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Skiers and riders at these New England resorts enjoy slopeside sweets via chairlift, candy mailbox
At some New England resorts, candy is part of the run — and fun.
It’s a sweet day on the slopes when skiers and riders are rewarded with candy during a run, and some New England ski resorts are making it easy.
Bretton Woods in Caroll, N.H. and Okemo in Ludlow, Vermont have added a sugary surprise for skiers and riders right on the mountain — in a warming hut-turned candy store at the top of a lift, and at a mailbox full of treats trailside.
Sweetz & More, New England’s largest candy store, opened its seventh retail location at the top of the Zephyr chairlift at Bretton Woods in the White Mountains this season. It replaced the former Chutters on the Mountain store, open for 15 years and housed in an old ski patrol warming hut, said Steve Jackson, Sweetz & More owner.
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“I like to tell people that we have 6 and a half stores, because I count Bretton Woods as half,” said Jackson with a laugh. “It’s only 350 square feet.”
The mountainside store at New Hampshire’s largest ski area offers 250 varieties of unwrapped candies in resealable pouches, 120 varieties of wrapped candy, 65 varieties of candy bars, 16 varieties of fudge, and more.
Restocking the candy has been an adventure. It is sometimes brought up by snowcat, and other times by Jackson himself.
“I jump on the lift with one tote, they then put a tote on the next chair, and the next chair, and the next chair,” Jackson said. “When I get off, I unload the totes and lug them all to the candy store. Walking in that snow in my L.L. Bean boots is one step forward and one step back.”
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He recalled a time this season when the snowmaking machines made it even more difficult.
“It’s like, you’ve got to be kidding me! I’ve got to walk through THAT to get to the building? It was nuts,” he said with a laugh.
He keeps the store at about 55 degrees, he said, because everyone is so bundled up when they come in. And his employee, who is not a skier, must close the store in time to make the last chair down at 3:30 p.m.
The challenges are worth it, said Jackson, whose life motto is “working hard to make the world a sweeter place.”
He said a little girl came into the store this season with her mother and at first couldn’t really see all the candy hanging on the walls and filling up the lines of baskets due to her goggles, helmet, and face mask.
“Her mom unbundled her and she said, ‘I’ve died and gone to heaven!'” Jackson said. “It just melted my heart.”
Kids at Okemo who come upon the mountain’s famous Candy Mailbox mid trail are equally as enamored, judging by parents’ posts on the resort’s Facebook page. The mailbox, which has been around for several seasons, is sought after each year.
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Some guests, in good fun, are intentionally vague on social media when asked where the mailbox is located, noting that finding it is part of the fun. Some TikTokkers have posted videos conveying their excitement after discovering it.
But Okemo has taken away some of the guess work by naming the trail.
“Looking for a super sweet adventure? Okemo is home to a famous attraction that keeps the sweet tooths coming back!” wrote Okemo officials on the resort’s Instagram account. “Come take a lap and find the candy mailbox on the Daybreak trail to grab a piece of the fun! Don’t forget to throw out your wrappers and share this with a friend who you want to ‘Trick or Ski’ with.”
A sign above the mailbox reads, “One piece please. Thank you.”
Okemo recently posted a video of its staff restocking the mailbox with miniature bags of M&Ms, Twix, Snickers, and more.
The mailbox even has its own Instagram account.
The sentiment of the candy dispenser is summed up in its Instagram account description: “The joy of mountain life and community coming together in love + lots of candy!”
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