When did the Kingston run at Sir Sam's last have a lift you could rely on? For several seasons the answer has been unclear. The two chairs that served the chalet side of the Eagle Lake hill were retired in 2025. According to The Highlander, they "had not been able to operate with any measurable frequency in recent years."
That context changes how to read this winter's big news. The Doppelmayr quad going up beside the base chalet isn't really an expansion. It puts back the part of Sir Sam's that has been running short, and it is the first large project paid for under the hill's new community owners.
Two retirements, one replacement
The Eagle View double chair and the Red Rocket chairlift were both retired in 2025, after 54 and 43 years of service. The Highlander reported that both had reached the end of their serviceable lifespan. In practice, that meant skiers on the chalet side were often working around lifts that didn't turn.
The replacement is a Doppelmayr 4-CLF Alpen Star chairlift built on the Kingston run, where the Eagle View used to be. Sir Sam's says it "will replace the former Eagle View double chair lift and service all chalet side runs while providing easy access to the far side of the hill." So one modern chair now does the job that two aging ones were meant to do.
The resort's published specifications:
- Lift type: fixed-grip quad, built by Doppelmayr
- Length: 338 metres
- Vertical rise: 74 metres
- Speed: 2.3 metres per second
- Capacity: 2,028 people per hour
- Investment: $4,000,000
- Project start: May 2026
The capacity figure is the one that matters most on a February Saturday. The old double carried two people per chair, and lately it often carried none at all. A quad running at 2,028 riders an hour is meant to move the base-area crowd uphill without lines building outside the chalet. General manager Dave Bishop told The Highlander the goal was "short lift lines, a variety of terrain, and the perfect atmosphere for beginner and experienced ski and ride enthusiasts."
The hill got taller, too
The Highlander reported that construction would raise the hill by nearly three metres, and that a new access run would be cut to the far side of the hill, where a third chairlift sits.
That access run ties the chalet side to the far side, so a skier can load at the base chalet, reach the top of Kingston and carry on across the hill instead of treating the two sides as separate areas. Canoe FM described the new chair as "improving access to runs across the entire resort."
When all of it is running, Canoe FM reports that Sir Sam's will operate five lifts this winter, three of them quad chairs.
Where construction stands in mid-October
Building a chairlift in a single Haliburton summer is a tight schedule. Sir Sam's construction gallery lays out the order of the work:
- Doppelmayr arrives on site and a groundbreaking ceremony is held
- Rock blasting prep and dynamite setting
- Tower bases placed
- Rebar and concrete poured at the top terminal, finishing with a completed footing
- Cross arms and sheave wheels arrive
- Digging and footing installation at the bottom terminal
The resort's events page then announced a Helicopter Watch Party for Sunday, September 20, 2026, saying the new quad was "nearing completion" and that the towers would be flown in by helicopter. A YouTube video uploaded September 27 shows the helicopter "flying the towers in place." The exact install date and the number of towers haven't been published. Neither has any notice that the lift has been tested or certified for riders.
The chair doesn't have a public name yet, either. Sir Sam's ran a naming contest, and The Highlander reported that entries ran from August 10 to September 15. According to Canoe FM, a panel of staff, board members and community representatives would choose the winner. The name was due to be announced at the Thanksgiving Festival on October 10. As of today, the resort's chairlift page still says it "will be announced."
Why a $4 million chair is a community decision
Sir Sam's could only make this bet because of how its ownership has changed over the past five years.
The Bishop family founded the hill in 1965. After 56 years, they sold it to Doug Wilkinson and his family, a sale The Highlander reported on November 2, 2021. In March 2024, Wilkinson offered equity to local investors in five-percent blocks while keeping 20 percent himself. The Highlander's report described a proposed community governance structure. By December 2024, the same paper was calling Sir Sam's a community-owned hill, with six families invested and Mike Greenley chairing the board. The resort's history page now lists nine local community members as shareholders. It also notes that Dave Bishop was appointed general manager in 2025, which brings the founding family's name back to day-to-day operations.
The old chairs were retired in 2025, the year after community ownership took hold. Their replacement is the largest single project announced since. The Highlander presented the quad as part of an "ongoing modernization plan." The earlier steps in that plan were smaller and mostly off the slopes:
- Upper chalet, 2021–22: a renovation added an updated dining area, an expanded kitchen, a relocated bar and a takeout window on the deck. Rhubarb on the Hill opened there on December 3, 2021.
- Lookout tower, 2024: first announced in summer 2022, the 60-foot observation tower opened on Thanksgiving weekend 2024. The Highlander reported about $450,000 spent on it to that point.
- The chalet-side quad, 2026: $4,000,000, about nine times what had gone into the tower.
The first two projects made Sir Sam's a better place to spend time between runs and in the off-season. The quad is the first one aimed at the main reason anyone goes there in January, which is getting up the hill.
The practical details for this winter
Opening day. Sir Sam's lists Saturday, December 12, 2026 as opening day for the 2026/27 season. The listing is marked tentative and weather-dependent.
Season passes. The resort's 2026/27 pass page sets prices in three tiers, all subject to HST:
| Pass | March sale | Thanksgiving sale | In season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family | $2,995 | $3,145 | $3,305 |
| Midweek | $610 | $640 | $670 |
The March sale closed March 31, 2026. The Thanksgiving-sale window runs through October 12, 2026, which is today. After that, the in-season prices apply.
Lunch at the top. Sir Sam's food page now lists the upper-chalet venue as the Eagle View Restaurant, with winter hours posted. The page doesn't use the Rhubarb on the Hill name. The name Eagle View, which belonged to the retired double chair, lives on at the restaurant.
Before the snow. The tunnel "magic carpet" and the lookout tower have both been part of Sir Sam's fall program, with tunnel rides offered on October 3 and 4 and chairlift rides scheduled through Thanksgiving. The ski season is the first real test of the quad. The lift will be judged by how a busy weekend at the base chalet feels compared with past winters when the Kingston run had no chair you could count on.
At Birchwood Real Estate, we follow changes like this closely because they shape what a Haliburton winter looks like for owners near Eagle Lake. If a property near the hill is part of your plans, Ryan Harkin can show you what this season's changes mean for it. Start with Get My Valuation.
