CAMDEN — Given the amount of recent rain and deteriorating ski conditions, the Camden Snow Bowl is closed.

The Select Board made the decision at its March 6 meeting upon hearing from Snow Bowl Interim Director Holly Anderson, who described the rapidly melting snow on the trails, and the difficulty in keeping the mountain maintained for skiers.

Last weekend, conditions were so poor, the upper mountain was closed. At that point, there was hope that Maine’s weather would return to its more seasonal habits (March can be the snowiest month of the year, as experienced in years past), but that is not in the immediate forecast. Rain and more rain is anticipated this coming weekend.

As such, the normal end-of-the-season celebrations, including an uphill-downhill race and the annual cardboard box race have also been canceled.

Despite the disappointment, public opinion posted on the Snow Bowl’s Facebook page with the announcement was positive.

“Great work AND upper Mussel Ridge was open to bomb down which thrilled me to no end!!”

“Thank you Snow Bowl crew! You kept it going as long as you could and it was great while it lasted.”

“Thanks to the staff and volunteers who make the mountain the best. Groomers who are out late at night in the rain, patrollers who keep us safe and lifties who make us smile.”

The following is from the Snow Bowl, March 7:

“The Snow Bowl has made the difficult decision tonight to close for the season effective immediately.

“We typically stay open through the end of March, budgeting for 60 days of operation, but warm weather and rain arrived Feb. 28 and has persisted. This unexpected, early warm-up, accompanied by periods of rain and fog, has rapidly made conditions on the trails unsafe. The groomers are unable to traverse the trails due to the thinning snow and water running underneath it. Warm temperatures and rain have also eroded snow leading up to and covering the chairlift loading and unloading ramps, making them unusable. Hosmer Pond is open water preventing use of the toboggan chute, and the snow on the tubing hill has melted down to the grass on the hill with standing water. We made it to day 52 of our intended 60-day season.

“This turn of events has left us all feeling robbed of a normal end to the season, but there is also much to celebrate. We opened for the season Dec. 26, got the triple chairlift spinning two weeks earlier than last year, and we welcomed lots of school children on the slopes in the Fourth Grade Learn to Ski Program. We hosted successful high school, middle school and Friday Night races, taught hundreds of skiers and snowboarders of all ages the basics of having fun on the mountain and pulled off the 2024 CamJam terrain park competition to cap the season. Jason and his Snow Dogs crew kept everybody fed and satiated with lots of hot chocolate, and live music filled the lodge each Friday night. The 33rd annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships was a huge success, with two full days of racing on the Jack Williams Toboggan Chute and several thousands of people descending on Tobogganville that first weekend in February. It was the most financially successful Toboggan Nationals to date with tremendous support from returning and new sponsors.

“Those successes and milestones could not have been possible without the pre- and in-season work of the snowmaking masters who took advantage of every moment of decent weather through the end of February to fire up the snow guns. And then the groomer operators did their magic all season and moved around the huge piles of manmade snow, placing it exactly where it was needed each day. Every morning, they fixed the previous day's ruts and grooves and left behind trails blanketed with long lines of corduroy for the early morning skiers and riders to bliss out on.

“The Snow Bowl was once again blessed this season to have a strong contingent of staff and volunteers assisting in a variety of roles. Some worked indoors, and many worked outside in the elements. All of them made it possible to keep the doors open, the lifts loaded and unloaded safely, and the cars parked in straight lines (lol). They were a great team, working to help each other -- and all of you!

Thank you to all of you who spent an hour, or a day, at the Snow Bowl this season. We do it all for you!”