First look at upcoming daily lift ticket prices for '25/'26

[ski diva]

Hold on to your helmets, everyone. From Snowbrains.com, here's a look at some of the more expensive daily lift ticket prices for '25/'26, based on the individual resort's websites as of August 1

Aspen Snowmass, Colorado: Early season and advance-purchase deals: $98–$120 per day. Mid-season: $189 to $264

Big Sky, Montana: $242 with a 15% online purchase.

Deer Valley, Utah: $329

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming: $255 with a 15% Discount

Mad River Glen, Vermont: $125

Palisades Tahoe, California: Up to $289 per day. Single-day lift tickets will go on sale in early August for the 2025-26 winter season. Prices vary depending on how far out you choose your day. Buy online in advance to save up to 35% off the window rate.

Mammoth Mountain, California: $199 with online discount.

Mount Bohemia, Michigan: $99

Sugarloaf, Maine: $129 with 11% online discount.

Winter Park, Colorado: Daily Lift Ticket Cost: $215

Vail Resorts: daily lift ticket prices not released as of August 1.

 

[liquidfeet]

Whoah.

 

[Jilly]

What does it cost for:
Round of golf at a better course, not the local one?
Ticket for a NFL game, NHL game, NBA game?
Ticket for a Broadway show?

 

[GladeDuchess]

What does it cost for:
Round of golf at a better course, not the local one?
Ticket for a NFL game, NHL game, NBA game?
Ticket for a Broadway show?

So right Jilly! Per hour of fun and excitement, I bet skiing is the better deal of all these. : )

I never would have thought to check, but a ski buddy bought her ticket to Saddleback through AAA last year when she came up from CT, and it was a nice little discount. Certainly something I will check out for other hills in the coming year.

And remember, friends don't let friends pay full price. Never been too proud to ask "could you send me a link for the buddy ticket?" if I know a ski buddy has access with a pass they have. I've always wondered how many of these go unclaimed every year.

 

[Jilly]

We always run a "skiing on the cheap" thread for the current season. So keep an eye on that and/or contribute to it if you see anything.

I've had a lot of people over the years tell me that skiing is expensive. When I ask the question about what does "X" cost you to do, they usually shut up!

 

[Christy]

I live in a city with a high cost of living and you can get tickets to any sporting event for far less than that. MLB and NHL tickets start around $10 plus there are cheap menu items. Even NFL has value tickets for less than $100. Theater tickets can be had for much cheaper than that; theater patrons across the continent generally aren't paying Broadway prices

And of course now you generally need to buy tickets in advance, which means you don't know what conditions could be like, and they could be bad.

As we've discussed the massive increase in single lift ticket price is a business strategy.

 

[marzNC]

Theater tickets can be had for much cheaper than that; theater patrons across the continent generally aren't paying Broadway prices

Yes and no. For the Durham Performing Arts Center, the cost of tickets for the traveling Broadway shows are $100 and up. These are mostly current musicals, often award winners. As with skiing, those who go regularly are season ticket holders. The small theaters in the area are much less expensive. Great fun but a completely different experience.

 

[Jilly]

Ah, I paid north of $400 for Elton John. But there were really good seats! Yes, NHL teams do have "fan zones" where tickets are really affordable.

We have Jann Arden coming to town in November. $117 for that ticket.

Skiing is still up there I get it, but it's where do YOU want to spend your money?

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Prices are a bit obscene, and I certainly don't attend many events that even come close to $100 dollars. If I do, they include the gear, and the food is usually reasonably priced compared to resort prices. Then again, resort skiing generally includes avalanche mitigation, readily available patrollers, lifts that are well maintained, great grooming, all things that are super expensive for the resort operators to provide in terms of machinery and staffing. There is some value to the daily lift ticket cost, and from a safety perspective I think that justifies some of the expense.

 

[Christy]

Well sure there are lots of costs, and I'm not sure anyone is arguing that skiing should be cheap. But the very high daily lift ticket prices came about with the mega passes as part of their business model.

I noticed the two cheapest daily lift ticket prices in Wendy's posts are from independent resorts. Maybe those are an accurate reflection of the higher costs of 2025.

 

[marzNC]

independent resorts. Maybe those are an accurate reflection of the higher costs of 2025.

I agree with that idea.

Wolf Creek lift tickets for seniors 65-79 were $51 in 2021-22, non-Peak. Had gone up to $60 for 2024-25. There is no slopeside lodging for Wolf Creek. The nearest lodging is 15-20 min drive going towards South Fork and closer to 30 min going towards Pagosa Springs.

Tamarack in Idaho is a full-service resort with good slopeside lodging. Here are the lift ticket prices for 2024-25. Can get discounted tickets buying online at least 3 days in advance.

Adult 18-64: $88 M-F, $110 Sat-Sun
Senior 65+: $60 M-F, $75 Sat-Sun

Brundage is an independent ski area with no slopeside lodging for rent. The town of McCall is 15 min away. For 2024-25 online ticket prices were $92 Adult, $66 for 70+.

Both Tamarack and Brundage are on the Indy Pass. As day ticket and mega-pass prices have increased, Indy locations are becoming more popular with locals. Meaning locals who didn't even realize how much fun could be had on slopes within driving distance. More travelers are doing ski safaris based on Indy. That wasn't the initial target market but as the Indy list expanded, more people are willing to fly, rent a car, and hit 2-5 Indy mountains during their trip.

 

[Christy]

Sounds like the high daily lift ticket prices aren't working so well for Vail Resorts at least. The bold in the quoted article is mine.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-12/vail-resorts-to-offer-50-off-lift-tickets-slows-european-growth-says-ceo?embedded-checkout=true

Skiing is notoriously expensive without a season pass: A walk-up single-day lift ticket at any of Vail’s “destination resorts” costs an average of $261 during the 2024-25 season. On weekends or holidays you could easily push $300. To recalibrate pricing for non-diehards (meaning, season ticket holders), Vail Resorts is introducing new ticketing options that it hopes will turn lukewarm skiers into loyalists. On Tuesday it announced Epic Friend Tickets, which offers friends or family of Epic Pass holders up to 10 single-day passes at a 50% discounted rate, valid at all 37 of the company’s North American resorts without blackout dates. The new system is a makeover of the company’s old Buddy Ticket program — which returning Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz describes as “complex” and hard to understand.
...
“We’re seeing companion tickets as the way to grow the sport,” says Katz, recognizing that mountain costs have become exclusionary, a problem Vail itself created by raising window ticket prices to incentivize purchases of multimountain season passes. Vail had 2.3 million Epic Pass holders in the 2024-25 season.
...
Single-day passes are a critical growth area for Vail Resorts. Last season the company saw a 3% decline in visitation, which coincided with 1.7% growth for the U.S. ski industry at large, according to the Colorado-based National Ski Areas Association. Katz credits that largely to “uncommitted lift ticket guests” (i.e., casual skiers) performing “below expectations,” as he put it in his second-quarter earnings call.

Although Epic Passes represent guaranteed revenue, an insurance policy against poor weather conditions and other types of crises, the practice of dynamically pricing single-day options to manage crowds and squeeze larger profits from less price-sensitive consumers is backfiring. Instead it’s squeezing out casual skiers — a risk that’s exacerbated in times of economic uncertainty.

The Epic Friend Tickets program is “a recognition that a lot of people are probably not ready to make the commitment of a season pass, and we can’t open that market unless we offer a terrific price point,” Katz says.

 

[Skier31]

Truthfully, if I did not live where I do and teach skiing, I am not sure how much I would ski.

The season pass prices seem to be going up considerably along with crowds, parking etc. Factor in driving, traffic or flying with gear or even purchasing/renting gear for children.

I don't know how families do it.

My husband and I don't have children and there are many events that I think twice about or pass on due to cost. I can see where skiing could certainly fit in that category.

 

[ski diva]

I don't know how families do it.

I agree, especially when you factor in all the costs for things other than lift tickets: gear, clothing, transportation, food, lessons, and so on. Sure, there are a lot of ways to cut costs (for example, bringing lunch, buying used gear), but that's an awful lot of trouble for a family who just wants to give it a try or ski just a few times a year. The high costs of everything associated with skiing are definitely a deterrent.

 

[Connie E]

Hold on to your helmets, everyone. From Snowbrains.com, here's a look at some of the more expensive daily lift ticket prices for '25/'26, based on the individual resort's websites as of August 1

Aspen Snowmass, Colorado: Early season and advance-purchase deals: $98–$120 per day. Mid-season: $189 to $264

Big Sky, Montana: $242 with a 15% online purchase.

Deer Valley, Utah: $329

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming: $255 with a 15% Discount

Mad River Glen, Vermont: $125

Palisades Tahoe, California: Up to $289 per day. Single-day lift tickets will go on sale in early August for the 2025-26 winter season. Prices vary depending on how far out you choose your day. Buy online in advance to save up to 35% off the window rate.

Mammoth Mountain, California: $199 with online discount.

Mount Bohemia, Michigan: $99

Sugarloaf, Maine: $129 with 11% online discount.

Winter Park, Colorado: Daily Lift Ticket Cost: $215

Vail Resorts: daily lift ticket prices not released as of August 1.

Yikes, better stick with a pass!