Hermon Mountain Ski Area Issues Update regarding transition to new owners
04/March/2026
There were very few people in the Bangor region who wanted to imagine the Hermon Mountain ski area becoming house lots. Yet for a stretch of anxious months stretching into the 2025–26 ski season, that outcome seemed not merely possible but probable. Now, with a local ownership group in the final stages of completing a purchase, the mountain that has served generations of Eastern Maine skiers appears to have pulled back from the edge — and those who know it best say the story from here could be the most exciting one it has yet told.
Hermon Mountain Ski Area has issued an update regarding the transition to the new owners. They say:
"We’re excited to share an update with the community regarding the transition of Hermon Mountain to the new owners.
Things are moving forward, and the incoming ownership team is energized about what lies ahead. There has been steady progress behind the scenes, and we’re truly grateful for the continued support and patience from the community throughout this process.
As we look ahead, our vision is to build on the strong foundation already here while expanding Hermon Mountain into a true four-season destination. In addition to winter operations, we’re planning to introduce new opportunities for weddings, private events, corporate gatherings, and community celebrations, taking advantage of the mountain’s unique views and welcoming atmosphere. We are also exploring the addition of disc golf and other outdoor activities that make the mountain an enjoyable place to visit well beyond ski season. What else would you like to see here?
Food will be an important part of that experience. We intend to expand our offerings to include hot sandwiches, easy takeout options, fresh mini cake donuts, and other seasonal treats while continuing to offer the beloved mountain pizza & doughboys! Whether you’re attending an event, spending time outdoors, or simply looking for a quick and delicious meal, we want Hermon Mountain to be a place you can stop in and enjoy.
Hermon Mountain has always been more than just a ski hill — it’s part of the fabric of this community. We’re committed to strengthening that role by creating year-round experiences, supporting local partnerships, and providing a welcoming space for families and friends to gather."
Hermon Mountain first opened to the public in 1960, growing from a modest rope-tow operation into a full-service family ski area with three chairlifts, 20 marked trails across 67.5 acres, a tubing hill, and a lodge that has functioned for decades as an informal community hub for the city of Bangor and its surrounding towns. For three decades the mountain has been family-operated, and it remains the only ski area close to Bangor that still offers downhill skiing after all others in the region either closed or were abandoned.
That singular status only amplified the alarm when, in October 2025, owners Bill and Marlene Whitcomb confirmed what many had feared: this would be their last season. "It's time," Bill Whitcomb said. "It's time to move on to retirement." The couple had put the 67.5-acre property and business on the market in 2022, listed at $2.1 million, but after years without a viable buyer — including at least one financing attempt that ultimately collapsed — they had run out of patience. Their message was blunt: if the property was not sold by the end of the season, they planned to auction it off, with the alternative of converting the land to housing.
The response from the local community was immediate. For anyone who had learned to ski at Hermon, or sent their children there, or watched the Whitcombs run the place with the kind of hands-on dedication that big resort operators can rarely replicate, the prospect of losing it was not abstract. Special Olympics Winter Games had been held there for years, with coaches describing how Bill and Marlene Whitcomb had put their heart and soul into every detail of the event. The mountain was, in the most literal sense, irreplaceable.
In mid-December 2025, a new group with strong local ties to the area stepped up, entering into a contract to buy the ski area. The sale had not yet closed, but the owners reported that momentum was strong and the outlook encouraging. "Most importantly, this group is committed to keeping Hermon Mountain a ski area and honoring its long-standing role in the community," the Whitcombs stated.
By February 2026, work was continuing toward finalising the deal, with the new ownership group actively engaged and the mountain remaining open with all of its trails available. The identities of the incoming owners had not been publicly disclosed, but their intentions had been shared openly — and they went well beyond simply keeping the lifts turning.
The ambitions of the new ownership group signal a meaningful shift in how Hermon Mountain might be experienced in the years ahead. Their stated vision is to build on the strong foundation already in place while expanding the mountain into a true four-season destination. In addition to winter operations, they are planning to introduce new opportunities for weddings, private events, corporate gatherings, and community celebrations, taking advantage of the mountain's views and welcoming atmosphere. They are also exploring the addition of disc golf and other outdoor activities.
The new ownership group aims to expand the food and drink offerings and host more events on the property. For a mountain that, in the words of those who know it well, has historically gone quiet once the snow melts, this represents a significant reimagining of the site's commercial potential.
The Whitcombs had always hoped for something like this. When they originally decided to sell in 2022, they expressed hope that whoever bought the mountain would have the energy to take it to the next level — expanding beyond its current capacity to offer summertime activities. The incoming group appears to have arrived with precisely that energy.
The mountain itself has been well maintained and offers a solid foundation for expansion. It boasts 60 acres of skiable terrain with a vertical drop of 350 feet and a longest run of just under one mile. Night skiing has long been available, and the tubing park draws its own loyal following separate from the ski and snowboard crowd. For a new ownership group looking to build programming and events around an established outdoor venue, the infrastructure is already largely in place.
The community, for its part, has been invited in. As the Whitcombs prepared to hand over the reins, they turned to social media to ask the community to weigh in on what it would like to see happen to what they described as this important part of the region. The response spoke to how deeply the mountain is embedded in local life — and how much expectation now rests on the shoulders of those about to take it over.
That expectation is, in its own way, the highest possible tribute to what Bill and Marlene Whitcomb built and sustained for more than four decades. They kept a community ski area alive when nearly every comparable hill in the region had already disappeared, and they refused to simply cash out when the moment to leave arrived. They waited for the right fit.
If the deal closes as anticipated, the skiers of Bangor and eastern Maine will owe them considerably more than a thank-you. They will owe them a mountain.
New Hermon Mountain is located in Hermon, Maine, approximately ten minutes from downtown Bangor. The 67.5-acre ski area features 20 trails, three chairlifts, a vertical drop of 350 feet, and a tubing park. It first opened to skiing in 1960.
