Lost Valley Ski Area

As an experienced skier, I don’t go here very often anymore, but my first day skiing, in elementary school was right here. My two best friends and I all learned on the same day and we were hooked. We used to come here every week for lessons. This place is so cute and it holds so many good memories. It’s the perfect place to learn to ski and a great family place, because with only two lifts plus a t-​bar, kids can wander off without adults worrying. It has a nice little terrain park, plus some places where you can ski some glades, but most of the trails can be managed by a beginning to intermediate level skier. There is plenty of tables and chairs inside the lodge, and a grill where you can get your typical ski fare. We used to get slushies and French fries during aprés-​ski and eat in front of the (real) fire while warming our feet.

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for «The Valley» — it’s where I learned how to snowboard (Chipmunk trail, represent!). And that’s what makes Lost Valley such a charming spot; the ease in which one can learn a new outdoor sport without a thousand judging eyes watching every face-​plant or tumble off the ski lift (which I personally feel is one of the major reasons older folks are hesitant about learning these sports). There’s enough secluded areas on the trails where one can safely be self-​taught in the art of skiing or snowboarding.
Is it a hill in comparison to Sunday River or Sugarloaf? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place here in New England. Unless you’re looking for something harder, faster, stronger than the intimacy and price value Lost Valley offers is bar none. It’s also less busy than the other places, and one of the best areas for night skiing around. I don’t know if they still do it, but «back in the day» once a month they used to allow skiing/​riding until 12am (currently, they’re open daily until 8pm which still rocks). There are few things in life that compare to the sensation of rushing through the Maine woods on a snowboard under a dazzling night sky filled with stars and a full moon so big you can touch. Sincerely.
Besides the skiing/​snowboarding, there’s also a fabulous hiking trail through Lost Valley that I feel not enough people know about. I used to walk it once every autumn. And, usually, there’s a fall festival where you can take the ski lift up the mountain and then walk back down it (which is a fun thing to be able to do at a ski area) or take a hayride from Lost Valley to Wallingford’s Apple Orchard. All around, Lost Valley is much of what Maine stands for — family, fun, and community connectivity.

An excellent little ski hill!
No, it’s not Sugarloaf — but you can get rental gear and lift tickets by the hour, you can almost walk there from downtown Auburn, and it’s not terribly crowded.
There are a few little terrain park areas, some groomers, and something that’s trying to be a glade (although I’m not sure it succeeds). A great place to learn — you don’t really need 10 high-​speed chairlifts when you’re on the bunny slope. Head over to Sunday River or Sugarloaf once you can do laps here without accumulating snow in the back of your collar.
The pricing’s a little odd — try ~3 hours for the best cost /​entertainment trade-​off. Rental gear includes reasonable newer downhill gear, a few sets of pretty-​well worn stuff in some sizes, and what looked to me like acceptable beginner snowboard gear.
Lost Valley makes a pretty enjoyable day, as long as you know what to expect.