1958
The 1st Peak
A small group climbs Locke Mountain and determines where the first lift and trails will be built. Sunday River Skiway Corporation is incorporated with 25,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $10 per share.
1959
First Opening Day
December 19, 1959 marks the first opening day for Sunday River Skiway.
1963
Beginner Terrain
The Mixing Bowl T-Bar and trail were created as a dedicated learning area. The Mixing Bowl T-Bar started below the Barker Base Lodge and ran to an unloading area where the current South Ridge Express unloads.
1971
The Second Peak
Sunday River adds the Barker Double as the first chair at the resort.
1972
The Shelburne Company
The company that owned Killington purchases a controlling interest in Sunday River and sends Les Otten to become Assistant Manager of the resort.
1978
South Ridge Base Lodge
Construction for South Ridge Base Lodge begins. Mixing Bowl is extended down to the new base along with snowmaking.
1980
Less Otten Purchases Sunday River
The Shelburne Corporation sells Sunday River to Les Otten. Under his guidance, the resort would eventually grow from 40,000 skier visits per year to 500,000 annually.
1985
The 3rd Peak
The North Peak Triple and Fall Line Double are installed adding approximately 40 acres of trails on North Peak and South Ridge.
1986
The 4th Peak
A new peak opens at Sunday River and quickly becomes a favorite spot.
1987
Barker Quad and Lower White Cap
The first detachable quad opens at Sunday River on Barker, and terrain and a lift on Lower White Cap is added.
1988
The 5th Peak
White Heat is added as the “steepest longest widest trail in the East," which opens White Cap.
1990
Peak Lodge
The mid-mountain Peak Lodge is built on North Peak, and 10 acres of new trails and a race arena are added.
1991
The 6th Peak & Perfect Turn Ski School
Aurora Peak is added with a new quad chair and trails. The Perfect Turn ski school is created.
1992
The Most Slopeside Lodging in the East
The slopeside Grand Summit Resort Hotel and Conference Center opens. With the addition of this hotel, Sunday River offers the most slopeside lodging in the East between hotels, condominiums, and townhouses.
1994
The 7th Peak
Jordan Bowl opens with a new high-speed quad serving 100 acres of new terrain.
1995
The 8th Peak
Oz opens as Sunday River’s eighth peak with a fixed-grip quad serving 40 acres of new terrain.
1997
New Chairlift, Terrain, and Hotel
The Perfect Turn Express replaces the North Peak Triple, and five new trails are added. The Jordan Grand Resort Hotel and Conference Center opens.
2004
Golf Course
The Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed Sunday River Golf Club opens.
2007
Boyne Resorts
Sunday River joins the Boyne Resorts family, lead by President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Kircher.
2008
ENERGY-EFFICIENT SNOWMAKING
Boyne introduces Boyne Low-E Fan Guns to Sunday River. The new guns convert water into snow more efficiently, especially at marginal temperatures, improving snow quality while greatly improving energy and water efficiency to use less power.
2009
Chondola & Night Skiing
The only Chondola in the Northeast and 12-hour skiing are added as part of a $14 million investment in the resort.
2010
50th Anniversary
Sunday River celebrates 50 years with a season-long celebration and new book. Eddy the Yeti—Sunday River’s official team mascot—joins the family.
2012
New Mascots
The Eddy The Yeti children’s book is published and the Betty the Yeti mascot is introduced.
2013
Improved Snowmaking Efficiency
Sunday River continues investing in snowmaking upgrades and increased energy efficiency, replacing old equipment annually with new HKD high-efficiency guns to significantly reduce the energy needs and carbon footprint of snowmaking.
2014
T72 & Camp
The new 15-acre T72 terrain park on North Peak opens as well as Camp in the Grand Summit Hotel.
2015
NEW GLADES & ENHANCED SNOWMAKING
Sunday River adds 75 acres of new glade terrain, enhances snowmaking with a $1.1 million upgrade, and adds a conveyor system to the Spruce Peak Triple.
2017
The Mountain Room & Spruce Peak Triple
Sunday River opened the Mountain Room in the Peak Lodge in partnership with Portland, Maine restauranteur Harding Lee Smith. The resort also debuted the new Spruce Peak Triple.
2018
DOUBLING SNOWMAKING CAPACITY
Sunday River takes the first step towards doubling its snowmaking capacity with the addition of a new 600-horsepower pump and nearly two miles of high-pressure iron ductile pipe from its water source to Barker Basin, which immediately increases the resort’s water capacity by 15 percent for the 2018/19 season.
2018
Boyne Resorts Purchases Sunday River
Though Boyne had been managing resort operations since 2007, the company purchased Sunday River as part of a six-resort acquisition, making Boyne the third-largest mountain resort company in North America.
2019
Surface Lifts & Learning Terrain
Sunday River installs four new surface lifts including a T-Bar on Locke Mountain for training and competitions, and three covered conveyors on the Sundance trail to enhance the resort’s learning terrain.
2019
Snowmaking Upgrades
Phase two of doubling the resort’s snowmaking capacity includes the installation of four new 500-horsepower pumps, which increases water capacity by 10 percent for the 2019/20 season.
2020
Purchased Merrill Hill
The resort acquired a unique parcel of land that includes 450 acres of land between South Ridge and Aurora. Soon, unparalleled long-view mountaintop home sites will be for sale with ski-in/ski-out access via a new chairlift, located in the heart of the resort.
2020
Purchased the Sunday River Golf Club
In 2019, Sunday River began managing operations at the Sunday River Golf Club. In order to make improvements and achieve growth, the resort recently purchased the course and solidified the long-term future of one of the most experiential golf courses in New England.
2021
Install Chairlift & Build Trails on Merrill Hill
A new Doppelmayr triple chairlift is installed on the Merrill Hill real estate development featuring mountaintop home sites. Merrill Hill also features four new ski trails and snowmaking capabilities. The lift will open for select dates only during the 2021-22 season, with a grand opening scheduled for winter 2022-23.
2021
LAUNCH FOREVERPROJECT & 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY INITIATIVE
As of January 1, 2021, Boyne Resorts committed to a renewable energy purchase with CMS Enterprises, a CMS Energy subsidiary, that entirely offsets electric energy consumption at its resorts and facilities throughout North America. As a result, the resorts will achieve 100% renewable energy for the 2020/21 winter season by sourcing a global purchase of renewable energy credits. This is just one of the company's many efforts under the new ForeverProject sustainability initiative.
2022
Build the Jordan 8
The Jordan 8 lift is one of the most technologically advanced chairlifts in North America and the first of its kind in Maine. The Jordan 8 is a Doppelmayr D-Line chairlift that seats eight skiers per chair, features signature Sunday River Red weather-blocking bubbles, and is designed specifically to withstand strong winds and unpredictable weather.
2022
Snowmaking Upgrades
New underground snowmaking pipe installed on Spruce Mountain. At the end of the pipeline on North Peak is a brand-new pumphouse, housing a booster system. Located just beyond the top of the Chondola lift, this pumphouse will allow us to focus our snowmaking efforts on any section of the mountain at any point in time.
2023
Barker 6
The Barker 6 lift is one of the most technologically advanced chairlifts in North America and the first of its kind in Maine. The Barker 6 is a Doppelmayr D-Line chairlift that seats six skiers per chair, features signature Sunday River Red weather-blocking bubbles, and is designed specifically to withstand strong winds and unpredictable weather.