About twenty red lift chairs from Sugar Loaf are in storage. The plan is to powder coat them and set them back around the mountain as places to sit. Some will face the big views and some will be tucked into the woods. Chad Jordan, infrastructure manager for the Leelanau Conservancy, says a few will stay off the map on purpose: "We'll put some Easter eggs on the property, and they won't be on the map. But if you find it, you find it."
The chairs show how the Conservancy is handling the whole property. Sugar Loaf opens to the public this Friday, October 9, at 4500 S. Sugar Loaf Mountain Road in Cedar. The new public mountain is being laid over the ski hill's old routes, so the pieces come back in the order the resort left them. The parts the resort left usable open first. The new trail system and gathering spaces come later.
Friday Opens the Road the Snowcat Used
The Conservancy's opening event runs Friday from 5 p.m. until dusk. Visitors can walk the new Summit Trail, take in the views and talk with Conservancy staff. 9&10 News calls it the next step in turning the former resort into a public recreation area.
The Summit Trail is short and steady. The Glen Arbor Sun walked it on September 10 with Conservancy staff. They describe a half-mile route from the parking lot to the top that follows the old Snowcat path. It climbs 449 vertical feet to a summit 1,059 feet above sea level, one of the highest points in Leelanau County.
Parking is on two crushed-gravel lots at two trailheads, with room for more than 120 cars. The Conservancy plans to plant 138 native trees and shrubs late this autumn as a buffer between the parking area and the Sugar Loaf townhouses.
As of this week, the Conservancy hasn't published regular daily hours, a dog policy or visitor rules for after opening day. The FAQ on its Sugar Loaf page still says the property is "not yet open," even though the opening announcement sits at the top of the same page. If you plan to bring a dog or come at an odd hour, check that page before you go.
What the Resort Left Behind
The flat ground at the base used to hold the lodge, an outdoor pool and tennis courts. From there you look north past the steep run once called "Awful Awful" and its twin, "The Wall," which still shows a scar from skiers. Further up the hill, staff have found irrigation pipes from the snowmaking system and concrete bases from the lift towers. An old red bull wheel from a ski lift sits in tall grass on the neighboring property.
Jordan built Sugar Loaf's first snowboard park and spent his winters there growing up. "I don't need to force myself (to see this place as a ski resort)," he told the Sun. "I can still see the chairlifts and people yelling off the lifts when you hit your jumps!"
That memory is part of the plan. The first two phases use what the resort left behind, its Snowcat route and its open slopes. The later phases add new trail and new facilities.
| Phase | What opens | Why it's on that timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, Oct. 9, 2026 | Summit Trail and parking lots | The trail follows the existing Snowcat path |
| Winter 2026–27 | Human-powered skiing on the legacy runs | Staff say the old runs are "pretty open still" |
| Spring 2027, estimated | About 9.5 miles of switchback mountain bike trail | A new trail system, estimated by Conservancy staff |
| Initial five-year plan | Summit pavilion, plus a picnic area and kids' play area at the parking lot | New construction |
The View From the Top Runs Two Ways
From the summit, the Sun's group looked northwest and saw Little Traverse Lake, Good Harbor Bay, Pyramid Point, the Manitou Islands and the Crib lighthouse. Conservancy staff gave Interlochen Public Radio a longer list. On a clear day it includes North Fox Island, South Fox, Whaleback and Lime Lake, along with Lake Michigan, farmland and forest.
The view on the way down is closer and easy to miss. Garone pointed it out toward the parking lot: "There's a sweet old barn there. You see cherry orchards, apple orchards, wine grape trellis over there, some big open hay fields. You get the entire agricultural piece."
The summit is also a good place to watch birds. Jordan says he has watched raptors circling at the peak. In one fifteen-minute stretch he saw an oriole, an indigo bunting and a scarlet tanager. Garone mentioned a red-tailed hawk that often flies over the bottom of Awful Awful.
Winter Comes Back First Because the Runs Never Grew In
Chairlifts and rope tows won't return. Skiing and snowboarding will, as long as you climb up under your own power. The Conservancy is working with the Michigan Backcountry Alliance on what this winter could include, such as splitboarding, alpine touring, telemark and glade skiing.
"A lot of the legacy ski runs are pretty open still, so there's not a lot of work that we need to get those in shape," Jordan said. "This winter these will all be available and open to folks to ski."
Cross-country skiers should expect less for now. The Conservancy hopes to groom parallel tracks but hasn't committed to them. The same goes for the sledding hill, nature play area and snowshoeing. They're part of the long-term vision, and nothing published so far says they'll be ready this season.
The Bike Trails Are the Part Still to Come
From the Summit Trail, a narrow side path splits off toward the mountain bike network. That network is roughly 9.5 miles of switchbacks, and Jordan estimates it will open in spring 2027. The trails average a 7 to 10 percent grade, which the Sun describes as beginner level. Stewardship project manager Caleb Garone said he and Jordan were "pretty blown away" that the ascent trail could reach the summit and still stay at a beginner grade. "It's not just elite mountain bikers that will be able to ride here."
Mountain biking has history here too. In the late 1980s Sugar Loaf hosted the National Off Road Bicycle Association's national championships. Some of the riders went on to the Olympics and the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Jordan also oversaw the 27 miles of bike trail at the Conservancy's Palmer Woods property. "This is the very first place I ever rode a mountain bike," he said.
How a Closed Resort Became Conservancy Land
The resort closed in March 2000. For two decades it sat idle while rumors swirled about who owned it, and the derelict lodge stood until it was finally torn down. The buyer that bought the property in December 2020 stayed anonymous until March 2026. The Leelanau Ticker then identified it as the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation, which had been involved in Sugar Loaf's original development in the 1960s. The foundation paid to demolish the hotel and clean up the site. It then gave the land to the Conservancy, and the transfer was completed on March 11, 2026.
The gift depended on fundraising. The Conservancy's $8 million campaign covers trail construction, restoration, stewardship and infrastructure, and none of it pays for the land. The Conservancy had raised $6.4 million by July 2025 and reached the full $8 million that September. For nearly three years, the staff and board who knew about the plan couldn't talk about it in public. Their internal code word was "French toast."
Coverage puts the property at about 285 to 288 acres. The airstrip and golf course aren't part of the project.
Fitting the Mountain Into a Cedar October
The hike to the summit is about a half-mile each way, so it fits easily into a morning or afternoon in the village. Here are the dates and places on Cedar's calendar this month. Most business hours below come from undated pages, so call ahead.
- Friday, Oct. 9, 5 p.m. to dusk. Sugar Loaf opening celebration. RSVP through the Conservancy.
- Sunday, Oct. 11. Vineyard at Sunset 5K at French Valley Vineyard, 3655 S. French Road, with a free kids' run and the 5K starting at 5 p.m. Proceeds support Leelanau Montessori Public School Academy. French Valley's visit page lists the tasting room as closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
- Oct. 14. Bel Lago, 6530 S. Lake Shore Drive, has live music on its events calendar.
- Any day but Monday. Cedar Tavern lists itself as closed Mondays, with a Sunday breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon. The Greene family has owned it since May 2025.
- Before the drive up. Bunting's Cedar Market at 9054 S. Cedar Road is a grocery, deli and smokehouse that opens early. Cedar River Coffee says its hours change with the season, Mondays and Tuesdays included.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 3 to 5 p.m. The Cedar Chamber's free Trunk or Treat downtown.
Late this autumn, the Conservancy plans to plant its 138 trees and shrubs between the parking lot and the townhouses. Once snow comes, the old runs will be open again to anyone willing to climb them.
The return of a public mountain changes the map around Cedar, Good Harbor Bay and Little Traverse Lake. If you'd like to talk about what the reopening means for properties around Cedar and Good Harbor Bay, Peter Fisher is glad to set up a private Leelanau County consultation.
