“steamboat1”><blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“IBRAKEFORTBARS”>I’m a huge fan of the gorgeous panoramic views from Killington Peak. What other NE resorts have wonderful views? Brownie points if other resorts are viewable in the distance!

IBRAKE </blockquote>

While it’s not the most stunning view in my opinion you can see quite a few ski areas from the summit. On really clear days I’ve even seen Jay Peak.</blockquote>

Are you saying that Jay Peak can be seen from Killington Peak?  When I first was there I searched and searched in vain for northern Vermont ski areas - and I had an incredible blue bird day. Had zero trouble spotting Ascutney or Stratton! 

IBRAKE 

steamboat1

IBRAKE 

</blockquote>

Yes you can see Jay. Sugarbush & Mount Mansfield are easy to spot to the north. Jays a little tougher but can be seen. You can’t see the trails like you can looking south & east (Ascutney, Sunapee, Stratton, Mt.Snow) because of their exposure but you can definitely see the mountains.

IBRAKEFORTBARS

IBRAKE 

</blockquote>

Ah, I see what you mean: the peaks themselves are visible versus the ski trails. I certainly remember seeing the cluster of mountains up towards the north that I suspected contained Stowe, Sugarbush, Mt. Ellen, etc. 

IBRAKE

mapnut

Bromley’s view is pretty good. The summit is treeless so you can see 360. The mountain range to the west including Equinox and Dorset is handsome and higher than Bromley. You can see Magic, Stratton and close-up, the lost Snow Valley.

steamboat1

IBRAKE 

</blockquote>

IBRAKE

</blockquote>

If you look close you can see the cut for the Slide Brook chair connecting Sugarbush North & South. The cuts exposure makes it visible from the south.

Mount Mansfield is pretty separated from the cluster of mountains that make up the MRV. Between the MRV & Stowe is the Camels Hump.

Jay is not as clear but on a day with good visibility you can make out a white peak much further to the north of Mansfield. I’m not aware of any other high peaks between Stowe/Smuggs & Jay

Remski

My favorites are sitting in the bar at Saddleback and looking WMW reminds me a bit of a Montana view. And then the short climb to the top of that mt. for that 360* view. Then it’s on to Burke with the view of the Presidentials to the south and Willowby gap and Jay Peak to the north. From there it’s the incredible 360* view from the top of Jay Peak when you get up on the top of that peak with a short climb where you can see so much I can’t even begin to list it all!

JimK

This subject is near and dear to me as I derive a lot of joy in the mtn scenery when visiting a ski area.  It’s a pretty big motivator for me on the choices of places I go to.  In many respects my favorite ski areas are the ones I find most scenically beautiful.  For example, Sugarloaf is much bigger, but I find nearby Saddleback to be more memorable because of the exceptional panorama of lake views.

I will skip the difference of what constitutes panorama vs. scenic and just go with scenic.  Caveat, all this is highly subjective and partially colored by which pretty places I’ve been to most recently.  Of the places I’ve been in northeastern North America the following are in a class by themselves:  Wildcat, Saddleback, Whiteface, Le Massif, with honorable mentions for MSA, Stowe, and Cannon.  It’s been a long time since I visited Gunstock but I seem to remember very nice views from there too.  Then I’d rank in next tier Killington, MRG, Sugarbush, Sugarloaf, Mt. Snow (backside), Okemo, even Hunter.  Never been to Hickory, Sunapee, Burke, Tremblant, but have heard they has nice views.  Chic Chocs anyone? 

Here some of my pics of several pretty ski area views:

Here’s the Whiteface view Lotsoskiing was talking about:

Saddleback:

Wildcat

Le Massif

Cannon Mtn:

JimK

A few more:

Sugarloaf:

Stowe:

Mont Saint Anne (the only reason MSA comes in behind Le Massif is its base is a little further from riverfront.

Good ole’ Huntah

MRG: