it is 28 degrees, slightly muddy in the parking lot, and there is a crisp breeze in the air. Unsure what to expect for our first time riding fat tire bikes on snow and ice. We visited Sugarloaf mountain, which is in the Cassabasset Valley in central Maine and offers a variety of outdoor recreational activities including

Downhill skiing
Snowshoe trails/rentals
Cross-country skiing including rentals
Fat tire bike paths and rentals
Ice Skating rink

Here we are starting ofF our day!

This was our second trip to this beautiful location. Our fist was snowshoeing, which was a blast. Honestly, snowshoeing was so much fun, I would have gone again. Unfortunately, the snow was packed, icy and not ideal for snowshoeing. So we opted for fat tire bike rentals.

Location: Head to the Outdoor Center. Here you can get all you need including all trail passes, rentals, and food.

Rentals: $40 per person, for 2 hours (this includes your bike and trail pass); you can rent for the entire day for $90.

Once you are fitted for your bike, grab a map and off you go!

While on your ride, despite being a rather large mountain full of trails, it is easy to stay on the path, as they are all well marked including periodic locations of additional maps with “you are here” markings to help get your bearings. There is even a “warming hut” with a wood stove to ensure you stay nice and toasty while out adventuring.

Despite it being only 28 degrees, I can assure you, no warming hut was needed. The fat tire trail we chose took nearly 2 1/2 hours to complete with a fairly steady pace and included some pretty good size hills. I would consider this a good workout ride and needed to take off my jacket half way through.

A few suggestions if you happen to make a day trip to Sugarloaf mountain.

Wear layers so you can shed them as you heat up
Try both the snowshoeing and fat tire bike if possible. The fat tire bike trails run along the cross-country ski trails, however the snowshoeing trails run through the woods and offer a different, but equally beautiful adventure.
Don’t worry about arriving too early as we arrived around noon for both trips and there were plenty of parking spots as well as rental gear, allowing us time to explore.

What About Snowshoeing?

Cost: If you bring your own snowshoes (we bought ours on amazon), the trail pass is only 7$ per person for the day.

Trails: There are several, and we took the medium distance (approx 2-3 miles) which took 2 hours to complete. (Extra time for pictures)

Guidance: There are posted maps frequently throughout the trail for assisting in directions and the trail is very well marked.

Scenery: Once out in the woods hiking, it truly feels like a dense forest that you are exploring all by yourself. We only saw 4 people the whole time.