Killington, Vermont — The new ownership group at Killington Resort is wasting no time in making the mountain better. After investing $38 million since they bought the mountain in 2024, they’re planning to keep busy during the next offseason.
Yesterday, Killington Resort announced $22 million in 2026 offseason projects. The two notable additions for the 2026-27 season will be a new chairlift and the replacement of the ski resort’s Jamaican restaurant.
The major lift project is the replacement of the Snowdon triple chairlift. This fixed-grip triple chairlift was installed in 1973. A new $6.5 million fixed-grip quad chairlift will replace Snowdon. It will follow a similar alignment to the current lift. The most notable change is that the base terminal will be farther from the K-1 lift maze. More details about the project, including the manufacturer, will be announced in the future.
Killington’s decision to make this lift its next replacement came down to the importance of fixed-grip lifts. When ice and rain affect operations, fixed-grip lifts are easier to operate than detachable lifts in these conditions. This is why they’re undergoing a multi-year project to strengthen these lifts, starting in 2026..
The other major project is the replacement of the Jerk Jamaican Mountain Grill. Killington has been working with the SE Group (a mountain design and planning company) to identify areas for improvement. One of the discoveries was a shortage of seats at lodges during peak periods. A weak spot is the popular Jerk Jamaican at the Needles Eye base area, which opened in 2016. It’s become very popular, meaning that finding a seat is tricky.
Next summer, the plan is to demolish the old building and replace it with a $6 million facility. This will include 160 indoor seats (an increase from 26), 100 outdoor seats, a bar, and an enlarged food prep and storage area for employees.
While not as buzzworthy, Killington still plans to spend $9.5 million on other projects. This includes new groomers, snowmaking pipelines to connect to the new snowguns, and other maintenance work.
“We’ve been thrilled at the level of investment from our independent ownership group over the past year,” says Killington Resort’s President and CEO Mike Solimano. “They have certainly lived up to their word, even increasing last year’s initial capital investment of $30 million to $38 million by the end of this summer. The flexibility of independent ownership has allowed us to act quickly and make timely adjustments to capital projects while always keeping the guest experience as our priority.”
2024 & 2025 Projects
Over the past year, Killington Resort has invested $38 million in various improvements. These upgrades include the new Superstar detachable high-speed six-pack chairlift, 1,024 snowguns, new Skyeship gondola cabins, a reconstructed Skyeship gondola barn, snowmaking pipeline replacements, the replacement of the Ledgewood Yurt, and the addition of a surface lift at Pico Mountain.
Image Credits: Killington Resort
