About a year ago at a Bethel Rotary meeting, a man stood, paid his “happy dollar” — a Rotary tradition — and recommended lunch at the Foggy Goggle. He said the food at the popular Sunday River dining spot was good, and that he and his wife were entertained watching skiers navigate the mountain.

Visiting a ski resort not to ski but to dine? Why not?

And so, we’ve put together a guide for food options at Maine’s three largest ski resorts: Sunday River in Newry, Saddleback in Rangeley and Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley.

Sugarloaf

Sugarloaf Mountain at 5092 Sugarloaf Access Road in Carrabassett Valley — a little less than two and a half hours north of Portland — offers a diverse range of dining experiences. The Boyne-owned resort is celebrating its 75th year.

Dining options both on and off the mountain are listed on Sugarloaf’s website.

Ali Tripp and her family own a condominium at Sugarloaf and have many favorite places to eat. She especially likes the Eighty8 Donut Cafe in the base lodge, which serves “delicious, small, homemade donuts.”

The Sugarloaf Inn, which is ski-in/ski-out, has a large restaurant and bar and is good for families, she said.

Her daughter, Marion, said one nostalgic “must-go” spot is Bullwinkle’s, the mid-mountain restaurant and bar.

“Whenever I walk in there, I crave a hot chocolate mixed with coffee,” something she said her father introduced her to. She also gets the chicken tenders.

“Everything always tastes better mid-mountain and hungry from skiing,” Marion said.

Guests can spend an entire day dining on the mountain, said Jessica Sechler, Sugarloaf’s vice president of marketing.

“You might start your day with a hearty breakfast sandwich, break for Bullwinkle’s legendary bloody mary at lunch, enjoy Widowmaker’s après scene with live music in the afternoon and cap it all off with an intimate dinner at 45 North,” Sechler said. “It’s a full culinary journey that matches the variety of terrain we offer on the mountain.”

Sunday River

“You could eat your way across Sunday River,” said Luke Paliocha, of Newry. He skis all eight peaks spanning about 12 dining options at Sunday River two or three times every week.

Sunday River, 15 South Ridge, Newry, another Boyne resort, is less than two hours from Portland.

Paliocha remembers being drawn to the North Peak Lodge because of a large poster of a child with a cinnamon bun entering his wide-open mouth. It read, “Nom.”

“The cinnamon buns are hot and fresh. They are not like what you would get at a gas station — they are amazing,” Paliocha said.

The best hot chocolate is on a different part of the mountain. A food truck at Jordan Peak sells homemade donuts on the weekend and there is a line for the sought-after waffles at the Waffle Shack.

Ember and Camp are at the Grand Summit Hotel while Cho Sun, a Bethel Village favorite serving Japanese and Korean cuisine, has a South Ridge kiosk on the weekends.

Paliocha said while he doesn’t drink coffee, a friend regularly heads into Coffee Hound at South Ridge for a cappuccino when she’s there on the weekends.

Saddleback

Ski Magazine readers voted independently-owned Saddleback Mountain, at 976 Saddleback Mountain Road in Rangeley, the number one ski area in the east for 2026.

Of the three resorts, Saddleback is the smallest and the farthest from Portland by a little more than two and a half hours. But for Wally Elsmore, of Portland, and other mountain loyalists, the longer drive is worth it.

“It has a nice vibe. It is less corporate,” Elsmore said.

He and his family either bring a cooler with lunch to the base lodge or order a brick oven pizza delivered to their table.

Up a notch in cuisine and atmosphere is The Nest — at an elevation of over 3,620 feet, it offers expansive views. The building’s design fits the surrounding geography, Elsmore said. Picnic tables and fire pits are just outside. Portland-based Bissell Brothers Brewing is hosting an upcoming dinner there, with diners riding up in a snowmaking cat.

Other options are Katie Makes Desserts, The Pub, The Base Lodge and Sneaky Pete’s Bar.

Paliocha, who has also skied Saddleback, said the automatic sliding doors and a centrally located, easily accessible elevator at the main lodge make it the most adaptive-friendly ski lodge he has ever navigated.

He added that the lodge food the is “to-die-for bar food.”