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Mount Sunapee Resort five-year plans now online

By on June 14, 2020 in latest news, NH Parks, public policy, recreation

At Mount Sunapee State Park, looking across the parking lot toward the Spruce Lodge at the base of the mountain. Vail Resorts is the current lessee and operator of the state-owned ski area. FOMS photo, May 2020.

Mount Sunapee Resort’s five-year Master Development Plan (MDP) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) 2020-2025 are now available online. The plans, submitted to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) by Vail Resorts, are subject to a public hearing and public comment:

Or view the plans via the NH Parks’ website.

Submit comments to Mount Sunapee Comments, Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources, 172 Pembroke Road, Concord, NH  03301, or email mountsunapeecomments@dncr.nh.gov.

Please contact the Friends of Mount Sunapee if you can help us review these plans as we prepare for a public hearing. We encourage citizen involvement in the public policy-making opportunities for Mount Sunapee State Park, including the master development planning process for the ski area.

Additional information

DNCR and the division of Parks and Recreation are responsible for managing Mount Sunapee State Park and overseeing the ski area lease, which encompasses approximately 1100 acres of public conservation land.

The agency’s Involvement and Oversight Policy requires the ski area operator to submit master development and environmental management plans every five years.

In considering these plans, DNCR shall hold at least one public hearing in conjunction with the regional planning commission, according to the public involvement policy.

At the June 9 telemeeting of the Mount Sunapee Advisory Commission, DNCR Commissioner Sarah Stewart said a hearing date had not been set.

For related information see the FOMS resource pages: Mount Sunapee State Park management and policies and Mount Sunapee’s natural heritage and ancient forests.

Where to view the plans?

“The plans are available for public review at the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, 172 Pembroke Road, Concord, N.H., as well as in the Towns of Newbury, Goshen, New London, Sunapee, Newport, Bradford, Sutton, and at the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission,” according to NH State Parks.

However, as of this posting, FOMS is unable to confirm the local availability of the plans. We will update this post when more information is known.

 

COVID-19: Mount Sunapee closes for one week, hikers turn to the Summit Trail

By on March 17, 2020 in hiking, latest news, recreation

Update (April 2, 2020) – Vail/Mount Sunapee Resort did not reopen for the remaining 2019-20 winter ski season after closing on March 14. Cannon Mountain closed the following week.

As we all respond to how to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, ski area operators across the country have responded, as well. Vail – Mount Sunapee Resort closed Sunday for at least one week. And we saw, on Sunday, outdoor enthusiasts turning to quiet hikes of the Summit Trail.

A FOMS volunteer wrote to us about her Sunday outing, “I did not summit, but got to 2300-feet, ate my apple, and listened to a bird’s very soft sweet song.”

Families and solo hikers were out on the trail.

Ski area respond to COVID-19

Vail Resorts decided last Saturday, March 14, it would close for at least one week all of its North American resorts, including the state-owned ski area at Mount Sunapee. According to the company’s news release, Vail was shutting down 34 resorts starting Sunday through March 22.

The other state-owned ski area, Cannon Mountain, is remaining open “with sharply curtailed services,” according to its COVID-19 response:

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY (March 17th)

Under the directive of Governor Sununu, Cannon Mountain is to remain open until further notice, but with sharply curtailed services in order to reduce guest / guest and staff / guest interaction. Thanks for your patience and understanding as we work hard to provide you with skiing services while trying to meet both the Governor’s directives and CDC guidelines.

Concord Monitor recently reported on ski operations around the state, some areas are staying open and have COVID-19 advisories posted on their websites.

More boat trailer parking coming to Mount Sunapee State Park

By on February 17, 2020 in latest news, recreation

The New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation plans to increase the number of boat trailer parking from 12 to 22 spaces at the Mount Sunapee State Park beach.

According to the NH Parks media notice, tree clearing for the project, along the Sunapee Beach Access Road will begin this winter and construction will begin in the spring.

The project worksheet and letter to the Newbury Select Board are posted on the NH Parks website:

And you will find this project on the Newbury Planning Board agenda for February 18, 2020.

Protect Our Winters comes to NH

By on May 9, 2019 in climate change, environment, public policy, recreation

Protect Our Winters is coming to New Hampshire.

POW, an international group of outdoor enthusiasts and climate activists, will work this year in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.

“We’re coming to you [New Hampshire] this year to get to know your community and learn about all of the great outdoor opportunities your state has to offer,” wrote Anja Semanco for POW. “Nearly 70 percent of New Hampshire residents participate in outdoor recreation every year. With an $8.7 billion outdoor rec economy, it’s time to talk climate change and take climate action.”

Read the POW blog post “What we’re working on in 2019” via https://protectourwinters.org/what-were-working-on-in-2019/

If you are a climate activist or want to join a local climate action group, we’d like to hear from you.

CONTACT FOMS

DNCR announces Sunapee lease transfer and amendments

By on October 12, 2018 in natural heritage, public policy, recreation

Read FOMS latest Enews

The state-owned ski area at Mount Sunapee State Park recently took another significant turn.

Commissioner Sarah Stewart of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) consented to a lease transfer request that allows industry giant Vail Resorts to take over the lease and operations of the Mount Sunapee ski area.

Proposed lease amendments accompanied the announcement and will go to the Governor and the Executive Council this month.

The commissioner delivered the decision at a public meeting at the park on September 26. View the meeting and lease amendment discussion via Newport Community TV Online.

DNCR proposed lease revisions to:

  1. Extend to Vail Resorts the 2016 lease amendment that enables resort development of the West Bowl.
  2. Add a “change in control provision.”
  3. Reference an advisory commission.

Read more…

 

 

DNCR to announce Mount Sunapee lease decision at Sept. 26 meeting

By on September 19, 2018 in advocacy, land protection, natural heritage, public policy, recreation

Special Alert: Mount Sunapee State Park Public Information Session – Wednesday, September 26 (6 pm) at Mount Sunapee State Park (Sunapee Lodge), Route 103, Newbury, N.H.

New Hampshire DNCR Commissioner Sarah Stewart (Department of Natural and Cultural Resources) will announce her decision on the Mount Sunapee ski area lease assignment to Vail Resorts at a public meeting on Wed., Sept. 26, 2018.

We encourage the public to attend this important meeting. There will be an opportunity for public comment and questions.

Per the DNCR release: “The Department has received a request to consent to the assignment of the lease to The Sunapee Difference, LLC, which will be indirectly owned by VR NE Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. (“Vail”). After careful consideration of public comments and working with the Attorney General’s Office, Commissioner Sarah Stewart will release the decision on the proposed transfer and details related to the decision.”

DNCR will post the decision and related documents on its website after announcing its decision on September 26.

NH Parks posted on Monday additional materials about the potential lease assignment. We’ve added these documents to FOMS website:

Background
In June 2018, Vail Resorts announced that it was seeking to acquire the ski area lease and operations at Mount Sunapee.

The September 26 meeting will be the second information session in two months on the Triple Peaks sale to Vail Resorts. On July 25, Commissioner Stewart and N.H. Attorney General Gordon MacDonald hosted a session that included remarks by Tim and Diane Mueller (current operator/Triple Peaks), a presentation by Vail representatives, and public comment.

View the July 2018 Mount Sunapee State Park information session via Newport Community TV.

FOMS advocates for diligent and transparent management of the state-owned ski area. We seek public policy and process decisions that restore public trust and honor the original intent of leasing a significant portion of our iconic state park to a private operator.

“New Hampshire citizens look to the State to exercise vigorous oversight and defend the public trust, no matter the operator or leaseholder at Mount Sunapee State Park. We also look to lessees at the park for leadership and operational and development plans that reflect local concerns and interests and respect our state park’s public values and the RSAs that protect our parks and natural heritage.” – Friends of Mount Sunapee, at the July 25 Mount Sunapee State Park Information Session.

FOMS Mount Sunapee submitted comments called for:

  • A “public hearing” to review the lease transfer request
  • Immediate formation of an Oversight and Administration Commission to manage the lease
  • An independent financial and operational audit of lessees to ensure lease compliance
  • Protection of the 484-acre exemplary forest within the State Park
  • Permanent protection of Mount Sunapee’s western slopes from resort development, land conservation that respects the original leasehold area.
  • Compliance with signage and advertising requirements to indicate state (public) ownership of the ski area at Mount Sunapee State Park.

See FOMS comments, August 6, 2018.

See Vail’s June 4, 2018, announcement.

Join us on Wed., Sept. 26 at Mount Sunapee State Park
The upcoming public info session will help give insight into the potential changes coming to the ski area and Mount Sunapee State Park and possible future impacts to our local communities and region.

Andrew Brook Trailhead Update

By on February 20, 2016 in hiking, land protection, recreation
A popular destination in winter as well as warmer seasons, Lake Solitude is the reward of a two-mile ascent up the Andrew Brook Trail. Access to the trail is now protected by the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests. Photo by John Welch/johnwelchphoto.com.

A popular destination in winter as well as warmer seasons, Lake Solitude is the reward of a two-mile ascent up the Andrew Brook Trail. Access to the trail is now protected by the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests. Photo by John Welch/johnwelchphoto.com.

Members of the hiking community around Mount Sunapee put their enthusiasm for a popular trail to Lake Solitude to work and quickly helped the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests (Forest Society) raise funds to conserve the property where the trail begins.

The Forest Society purchased the 33-acre trailhead property, off Mountain Road in Newbury, in order to protect access to the Andrew Brook Trail, said Jane Difley, the Forest Society’s president/forester.

“So many people who love this trail assumed that the trailhead was part of  Mount Sunapee State Park, but in fact it was privately owned and therefore vulnerable when it came up for sale,” Difley said. “Now that the Forest Society owns it, public access is protected, and we want to thank the fans of this trail for helping to secure it.”

The Andrew Brook Trail is a 2-mile ascent up Andrew Brook on the eastern side of Mt. Sunapee to Lake Solitude, a pristine pond surrounded by conifers. It then meets up with other trails leading to the scenic White Ledges area and to Mount  Sunapee’s peak. Read more…

 

Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Supermap is now available

By on February 6, 2016 in hiking, latest news, recreation
View from Mount Sunapee looking south toward Mount Monadnock, in the far distance to the right, and showing the Sunapee Ridge and Lovewell Mountain (center-left).

View from Mount Sunapee looking south toward Mount Monadnock, in the far distance to the right, and showing the Sunapee Ridge and Lovewell Mountain (left of center).

A new Greenway Super Map is now available from the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Club. Price: $10.00. The full color map (18 x 24 in size) includes all trail highlights of the Greenway, from Mount Monadnock to Pitcher Mountain on side one, and Pitcher Mountain to Mount Sunapee on the other side. All feeder trails on Mount Monadnock, Mount Sunapee and in Pillsbury State Park are included, as are section mileages, shelter locations, trail history, water source locations, GPS coordinates for all points of interest, and more.

For ordering information, visit the trail club website store at www.msgtc.org/store

The Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Club (MSGTC) is a non-profit organization that formed in 1994. It’s mission includes trail maintenance efforts along the 48-mile hiking trail and to provide support for their volunteers and trail adopters, and to promote awareness of  the natural beauty of  The Greenway. 

Forest Society working to buy popular trailhead for Mt. Sunapee hike to Lake Solitude

By on December 30, 2015 in environment, hiking, land protection, recreation
winter hiker smaller CDeegan IMG_1868

A hiker ascends the Andrew Brook Trail in Newbury. Courtesy photo.

When the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests (Forest Society) posted on Facebook a plan to buy a property in Newbury that hosts the trailhead of a hiking route to Lake Solitude on Mt. Sunapee, hikers who know the Andrew Brook Trail responded quickly.

They posted phrases like “Love this hike,” “One of my favorite spots” and “Best way to hike Sunapee.”

“Those posts told us we were working on a project that would make a lot of people very happy,” said Jane Difley, the Forest Society’s president/forester.

There are three major hiking trails on Mt. Sunapee, but only one, the Summit Trail, is entirely within Mt. Sunapee State Park. The Andrew Brook Trail is one of two others that cross private land before entering permanently protected land in the state park. Access to the trailhead has been at the generosity of the landowner and could be denied by any future landowner.

AndrewBrook_MailingMapv5-1

Click on map to enlarge.

The Forest Society offered to buy the land, 33 acres off of Mountain Road in Newbury, when it came up for sale recently, and has a purchase-and-sales agreement with the landowner. First, however, the organization must raise $110,000 to cover the purchase, legal fees and future stewardship costs.

“We are reaching out to the hiking community and friends and neighbors in the Newbury area to ask for their support of our plan to protect the trailhead,” Difley said.

The Andrew Brook Trail ascends along Andrew Brook and climbs through a beech, birch and maple forest for two miles before reaching Lake Solitude, a pristine pond surrounded by conifers. It then connects to the Sunapee Ragged Kearsarge Greenway’s 75-mile trail system and continues to the scenic cliffs of the  White Ledges area and Mt. Sunapee’s summit.

“Most hikers of these heavily used trails have no idea that only the generosity of a private landowner allows access to the State Park,” said Gerry Gold, of the Sunapee Ragged Kearsarge Greenway Coalition. “Thus it is a rare opportunity when the hikers and the hiking community have an opportunity to help purchase such important access and permanently protect that access for themselves and future generations of hikers.”

In 2006, the Forest Society led a campaign to purchase a conservation easement on 1,100 acres of land on the eastern slope of Mt. Sunapee. This easement protects the middle section of the Andrew Brook Trail and was a collaboration celebrated by partners including the Newbury Conservation Commission, Cardigan Highlanders Volunteer Trail Crew, the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, Friends of Mount Sunapee and the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway.

In 2010 the Goubert family of Sunapee donated 75 acres of land next to the 33-acre property the Forest Society now seeks to buy.

Difley said the property’s value for hiking is the most obvious reason to protect it, but it also contains hardwood forest that protects water quality of Andrew Brook and several feeder streams, and it provides excellent wildlife habitat. She said the organization is seeking to raise the money necessary to complete the project by Jan. 20.

More information about the project and how to donate, visit www.forestsociety.org.

SooNipi Magazine: ‘Hiking Mount Sunapee’s Summit Trail’

By on June 18, 2015 in environment, exploration, hiking, natural heritage, recreation

SooNipiMagazineSummitTrail2015SummerEnjoy and explore the Summit Trail at Mount Sunapee State Park. The SooNipi Magazine, always a fun and informative read, delivers in its summer (2015) issue an article that takes you for a hike up the Summit Trail. Learn what makes this area of our state park so special and why this favorite hiking trail is now at risk! Read (download/view):

“Hiking Mount Sunapee’s Summit Trail” (SooNipi-Summer-2015 P.28-31)  (PDF 3MB)

You can pick up the SooNipi at various distribution sites in West-Central New Hampshire, or download/view the article by clicking on the link above.

For some, Mount Sunapee State Park conjures up images of alpine skiing. For many others, however, the park represents a smorgasbord of outdoor recreation opportunities – including hiking, hunting, nature study, backpacking, snowshoeing, and more. All are available at no cost in our public park. The Summit Hiking Trail on Mount Sunapee’s west flank offers access to all of the aforementioned non-skiing activities, and is a personal favorite…

The Summit Hiking Trail lies directly in the path of the proposed western expansion of the ski area. As currently planned, the hiking trail will be bisected at least half a dozen times by new ski slopes, and a new lift line will be gouged out of the heart of the ancient forest community. The closed forest canopy will now feature ski runs, towers for a ski lift, and pipelines and guns for snowmaking. The trail will still be there, possibly re-routed, but the peaceful woodland hike that exists today will be changed forever. – “Hiking Mount Sunapee’s Summit Trail” by Gary Stansfield

To learn how you can help protect the Summit Trail, contact FOMS today!

 

Is a ‘Timber Ripper’ coming to Mount Sunapee?

By on April 28, 2015 in advocacy, environment, public policy, recreation

A Disney style amusement ride — a mountain coaster, which Okemo calls its “Timber Ripper” in Vermont — maybe coming to Mount Sunapee State Park. The agency that oversees NH parks recently approved a rollercoaster for Sunapee that will cut into and further diminish the wooded land near the base of the mountain.

A roller coaster at our jewel of a mountain state park? Have they no shame? Apparently not!  – Gary, an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast.

It looks we’re on a fast ride downhill that turns our precious parkland into a common theme park. One has to ask: What next for our New Hampshire state parks! – Cathy from Sunapee

Mt. Sunapee Public Hearing

Help protect the integrity of Mount Sunapee State Park. Add your voice at the Mt. Sunapee Public Hearing on May 5 (6pm). Location: Mount Sunapee State Park, Sunapee Lodge, Newbury, NH.

For more info and to see how you can help,  Contact FOMS.

Check out Okemo’s “Timber Ripper” in Vermont, via YouTube:

 

Help protect the Summit Hiking Trail on Mount Sunapee

By on January 9, 2015 in advocacy, environment, recreation

HelpProtectSummitTrail_WinterFOMS“The proposed ‘West Bowl’ expansion will fatally compromise the Summit Trail,” says Steve Russell, Newbury. “The trail as it now exists will be gone.”

“The trail, which provides the general public with all-season access to the park, will be cut through with ski runs at four different locations.”

Okemo/Mount Sunapee Resort is seeking a major expansion at Mount Sunapee State Park that will extend ski infrastructure across the western flank of Mount Sunapee onto  hundreds of acres owned by the resort operator.

Proposed new ski terrain and a new lift will not only bisect the hiking trail, it will cut into the rare ancient forest in the park.

The western edge of the park is not yet impacted by ski trails, ski lifts, and snow-making. Steve and others want to keep it that way.

It is not necessary to expand skiing in an area where an equally important public use of the park already exists. The use of the park for skiing is already well established. The public also has a right to experience the mountain in a natural undisturbed state.

Add your voice to protect the Summit Hiking Trail

The Summit Trail, developed in the early 1990s, was designed “to provide hikers with a woodlands trail away from ski operations,” according to the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Coalition (SRKG). “Development of the trail was related to the early history of the SRK Greenway Coalition, incorporated in 1993.”

The Summit Trail is part of the Greenway, a 75-mile loop of trails that connect four State Parks, thee State Forests, and New Hampshire Fish and Game protected lands, and town, and private properties. The SRKG also links with the 50-mile Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway and Pillsbury State Park.

History of the Summit Hiking Trail

By on December 18, 2014 in hiking, recreation

WinterHikeSummitTr2014Dec16_LH

“Enjoy the beauty and recreational opportunities of New Hampshire state park properties. Join us as stewards of these natural wonders and help us to preserve them for future generations.” – New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation, Explore, para. 3, 2014

Photo: Hiking along the forested Summit Trail at Mount Sunapee State Park, December 16, 2014. Courtesy photo.

What is the history of the Summit Trail?

“The Summit Trail was developed with NH State Parks and Trails Bureau assistance in the early 1990s expressly to provide hikers with a woodlands trail away from ski operations. Development of the trail was related to the early history of the SRK Greenway Coalition, incorporated in 1993. A 1997 memorandum between DRED/Parks and the three volunteer trail groups maintaining hiking trails in the Park recognized trail responsibilities of these volunteer groups. The 75-mile SRK Greenway connects 4 State Parks, 3 State Forests, and land conserved by NH Fish and Game as well as town and private properties. The SRKG also links with the 50-mile Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway and Pillsbury State Park. In sum, hiking trails and the broader conserved landscapes which those trails traverse are crucial to the future of both New Hampshire’s self-identity and long-term recreational economy. — Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Coalition, letter to Comm. Rose (DRED) in response to Mount Sunapee Resort’s Master Development Plan for 2015-2019.

Copyright © 2020 Friends of Mount Sunapee