Post updated November 2, 2025
With the
recent ski resort rankings by Ski Magazine
of Saddleback #1 and Sugarloaf #2 in the East there is a lot of current buzz
about western Maine skiing. Folks sometimes say that the drive to Saddleback
is much farther than Sugarloaf. If you are coming from the east (Bangor area),
Sugarloaf is about 30 minutes closer. From the west (Gorham NH) Saddleback is
closer by about 15 minutes.
However, the way many skiers drive to Saddleback and Sugarloaf is from the
south. While there are back road secrets out there, the primary way to
get to either mountain is through Farmington, and then stay on Route 4 for
Saddleback or Route 27 for Sugarloaf.
From the Route 4 and 27 intersection just north of downtown Farmington, the
drive time to the parking lots is ~45 minutes for Sugarloaf, ~55 minutes for
Saddleback.
Not a big difference! Additionally, there are some other factors about the
Saddleback drive to consider to get from your car to the chairlift.
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| Farmington to Sugarloaf Drive Time |
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| Farmington to Saddleback Drive Time |
- Route 4 from Farmington up to Madrid was repaved the summer of 2025. Also, Route 4 from Smalls Falls to Rangeley was rebuilt and repaved in the summer of 2022.
- The Saddleback Mountain access road was rebuilt in the fall of 2022 and finish coat of pavement in the summer of 2023. Dallas Hill Road was also repaved in 2023 as well. A significant improvement! (Note: Please keep to posted speed limits in these areas!)
- Saddleback offers the opportunity to drop your gear at the base lodge before parking. The friendly Saddleback hosts folks will help you unload your gear too.
- The parking lots are a short drive & easy walk from the base lodge. On busy days they may park vehicles down the access road but they run shuttles to get visitors to the base lodge quickly. In fact, the readers of Ski Magazine ranked Saddleback #1 in parking access in their 2026 Top Resorts in the East reader ranking.
- The shorter time unloading the car and getting to the chairlift at Saddleback more than makes up for the 10 minutes longer of drive time. (Plus the lift lines are way shorter at Saddleback!)
There are a lot of great reasons to ski Saddleback, and there are a lot of
great reasons to ski Sugarloaf.
Ski Magazine readers ranked them #1 and #2 in the East for good reasons. Both are fantastic mountains and the
MaineSkiFamily crew visit both resorts each year. But don't let the
misconception of Saddleback being "much farther away" than Sugarloaf deter
you from visiting Saddleback. It is simply not true!
Considering a trip to Saddleback? Check out our
First-Timer's Guide to Saddleback Ski Area.
Great to hear the Saddleback access road has been improved, small potatoes maybe but those divets were unnecessarily jarring!
ReplyDeleteOne thing to add is more all wheel drive dependent because Dallas Hill Rd. Is steep and often snow and ice covered. I can’t image getting up that in a rear wheel drive vehicle. They need to do a better job of maintaining that road.
ReplyDeleteDallas Hill Rd. IS NOT STEEP. ONLY THE FIRST 150 feet is a hill which they plow and sand ALL the time. All cars can can do it , ?????? Really. Yes.
ReplyDelete