When Do Colorado Ski Resorts Open? The 2026-27 Opening Dates
Last verified September 24, 2026. Every date below came from the resort’s own website or its parent company’s own press release, checked on that date.
When do Colorado ski resorts open? The honest answer in late September is that most of them have not said yet, and the ones that have are hedging.
That is not a dodge. It is how the business works. Resorts with big snowmaking systems can name a date in August and largely hit it. Resorts that depend on natural snow will not name one until the snow is actually falling, because naming a date they miss is worse than naming none at all.
So this page does something most opening-date articles do not. It separates confirmed dates from targets from “we will tell you when it snows,” and it says plainly which is which.
The short answer
| First to open, most years | Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, or Keystone, usually mid to late October |
| Earliest firm date on the board right now | November 6, Breckenridge and Copper Mountain |
| Who is claiming October | Keystone, “as soon as possible in October” |
| Busiest opening stretch | November 20 to 26, when nine areas open |
| Last to open | Silverton Mountain, December 31 |
| Not opening | Hesperus, closed since 2023 |
| Season typically runs | Late October through mid-April, with A-Basin usually going latest |
When do Colorado ski resorts open? Every area, 2026-27
Read the Status column. It is the most useful thing in this table.
- CONFIRMED means the resort has published a firm calendar date.
- TARGET means the resort published a date and explicitly attached a conditions caveat, sometimes using the word “tentative” or “targeted” itself.
- NOT ANNOUNCED means exactly that. No date has been published. Any date you see elsewhere for these is not coming from the resort.
| Ski area | 2026-27 opening | Status | Closing | Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keystone | As soon as possible in October | TARGET | not published | Epic |
| Arapahoe Basin | “ASAP,” listed on its own site as TBD | NOT ANNOUNCED | not published | Ikon, A-Basin |
| Loveland | “Late October to early November” | NOT ANNOUNCED | not published | Independent |
| Winter Park | “As soon as possible” | NOT ANNOUNCED | not published | Ikon |
| Wolf Creek | No date. Deliberately. | NOT ANNOUNCED | TBD | Independent |
| Eldora | No date published | NOT ANNOUNCED | not published | Ikon, Ikon Base |
| Echo Mountain | “Coming soon” | NOT ANNOUNCED | not published | Independent |
| Granby Ranch | No date published | NOT ANNOUNCED | not published | Independent |
| Monarch | No date. “Typical season late Nov. to early Apr.” | NOT ANNOUNCED | not published | Independent |
| Sunlight | No date. “Typically the first two weeks of December.” | NOT ANNOUNCED | not published | Independent |
| Breckenridge | November 6 | CONFIRMED | not published | Epic |
| Copper Mountain | November 6 | CONFIRMED | not published | Ikon |
| Vail Mountain | November 13 | CONFIRMED | not published | Epic |
| Powderhorn | November 20 | TARGET, their word is “tentative” | not published | Independent |
| Purgatory | November 20 | CONFIRMED | not published | Power Pass |
| Steamboat | November 21 | CONFIRMED | not published | Ikon |
| Beaver Creek | November 25 | CONFIRMED | not published | Epic |
| Crested Butte | November 25 | CONFIRMED | not published | Epic |
| Aspen Mountain | November 26 | CONFIRMED | April 18, 2027 | Ikon (7 days), Aspen |
| Snowmass | November 26 | CONFIRMED | April 18, 2027 | Ikon (7 days), Aspen |
| Telluride | November 26 | TARGET, their word is “targeted” | April 4, 2027 | Independent, Epic partner |
| Howelsen Hill | November 28 | TARGET, “pending snow and weather” | March 2027 | Independent, Indy |
| Ski Cooper | December 9 | TARGET, “weather permitting” | not published | Independent |
| Aspen Highlands | December 12 | CONFIRMED | April 11, 2027 | Ikon (7 days), Aspen |
| Buttermilk | December 12 | CONFIRMED | April 4, 2027 | Ikon (7 days), Aspen |
| Silverton Mountain | December 31 | CONFIRMED | April 11, 2027 | Independent |
| Kendall Mountain | No date published | NOT ANNOUNCED | n/a | Independent |
| Hesperus | Not operating | Closed since 2023 | n/a | n/a |
The race to open first
This is the fun part of every Colorado ski season, and this year it is wide open.
Keystone is the only Colorado resort on record claiming October. Vail Resorts’ August announcement put it plainly: Keystone opens “as soon as possible in October,” and the company said out loud that it hopes to claim the title of first in North America for a second straight year.
Arapahoe Basin says “ASAP” and nothing more. Its own tickets and passes page literally lists the season as running from “opening day 2026 (TBD)” to “closing day 2027 (TBD).” What A-Basin has been doing is more telling than what it has been saying: four new snowmaking tower guns went in during September, and the blog noted the first dusting above 12,500 feet on September 19.
Loveland is saying “late October to early November.” Its snowmaking crews typically fire up the guns in late September for a mid-October to early-November opening. Loveland has not posted a 2026-27 row on its own opening and closing history table yet, which is the tell that nothing is decided.
And then there is Wolf Creek, which refuses to play. The ski area that advertises the most natural snowfall in Colorado, averaging 430 inches a season, publishes this instead of a date:
“As usual, Wolf Creek’s opening date is dependent on weather, temperatures and natural snowfall.”
Its own calendar lists both a tentative opening day and a tentative closing day as TBD. Wolf Creek has essentially no interest in announcing a date before the snow arrives, and in some years that posture lets it open ahead of everyone. If you see a Wolf Creek opening date published anywhere right now, it is invented.
November is when the season actually starts
Nine areas open between November 6 and November 28. If you are planning a first trip of the season, this is your window.
November 6: Breckenridge and Copper Mountain. Two resorts, same day, different passes, forty minutes apart on I-70. Breckenridge posts winter lift hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for chairlifts and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for gondolas, with high alpine lifts opening later depending on conditions.
November 13: Vail Mountain. Worth knowing that this date appears on Vail Resorts’ corporate newsroom but not on vail.com itself, which still shows summer hours. The parent company is the source.
November 20: Purgatory and Powderhorn. Purgatory calls its date “scheduled.” Powderhorn labels its own date “tentative,” and a November 20 opening would be unusually early for them, so treat that one with the most skepticism on the list.
November 21: Steamboat. Festivities start at 7:30 a.m., lifts at 8:30. The first 100 guests get limited-edition opening day apparel, and they ring the Champagne Powder snow bell.
November 25: Beaver Creek and Crested Butte. Both Epic. Beaver Creek confirms its own date on its hours page; Crested Butte’s date exists only on the Vail Resorts release, and nothing on skicb.com mentions it at all.
November 26, Thanksgiving Day: Aspen Mountain, Snowmass and Telluride. Aspen’s two big mountains have opened on Thanksgiving for years and are doing it again. Telluride calls its date “targeted.”
November 28: Howelsen Hill, the little municipal hill in Steamboat Springs with night skiing under the lights on weekdays. The city says “pending snow and weather conditions.”
The December openers
December 9: Ski Cooper, above Leadville. The event on their own calendar is titled “Opening Day, Weather Permitting,” which tells you how firm it is.
December 12: Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk. Aspen opens its four mountains in two waves, and this is the second one, about two and a half weeks after the first.
December 31: Silverton Mountain, which is not really comparable to anything else in Colorado. One lift, no grooming, no beginner terrain. It runs guided only, four days a week, from December 31 through March 14, then flips to an unguided window from March 17 to April 11. Guided days run $249, or $199 in the early and late windows. Unguided starts at $99. Heli runs from December 27 through March 31.
Sunlight and Monarch have not announced. Sunlight says it typically opens in the first two weeks of December. Monarch says its typical season runs late November to early April. Neither has committed.
What is actually new for 2026-27
Most seasons the changes are cosmetic. A few this year are not.
Powderhorn turns 60, with a new lift. The Wild West Express, a high-speed chairlift replacing the long-running West End double, arrives this season. The resort has scheduled a 60th anniversary party for December 5 and a ribbon cutting for the lift on December 18, which suggests it may not be spinning on opening day.
Arapahoe Basin is now unlimited on the Ikon Base Pass. This changed for 2026-27 and most published information is still wrong about it. Last season Base holders got five days plus unlimited early season through mid-January. This season A-Basin’s own site says Base holders have unlimited access with no blackout dates.
Steamboat finished phase one of Full Steam Ahead. The Wild Blue Gondola runs top to bottom, the Greenhorn Ranch learning center is open, and 650 acres of new advanced and expert terrain on Mahogany Ridge is in play. Also worth knowing before you arrive: Steamboat is a cashless resort. Card, pass or phone only.
Aspen added two pass products and rebuilt a restaurant. A new Flex Pass and an all-new Weekday Pass, plus an upgraded Elk Camp six-pack at Snowmass and a rebuilt Ullrhof at twice its old size, billed as Aspen Snowmass’s first all-electric on-mountain restaurant.
Winter Park moves weekend lifts to 8 a.m. From December 5 through April 4, lifts open an hour earlier on Saturdays and Sundays. A small change that matters if you drive up from Denver.
Purgatory went RFID for hands-free lift access, and says it has held starting pass prices since 2023.
Epic added a 13 to 30 price tier, a 20% discount on the Epic and Epic Local passes for that age band.
About the El Niño forecast
Vail Resorts built its August announcement around a “Super El Niño” and great powder. It is worth hearing a second Colorado voice on that.
Monarch Mountain published its own seasonal forecast and landed somewhere more measured, noting that its historical records suggest an El Niño winter at Monarch is average, with consistent snowfall and more upslope storms than usual. Their own dry summary, after a historically low snowfall year: average at Monarch would feel record setting.
Treat the marketing as marketing. Watch the snowpack.
Which pass gets you where
- Epic: Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte. Telluride accepts full Epic holders for seven days, but not Epic Local or most limited Epic products.
- Ikon: Copper, Winter Park, Steamboat, Eldora, Arapahoe Basin, and seven combined days at the four Aspen Snowmass mountains. Ikon Base is unlimited at A-Basin and Eldora this season; Aspen has blackouts on Base.
- Independent: Loveland, Wolf Creek, Monarch, Sunlight, Ski Cooper, Silverton, Powderhorn, Granby Ranch, Echo, Kendall. Several of these carry generous reciprocal days with each other, which is the most underrated deal in Colorado skiing. A Monarch pass alone includes free days at A-Basin, Copper, Loveland, Powderhorn, Purgatory, Ski Cooper, Silverton and Sunlight.
- Power Pass: Purgatory’s own network.
- Indy Pass: Howelsen Hill.
If you are new to this and trying to pick a mountain rather than a pass, our guide to the best ski areas for beginners is a better starting point than any pass comparison.
Two areas that are not opening
Hesperus, near Durango, has been closed since 2023. Its most recent official operations update is dated March 2024 and says the area would not operate that season, citing water for snowmaking. There has been no statement since. Its website still shows lift tickets, lessons and rentals, so it reads as open when it is not. Purgatory, which owns it, does not mention it anywhere.
Kendall Mountain in Silverton has not announced. Its ticket page still shows last season’s closing notice, and its hours page has not been updated in three seasons.
How to read an opening date
Four things worth knowing before you book anything.
- A date on a corporate press release is a plan, not a promise. Vail Resorts attaches “subject to change based on weather and conditions” to its entire list.
- “Tentative” and “targeted” are the resort telling you it might slip. Powderhorn, Telluride, Ski Cooper and Howelsen Hill all use that language themselves.
- Opening day rarely means the whole mountain. Early season usually means one lift and a ribbon of machine-made snow. High alpine terrain comes later.
- Almost nobody publishes closing dates in September. Only Aspen’s four mountains, Telluride and Silverton have. The rest will announce in spring.
Planning a trip around it
Opening weekend is a genuinely good time to go if you want thin crowds and cheap lodging, and a genuinely bad time if you want terrain. For the tradeoffs across the whole calendar, our guide to the best time to visit Colorado covers how the seasons actually play out.
If your trip is built around a town rather than a mountain, the southwest opens later and stays open later. Telluride targets Thanksgiving and runs to April 4.
When this page updates
We re-check when Colorado ski resorts open three times a year, and this is the fall pass.
The dates on this page were verified on September 24, 2026. Most of the “not announced” resorts will publish dates between early October and early November, and we will update this page as they do.
Before you drive, check the resort’s own site. A snowy October moves dates earlier. A dry one moves them back.
