The mountain plays an important role in the Mars Hill community, and overlooks the Saint John Valley.

By virtue of its height and Northeast location, the summit of Mars Hill is the first place in the contiguous United States to see the Sun rise for nearly half of the year, from March 25 to September 18.

[citation needed] Mars Hill underwent an $85 million wind power project in the fall of 2006.

First Wind installed 28 General Electric 1.5 megawatt turbines along the top and northern sections of the mountain.

The towers, which are composed of three support sections stacked one on top of another with a combined weight of 20,000 pounds, are 262 ft (80 m) tall.