Mount Jefferson Ski Area, Maine: on the market after a 2026 warning

Night skiing was offered four nights a week for the 1965-66 season, and the Bangor Daily News called Mt. Jefferson "somewhat of a model for a small area," per the same source. Co-owner Byron Delano estimated 25,000 skier visits for 1968-69, saying, "We in no way ever hope to give Sugarloaf a run for the dollar" and "I have yet to meet a person who said that he didn't enjoy the day at Mt. Jefferson." The 1969-70 season "kicked off after Christmas," but a snow shortage quickly limited it to six days by mid-February; Delano told the Portland Press Herald, "There's been nothing like this before. In the past two years we haven't lost over two weekends. This year we've only been open one."

The area was "likely transferred to Mt. Jefferson Ski Area, LLC between 1978 and 1980, with Byron and Susan Delano becoming the sole owners," per New England Ski History. In February 1990, the Delanos marked the area's 25th anniversary. Following the 1990-91 season, the Delanos acquired 40 more acres to the west of the ski area, and two new trails were cut on the new land; a second T-Bar was likely added for the 1994-95 season, alongside long-term hopes of installing snowmaking. Co-founder Byron Delano died December 11, 1996, at age 74; Byron Delano Jr. continued family ownership as president. Co-founder Floyd Cobb died September 14, 2014, at age 94.

Per NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com's "Mt. Jefferson Sold" story, published January 27, 2016, the Delano family sold the ski area to Ken Zimmerman's Mt. Jefferson Ski Resort, LLC in early 2016; that story states only that the area had been "partly or fully owned by the Delano family since the facility's inception," without giving a specific number of years. Zimmerman's plans included adding snow tubing and expanding to four-season operations, and the Bunny Slope was soon converted to a tubing area, per New England Ski History. A handle tow was installed in 2007. Co-founder Bernard Staples died January 29, 2017, at age 95; former owner Susan Delano died March 12, 2017, at age 89, her obituary noting no one had perfected the recipe for the donuts she served at the base lodge. The 2019-20 season "was cancelled due to 'unforeseen circumstances and lack of snow,'" but despite COVID-19 restrictions, the area reopened for 2020-21. Co-founder Roland Scribner died March 10, 2022, at age 92.

In a mid-January 2026 Facebook post, per NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com's "Mt. Jefferson Ski Area Hints at Closure" story, Mt. Jefferson announced this would be "most likely our last season ever!", adding in a follow-up post, "we will keep going if we have a huge season and it snows lots early next year." Another Facebook post the same day read: "With aging lifts and lack of natural snow it was inevitable there is absolutely no budget for snow making and never will be without a chairlift installed..." Despite that warning, per New England Ski History's year-by-year lift ticket table, the 2025-26 season ran, opening January 31, 2026 and closing March 8, 2026, with a $44.99 adult weekend full-day ticket. In 2022, owner Kevin Zimmerman (later reporting's spelling of the same Ken Zimmerman named in the 2016 sale story) told WABI he had plans to sell lumber and firewood to generate capital for snowmaking, a chairlift, and lodging; per NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com's "Mt. Jefferson Ski Area Placed on Market" story, although logging took place and firewood was sold, no major on-mountain investments were made. In 2025, a housing-lot subdivision was approved on the back side of the mountain, with two properties sold that year, leaving the remaining ski-area tract at 142 acres; the ski resort's LLC "faced two town tax liens in 2025, which were later released." As of Tuesday, August 25, 2026, per the same story, Mt. Jefferson was placed on the market at $3.5 million by NextHome Experience, the 152-acre property including "a 10-acre residential subdivision, as well as a firewood business." The same article named the only other ski areas still operating along the I-95 corridor near Bangor as Hermon Mountain and Pinnacle Ski Club.

The Lee Historical Museum is housed in "the historic Elmwood Hall building" that "once served as the town hall and a vibrant social center, hosting town meetings, and other community events," described as "a three-story Victorian-era building," per the Town of Lee, Maine's community website. The museum features "period room settings, artifacts, genealogical records, and a carriage house," with private tours available by appointment. Silver Lake Inn describes itself, per its own website, as "located off the beaten path at the end of Silver Lake in Lee, Maine," offering three private guest bedrooms and a common gathering room called "The Bear Den."