Everything You Need to Know About Mad River Glen : Ski it if You Can
Mad River Glen, ski it if you can. Mad River Glen is a true local’s mountain being the only east coast mountain that still has a single chair lift. They are known for minimum grooming on their expert trails and minimum snow-making, hence the saying, “ski it if you can.” Mad River Glen is a great, local skier’s mountain in Vermont. It is located in Waitsfield, Vermont. And let me tell you, it is LOCAL. There is NOT much out there other than Mad River Glen and Sugarbush ski areas.
I skied here this past spring and had a blast, even though I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. That’s saying something, because A LOT of Vermont feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere. I especially felt that at these ski areas. Now, I do wish I could have experienced all the trails being open, like the glades. However, when I skied here in March, that was not the case. A lot of trails were still open but not the woods.
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This article is all about Mad River Glen.
Mad River Glen:
Mad River Glen Stats
Their vertical drop is 2,037ft. There are 60 trails with 5 different lifts. It has the ONLY single chair lift in the northeast. In addition, they do not groom their expert and most of their intermediate trails. They rarely make snow as well. Here you can find Mad River Glen’s trail map. In addition, there are no snowboarders allowed at Mad River, it is a skiers only mountain. I am not kidding when I say this, snowboarders are actually not allowed here. So, unfortunately, if you are a snowboarder, you can’t ride here. Luckily, there are plenty of other resorts and mountains within Vermont that you can snowboard at.
Mad River Glen Lift Tickets & Hours
Mad River’s hours vary depending on the time of year, day of the week, and what chair lift. It is open seven days a week. Main lifts on weekends and holidays and ski school run from 8:30am-4pm. On these days the rental shop opens at 8am. Also, on these days, the Birdland lift is open from 9:30am-3pm. Main lifts on weekdays are open from 9am-4pm and the rental shop is open from 8:30am-4pm. Lastly, midweek the Birdland lift does not run. The mountain is open anywhere from December all the way to April (depending on snow amounts and conditions).
As far as lift tickets go, I got mine for about $98 dollars. However, I bought it about two weeks in advance, on a weekday, and in early March, so kind of near the end of the season. Your lift tickets will be cheaper the earlier you purchase them and if you ski on a weekday. You have to wear your ticket on the right side of your body. Even if you buy your ticket online, you still have to go up to the ticket window and give them a copy of your receipt (email confirmation with barcode). They will hand you a sticker and metal ticket holder to place on your jacket. They are still very old school here and I love it.
Finally, listen to the window attendants when they say put your ticket somewhere on the right side of your body. Reason being, all the ticket scanner windows are on the right side of the mountain.
Places to Stay & Nearby Towns
The closest towns near Mad River and Sugarbush are Warren and Waitsfield, Vermont. I stayed in Waitsfield, when I was there. I stayed at an old-timey Inn called, The Griff. It felt very much like a Bed and Breakfast and very cozy. I really liked The Griff. However, if you are sensitive to noise, this is not the place for you, as you can hear every small movement due to the age of the building. Alternatively, if you like older, historic looking buildings, you will love The Griff. Another cool place I almost stayed at, was Madbush Falls. This is a little further down from Mad River Glen but still looked like a great resort to stay at.
When I drove here, I will say, I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. That is saying something, because I’ve traveled many times to Vermont to ski and hike. I’ve passed through many Vermont towns and still, Waitsfield and Warren felt very barren to me. Which again, is saying something. Now, a local did point me in the direction of the “downtown” area of Waitsfield. This area felt more like the Vermont I am familiar with. To do this, you want to get onto to route 100 towards Waitsfield.
This will have Shaw’s grocery store, shops, and more restaurants. Here, I ate at Mad Moose and really enjoyed my meal, I got a chicken sandwich. Also, Mad Moose looked like they had really good pizza as well. Also, two nice restaurants about a mile from the Griff in either direction on Route 17, are Mad River Barn (also an Inn) and Hyde Away Inn & Restaurants. Check their hours because they’re typically only open later in the week and weekends.
My Experience & Trails I Skied
Finally, onto the mountain, when I was at Mad River Glen, it was spring time. Thus, it was spring skiing conditions. Meaning, the snow felt like “corn,” and was very sticky. I constantly got the stop, go, stop, go. I don’t mind these conditions, because at least there is no ice. Actually, this is one of the best times to learn because the snow will help slow you down and eventually stop you. Anyways, due to the spring conditions, the snow was melting fast, and unfortunately none of their glades were open. I was bummed because the glades are typically where I ski most. None of the less, I still made the most of the day by starting off on the Sunny Side Double Chair and getting to know the mountain.
I started my day going to skier’s left or looker’s right on the Sunny Side Double. This chair also has a mid-station, so it’s great for beginners and or kids learning how to ski. Once I was at the summit of Sunny Side, I went down all the Quacky trails. There are 3 different Quacky Trails. I’m sure there’s a story behind this but I don’t know it. I skied Quacky #1 into Quacky #2 into Quacky #3. After that I skied into Broadway into Lower Panther into Lower Gazelle.
After, I went back up the Sunny Side Chair and skied Panther (to skier’s right of the Sunny Side Double). From Panther I took a cut-off into Quaky #1 then to Grand Canyon. Then Chipmunk all the way to the bottom, then, I got onto the single chair lift.
Mad River Glen Single Chair
When I got in line for the single chair, I was a little nervous. I was doubting myself and thinking I didn’t know how to load a single chair. This was my first time getting on a single chair lift. However, it’s just like any chair lift, you ski up to the load here sign, look behind you, put your arm out to catch the edge of the lift. Then sit down once the chair is right behind you. It may look like you won’t fit, but you will.
I thought this was a really cool experience, since this is the only one on the east coast. At the top, I took the trail Antelope which is a blue square from the top that wraps all around the mountain. Once I got to the mid part, I skied Moody, finally, into Canyon into Bunny then Beaver. After these runs I was feeling up for a challenge and skied Catamount Bowl to the left of the single chair.
I really enjoyed Catamount Bowl, however, it was definitely sparse coverage because of warm temperatures. It was almost 60 ℉ when I skied there, again, spring skiing conditions and temps. This trail is rated as a diamond and I would agree with that, specifically on the day I skied it. It was all bumped up, steep, and bare spots. The nice aspect of this trail is the wideness. This trail is super wide, so you have plenty of time to make turns and to think about where/when to turn. Wide, steep trails don’t scare me, it’s the narrow, steep, sparse trails that do. Which is why I like to ski more of the glades, to try to improve my abilities. You can pretty much ski anything if there’s snow but when the snow is gone and multiple trees/rocks are there, things get spicy.
The other diamond of the day I skied was Chute. Chute is under the single chair, this is a fun trail. It was like Catamount Bowl, condition wise, except much more narrow. Because I was filming and wearing my GoPro when I skied Chute, I got a lot of cheers from people, riding the lift. After Chute, I skied into Panther then Waterfall back to the Sunny Side Double.
Overall Thoughts About Mad River
Overall, I really liked Mad River. I really liked the local and old time feel. I loved that their tickets were still old school, along with the lodge. A lot of people knew each other and if you didn’t, you could easily make friends at the bar in the lodge. Also, their trails were fun. However, I found them to be super long with lots of cut-offs. For example, I would ski down one trail, then 5 minutes later ski into another one, then another one after the next 5 minutes, then, finally, the “last” trail until getting to the base of the mountain. This could have been due to the spring like conditions, which was making my legs more tired then normal or they may just have super long runs.
Also, I was bummed because I’ve heard the glades here are amazing. Due to, the ability to ski practically between any two trails. Meaning, there’s no limit to what glades/trees you can ski, you can ski pretty much anywhere. Most of their glades are not labeled on the trail map, you literally can make up your own path when it comes to the glades. Again, adding to the local aspect of this mountain, only the locals know where the “true glade” trails and entrances are. And they want to keep it that way.
I didn’t realize until after skiing at Mad River and doing more research, that there are a lot of unmarked trails, particularly the glades. I would have LOVED this. So, I guess that means I will be planning another trip next year to return. My favorite trails of the day were Catamount Bowl and Chute. I liked how bumped up the trails were and the added challenge of trying to find the snow.
Mad River Glen vs. Sugarbush
Over the winter I took a trip to Waitsfield, Vermont to ski at Mad River Glen and Sugarbush Resort. Overall, I think if the glades had been open, I would have liked Mad River Glen WAY better than Sugarbush Resort. However, because of conditions, I would say they were about the same for me. Although, I say this with Mount Ellen being my favorite side of Sugarbush. Mount Ellen is similar to Mad River, that more locals go here instead of the Lincoln side of the mountain. Sugarbush is MUCH more crowded and touristy than Mad River.
The Lincoln Peak side of Sugarbush is where all the hotel and mountain resorts are located. They have much bigger and busier parking areas. It’s much more built up and touristy, unlike true Vermont. Also, Mad River gives you a much better lift ticket deal. However, you can only purchase a lift ticket for Mount Ellen instead of the full mountain at Sugarbush. If I had to compare Mad River to another mountain, I would say it’s a lot like Magic Mountain in Londonderry, Vermont.
In Conclusion
I really liked my time spent at Mad River Glen and I can’t wait to go back and ski the glades. Thank you so much for reading and I hope this article was helpful and informative. Take care and I hope you get the chance to ski Mad River.
