There may still be plenty of green grass and fall color across Maine, but Sunday River is already making snow.
The Newry ski resort fired up its snowmaking system early Saturday morning, Sept. 19, for its annual preseason test, sending snow into the air on Rogue Angel, Excalibur and Lollapalooza on Jordan Peak. Sunday River’s media team says the system came online at about 5:45 a.m.
This was a test rather than the beginning of continuous snowmaking for the 2026-27 season. The goal was to run the equipment, check the system and make sure everything is ready when sustained cold finally arrives.
By Sunday morning, Sunday River’s website had officially marked the 2026 snowmaking test as complete.
For skiers watching the calendar, it is still one of the more encouraging sights of September.
Snowguns Were Running on Jordan Peak
Saturday’s test focused on three trails around Jordan Peak: Lollapalooza, Excalibur and Rogue Angel.
Those trails are familiar early-season snowmaking targets at Sunday River. The resort has invested heavily in the Jordan side of the mountain in recent years, including installing nearly two miles of large snowmaking pipe connecting the North Peak booster system to the summit of Jordan Bowl.
That project tripled water capacity in the area, according to Sunday River.
Sunday River has also added hundreds of high-efficiency snowguns and upgraded pumping infrastructure elsewhere on the mountain.
In 2025, the resort completed a new booster pumphouse that increased snowmaking capacity around Locke and Barker peaks. The upgrade allows snowmaking crews to operate across Jordan, Barker and Locke simultaneously without sacrificing capacity elsewhere in the system.
Unofficial Networks followed construction of that pumphouse last summer, when the resort said the project would add another 2,000 gallons per minute of pumping capacity.
More Than 2,000 Snowguns Are Waiting for Cold Weather
Sunday River operates one of the largest snowmaking systems in New England, with more than 2,000 snowguns spread across its eight interconnected peaks.
The resort has repeatedly emphasized that the size of the system is only part of the equation. Modern automated guns, larger pipes and additional pumping capacity allow crews to take better advantage of relatively short cold-weather windows.
That can be particularly important early in the season, when a few hours of favorable overnight temperatures may be followed by much warmer daytime conditions.
Sunday River says its snowmaking team is generally ready to begin serious production when overnight temperatures fall into roughly the 25 to 30 degree range.
Saturday’s test happened well before that kind of sustained cold has settled into western Maine.
That distinction is important. Seeing snowguns running in September does not mean Sunday River is building a skiable base yet.
It means the system has been tested before the cold arrives.
Sunday River Is Testing New Snowmaking Technology This Year
There is also something new mixed into the resort’s snowmaking operation for 2026-27.
Sunday River is testing a new SMI Panther fan gun this season, making it one of a small number of U.S. resorts currently evaluating the technology, according to Snow Sports News.
Snowmaking manufacturers have increasingly focused on automation and efficiency, particularly during marginal weather. Current automated fan guns can monitor changing temperature and humidity and adjust water flow and other operating parameters as conditions change.
That matters at an Eastern resort like Sunday River, where getting the most snow possible out of limited early-season cold windows can directly influence how quickly terrain opens.
The resort has been pursuing that strategy for several years.
Sunday River said in 2025 that more than 550 high-efficiency HKD snowguns had been added over the preceding years, alongside major pumping and pipe improvements.
This Has Become a September Tradition
The timing of the test is becoming familiar.
Sunday River conducted its 2025 snowmaking test on Sept. 20, almost exactly one year before Saturday’s test. Snowguns ran on Lower Downdraft at North Peak that morning.
The resort’s test occurred considerably later in 2024, on Oct. 9. That year Sunday River tested guns on Rogue Angel, Excalibur and Lollapalooza before beginning sustained snowmaking later in October.
Sunday River eventually opened for the 2024-25 season on Nov. 14, although it managed a one-day Halloween skiing event before the regular season began.
Last winter, Sunday River opened Nov. 12.
So When Will Sunday River Actually Open?
That part is still weather dependent.
The latest Ikon Pass opening calendar lists Sunday River with a Nov. 15 target for the 2026-27 season.
Sunday River itself, however, has not announced a firm opening day and says its snowmaking team is prepared to begin production once temperatures cooperate.
That leaves the door open for an earlier start if New England gets a sustained blast of cold air.
It is why Sunday River remains one of the Eastern wild cards in the race to open first.
Saturday’s snow will not survive until opening day.
But the machinery that will build the base when winter finally arrives appears to be ready.
