For the first time in over 25 years, visitors made their way up Sugar Loaf Mountain on Friday Oct. 9, pausing along the half mile trail to take in views of Lime Lake, Little Traverse Lake and Lake Michigan, along with the Manitou and Fox islands.
Groups brought picnics and drinks to share and cheers at the summit, celebrating a place that many had spent years hoping to see open once again.
The view atop Sugar Loaf Mountain.
For local Chris Sack, the reopening of The Sugar Loaf Scenic Area marked a return to a place that helped draw him to the area in the first place.
“Sugar Loaf was 50% of the reason we moved to Glen Arbor,” Sack said at the top which sits 449 feet above the parking lot, looking out over Little Traverse Lake. “Like, literally. And then it closed a year later.”
Sack had been drawn to the area, in part because of the opportunity to snowboard at the resort. After it closed, he held out hope for years that it might reopen, but gave up on the possibility about a decade ago.
And now that the public can explore the mountain again, “It makes my heart swell,” Sack said. “Absolutely I”m so excited. It’s going to be insane, it’s going to be awesome.”
The opening also brought back memories for sisters Joanie and Pat Lora as well, who remember the resort’s heyday in the 70s. Pat, donning a “I’m a Sugar Loafer” sweater, recalled spending each New Years Eve at the resort and watching the ski patrol fly down the mountain with torches as the clock struck midnight.
“It’s wonderful,” they both said of seeing Sugar Loaf open again. “It’s delightful.”
Sugar Loaf Mountain displays panoramic views of Lake Michigan.
Annalise Povolo from Lake Leelanau said one of the most meaningful parts of the day was seeing people spanning all ages and abilities out enjoying the mountain together.
“It’s just been such a pleasure to observe a lot of people who, I got the impression, maybe aren’t doing a lot of hiking these days, back in this beloved space and enjoying this area again,” Povolo said. ‘The Conservancy has really been focusing on increasing access to recreation, and this has just been such a wonderful example of that.”
Emily Stoppani, who runs the Leelanau Conservancy’s major gifts and legacy giving and helped raise the $8 million needed to support the transformation, felt like the opening represented a milestone. “On my first day (with the Conservancy), they told me…we’re going to protect Sugar Loaf, and I thought I was going to fall over,” Stoppani said. “I felt very honored to be a part of something like that.”
Sugar Loaf opened in 1947 and operated as a ski resort before closing in 2000. After years of uncertainty about the property’s future, the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation donated the land to the Leelanau Conservancy. Friday’s opening marked the first phase of a longer effort to transform Sugar Loaf into a public recreation area.
The Conservancy plans to develop additional hiking and mountain biking trails, expand winter recreation opportunities and add gathering spaces and family friendly amenities like a sledding hill and nature play area.
Mountain biking trails are planned to open in the spring of 2027.
Alongside recreational activity space, the Conservancy will be continuing restoration work to protect native species, reduce erosion and improve the water quality of the Good Harbor Bay Watershed.
