Loon Proposes Massive Fourth-Peak Expansion

In its second announced expansion project this year, Loon has proposed four new lifts and 280 acres of terrain.

Background

New Hampshire’s Loon Mountain has unveiled plans for what could eventually become one of the largest ski resort expansions in the East in decades.

The proposed “Peak 4” expansion would add 280 acres of skiable terrain on a new mountain immediately west of the existing South Peak footprint, offering approximately 1,500 vertical feet of skiing accessed from a 2,324-foot summit. The project calls for four new aerial lifts: a detachable gondola, a detachable chairlift, and two fixed-grip chairs. Two new lodges are also proposed, including one at the summit and another around mid-mountain. 

Of the 280 proposed acres, 145 would consist of conventional trails and 135 would be tree-skiing terrain. Loon says the terrain would span a range of ability levels, but has placed particular emphasis on progression for beginner and intermediate skiers coming out of the recently developed Timbertown area. The new peak would also create a direct connection with downtown Lincoln, with the proposed gondola carrying guests between the town-side base and the new terrain. 

Unlike Loon’s recently-announced Black Ridge expansion, this project is still far from a done deal. An Environmental Assessment by the U.S. Forest Service is expected to take roughly a year, and additional federal and local approvals would follow. Loon also says that if approved, Peak 4 would be developed in phases, and there is currently no construction or opening timeline. 

A rendering of the new expansion, shown on the right. Loon says the trails shown here are a concept and subject to change.

Our Take

If Peak 4 is approved and ultimately built anything close to the current proposal, this could be the most consequential conventional terrain expansion at a major Eastern ski resort since Okemo developed Jackson Gore in the early 2000s. Jackson Gore began opening for the 2002-03 season and added an entirely new lift-served mountain pod and base area to Okemo; Peak 4 appears similarly ambitious in terms of fundamentally changing how Loon skis rather than simply adding a handful of new runs. 

Four lifts is a substantial buildout in its own right, and the combination of a gondola and another detachable chair suggests this would function as a major standalone pod rather than a peripheral expansion. The direct connection toward downtown Lincoln could be especially useful, potentially creating another meaningful gateway into the resort while reducing the need for everyone to start their day from Loon’s existing base areas.

The expansion also appears poised to make South Peak significantly more appealing to beginners and lower intermediates. Timbertown gave that side of Loon a genuine beginner pod, but there’s currently a fairly substantial jump between that terrain and much of the rest of the mountain. Loon specifically says Peak 4 is intended to provide that missing progression step. 

The area Loon intends to turn into this terrain expansion, overlaid on the mountain itself.

But at least from what we know today, Peak 4 doesn’t appear to introduce much conventional trail terrain that Loon doesn’t already have. The emphasis seems likely to be on beginner and intermediate cruisers, perhaps supplemented by a handful of steeper trails, rather than the type of sustained expert terrain that would dramatically change Loon’s appeal for thrillseekers.

And the 280-acre headline number deserves some context. Nearly half of that acreage—135 acres—is proposed tree skiing. Exactly what those glades will look like, how extensively they will be cleared, and how reliably they’ll be skiable during lean New England winters remains to be seen. Loon itself stresses that the current map is only an artistic rendering rather than a finalized trail layout. 

That said, Peak 4 makes considerably more sense when viewed alongside Black Ridge, Loon’s separately approved 272-acre expert-only glade expansion scheduled for 2027-28. Black Ridge is aimed squarely at advanced and expert skiers, while Peak 4 appears designed to fill out the other end of Loon’s terrain spectrum. Together, the projects could transform Loon from today’s 403-acre resort into a dramatically larger and more diverse mountain. 

For now, Peak 4 remains a proposal rather than a project with a shovel-in-the-ground timeline. But it’s one of the most ambitious Eastern ski resort concepts we’ve seen in quite some time, and we’ll be watching closely to see whether—and in what form—it makes the jump from concept to reality.

Considering a ski trip to the Northeast? Check out our Loon review, as well as our East Coast ski resort rankings here.