Holiday Valley Invests $5 Million in Resort Improvements
Holiday Valley Invests $5 Million in Resort Improvements
Holiday Valley is investing more than $5 million in upgrades across the resort, with improvements to snowmaking, technology, amenities and golf, plus a new high-speed quad planned for Cindy’s Run.
Although summer lasts only a few short months, a lot can happen during that time. Such is the case for Ellicottville’s own Holiday Valley Resort. This past summer the resort has invested over $5 million in a plentitude of capital improvement projects. Upgrades will touch multiple areas of the guest experience - from snowmaking capabilities to infrastructure upgrades, to hospitality and amenities refreshes, to golf course repairs and more. Improvements include new RFID readers and enhanced online pass reloading options, as well as upgrades to Sky High Adventure Park, the Holiday Valley Training Center, McCarty Café, and the Double Black Diamond Golf Course.
But perhaps one of the most anticipated upgrades is the one that is expected to be completed by the start of the 2027-2028 season. That project will be the replacement of the current fixed-gear chairlift on Cindy’s Run with a new, state-of-the-art high-speed Doppelmayr quad.
EllicottvilleNOW got the inside scoop from Holiday Valley Director of Marketing, Dash Hegeman, on what skiers and riders can expect both for this coming season and next.
“One of the things we’re most proud of at Holiday Valley is our ability to continually reinvest in the resort,” he said. “We want to respect the character and traditions that have made Holiday Valley special for nearly 70 years while continuing to improve the experience for today’s guests and future generations.”
With regards to the new lift on Cindy’s Run, Hegeman said that the initiative had been in the works for a while. “Upgrading Cindy’s is something our team has been discussing and planning for quite some time, and a great deal of thought went into both the replacement of the lift and its new alignment,” he explained. “One of the biggest benefits of the project is what it will do for the overall skiing and riding experience in that area. By relocating the lift to the skiers’ right of Foxfire, we believe we can create better flow out of the base area while also opening up Cindy’s itself; removing the existing lift towers from the center of the slope will create a wider, more open feel and make an already popular trail even more enjoyable for our guests.”
With any capital improvement campaign of this stature, there will be technical aspects to consider, and Cindy’s Run proved no different. “As with any major project, we looked at the experience from several perspectives: uphill capacity, skier and rider circulation, access from the base area, the skiing experience on Cindy’s, and how the new lift fits into the mountain for the long term. The new Doppelmayr high-speed quad gives us an opportunity to improve several of those elements at once,” he shared.
Undoubtedly, guests will already notice a difference to the run when they hit the slopes this winter as tree clear is currently underway.
“The biggest changes guests should notice are improved uphill transportation and better circulation in this part of the mountain,” Hegeman continued. “The high-speed quad will provide a faster ride than the current fixed-grip lift, while its new location is intended to improve the way guests move into and through the Cindy’s area. The repositioning of the lift out of the center of the run will give the trail a new feel and will provide “a more open skiing and riding experience.”
“There will naturally be site work associated with installing and relocating a lift of this scale, but the goal is not to fundamentally change the character of Cindy’s - it is to make the overall experience in that area better - from the base of the lift to the top and back down the trail,” he said.
Planning a move of this scale requires the efforts of several different departments, including the operations team as well as the vendor, Doppelmayr. “A chairlift replacement is a significant undertaking and requires extensive planning well before guests see construction activity on the mountain,” Hegeman explained. “Our team works closely with Doppelmayr and other project partners on engineering, surveying, lift alignment, terminal locations, site preparation, permitting, construction logistics, and integration with existing mountain infrastructure. There is also a tremendous amount of operational planning involved; we have to consider how the lift will interact with surrounding trails, snowmaking, grooming, guest circulation, and other mountain operations.” Hegeman added that the long-term guest experience and mountain operations played major factors in the determination to move the positioning of the new quad.
No financial information has been released for the new lift project at this time as the numbers are still being crunched, according to Hegeman. “The new lift represents a significant, multi-million-dollar investment in Holiday Valley, and we are very pleased to be in a position where we can continue reinvesting in the resort and making meaningful improvements to the guest experience,” Hegeman said. “For us, this project is about more than replacing a chairlift; it is a long-term investment in the mountain and in how our guests will experience Holiday Valley for decades to come.”
“The largest portion of the 2026 investment is focused on continued modernization and automation of our snowmaking system,” Hegeman continued. “That remains a major priority because it improves our ability to take advantage of favorable snowmaking windows and provide a consistent winter experience for our guests.”
With several capital improvement projects underway, change is certainly in the air at Holiday Valley Resort, and guests will notice a difference with the start of the upcoming ski season. Hegeman indicated that some of the more noticeable enhancements include continued snowmaking enhancements and new RFID access technology, which will allow eligible passes to be reloaded online before guests even step foot onto the resort.
Additionally, the resort will celebrate its 70th anniversary during the 2027-2028. “We’re still working on what that celebration will include, but we see it as an opportunity to recognize both Holiday Valley’s history and the generations of guests, employees, and members of the Ellicottville community who have helped make the resort what it is today,” he said.
When asked how the capital improvement projects pertain to the overall vision of the resort, Hegeman explained that it all boils down to the entire guest experience. “A major new chairlift is certainly a highly visible investment, but snowmaking, technology, lodging, dining, training facilities, and our summer operations are important pieces of that experience as well,” he shared. “As we approach our 70th anniversary during the 2027-28 winter season, we think these investments demonstrate that Holiday Valley continues to look forward. We are investing in infrastructure that will serve the resort for years to come while staying focused on what has always mattered most to us: providing a great, independent ski resort experience for our guests and remaining an important part of the Ellicottville and Western New York communities.”