Winter
Hawksnest Tubing- Open on Seven Devils.Sugar Mountain Resort It's Great To Be 40! Sugar Mountain, North Carolina – Sugar Mountain Resort celebrates 40 years this season! The Resort opened in 1969 with four lifts and eleven slopes for skiing. Since then Sugar has grown to include seven lifts and twenty slopes for skiers and snowboarders. Winter activity offerings have expanded over the years to include snowshoeing, tubing and ice skating. A timeline of Sugar's major milestones can be found online at www.skisugar.com/forty. 40th Anniversary events and specials will be going all season long. Our website will announce each 40th Anniversary event or special as it becomes available.
Again, slope conditions continue to be a top priority here at Sugar Mountain Resort. Overhauling Sugar's snowmaking infrastructure continued throughout the summer with the replacement and upgrade of 2,500 feet of snowmaking pipes along the Big Birch slope. An additional energy-efficient snowmaking machine has been purchased for the upcoming winter season. Also new this season is the installation of an elaborate scanning system designed to make the entire winter experience friendlier and easier for Sugar's customers while providing the ability to maintain and monitor more concise and accurate control of lift/slope tickets on the mountain at any given time.
Our event schedule is packed with activities throughout the season. A few of the highlights include the Turkey Treat. For one low price, you can ski/ride any one session of the four days of the Thanksgiving weekend. Diann Roffe, 1994 Olympic Gold & 1992 Olympic Silver medalist and two-time (1992 & 1994) Olympian, Krista Schmidinger will again guest coach at Sugar's 16th Annual Adult Pre-Season Ski Clinic scheduled for December 11th -13th. Sugarfest will be held that weekend as well. From December through March twice a month enjoy the acoustic sounds of North Carolina High Country bluegrass.
On January 9th, Sugar will once again host a National Winter Trails Day, a nationwide event offering children and adults the opportunity to try snowshoeing for FREE and the Easter egg contest is scheduled for March 21, 2010. The entire event schedule can be found at www.skisugar.com/calendar. Join us for our 40th season as we strive to make Sugar even sweeter. For additional information please call Sugar Mountain Resort: (828) 898-4521 x262 or visit us at www.skisugar.com/press.
Appalachian Ski Mnt has skiiing, snowboarding & skating. Skating is offered during three sessions from November 22 to March 23 weather permitting: Noon to 2pm 2:30pm to 4:30pm 7pm to 9pm
Ski Beech has skiing in two sessions: day sessions 9 am to 4:30 pm & the evening sessions run from 6 pm to 10 pm. Bring the kids for sledding which is open 9 AM – 5 PM (Daily including holidays)
SLEDDING RULES: For children 12 and under:
- plastic sleds only no skis and snowboards
- no snowmen building
- parents must supervise children
- all must obey slope supervisor
phone: 828-387-9283, 800-468-5506 fax: 828-387-5506 email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sleds are available for purchase at the following locations on Beech Mountain:
Alpine Ski Center – 828-387-9291
Beech Meadows Ski Shop – 828-387-4777
Fred’s General Mercantile – 828-387-48
Winter in Avery County means snow, snow and more snow. And snow means skiing - and snowboarding - and tubing - and sledding - and snowmen! With four major ski resorts in the immediate area, our area has evolved into the premiere southern destination for winter sports. Downtown Banner Elk is located directly in between Sugar and Beech Mountains, while Hawksnest is just down and up the hill in Seven Devils, and Appalachian can be found between the other mountain towns of Boone and Blowing Rock in neighboring Watauga County.
By far the busiest time in the snowy months is the week between Christmas and New Year's. Anyone planning on coming to the area then should be sure to book their lodging early. Right behind this week in popularity are the bustling holiday weekends of Martin Luther King Day and President's Day. Don't expect to be able to roll into town on the Friday before these holidays and find the ideal room. The rest of the winter, however, offers many more opportunities. Specials abound on the slopes and at the lodging and restaurant establishments.
The Avery Banner Elk Chamber of Commerce sponsors a snowman building contest each winter with cash prizes for the most creative snowman. We hope you'll make time during yor visit to build a snowman so you can compete in our contest!
It's also a good idea to check and see if the Blue Ridge Parkway is open before planning to travel that route in the wintertime. No snow clearing equipment or salt is used on the Parkway, it is simply closed in sections when there is snow or ice covering it. Call the Parkway hotline at 828-298-0398 for closing information.
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