Twenty-five years ago, a popular ski resort in the Leelanau Peninsula, the Sugar Loaf ski resort, closed. Now the resort might be coming back.
SVP 45 LLC, the anonymous owners of the resort, have agreed to donate Sugar Loaf to the Leelanau Conservancy. The deal is contingent on the conservancy raising $8 million. So far, $6. 4 million has already been raised by private donors.
The conservancy plans to open the land for cross-country skiing, hiking and biking. They're also looking to add pavilions and community gathering areas.
“We spent a good year-and-a-half putting together, exploring a plan to do just that at Sugarloaf. And when we put numbers on paper, and what that would cost, the amount was $8 million,” said Tom Nelson, the conservancy’s executive director.
Nelson says they're looking to get fundraising done by the end of the year.
"If we're able to do that, the title to the property would transfer to conservancy early in 2026.”
Sugar Loaf was purchased in 2020 by an unknown buyer, who funded efforts to clean the facility up. The conservancy says cleanup work is done, and work will start after the fundraising goal is met.
"I've never seen anything like it in my 20 years, in my career here at the Leelanau Conservancy,” Nelson said on the community response. “Just the overwhelming joy and relief that something really wonderful will happen there."
Two information sessions on the Sugar Loaf plan will be held over the next several weeks. The first will be at Solon Township Hall on July 30 and the other at Glen Arbor Township Hall on August 5.
