Ski Resort Opening Dates 2026/27: Every Major Resort, With Official Sources

Every date below comes from the resort's own website, press release or official pass partner page, and every row links to that source so you can check it yourself. Resorts call these dates "planned", "tentative" or "targeted" for a reason: a dry November pushes openings back a week or two, a big October storm pulls them forward. We re-check the list every few days until the last resort opens and update the "last checked" date above each time something changes. Where a resort has not published a 2026/27 date yet, we say so and give last season's actual date instead of guessing. Click a column heading to sort each table.

North America: planned opening dates 2026/27

Vail Resorts announced its 2026/27 dates on August 18 and Alterra followed for the Ikon resorts on September 17, so most of the big names are set. Colorado's high-altitude snowmaking resorts (Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Winter Park, Loveland) do not name a date at all and simply open as soon as they can hold a top-to-bottom run, which in recent years has meant late October. Most of the rest of the West targets the two weekends before Thanksgiving, the East follows a week or two later, and ski-only Deer Valley plus Revelstoke wait for early December.

Alps and Europe: planned opening dates 2026/27

Europe opens in three waves. Austria's glacier areas are already running: Hintertux spun lifts on October 2 and Solden, Stubai and Kitzsteinhorn followed the second weekend of October, with Cervinia, Engelberg and Saas-Fee due before the end of the month and Zermatt's winter season starting November 1. The second wave is the high, snowmaking-heavy resorts in late November: Kitzbuhel's snow-farmed Resterkogel run, Val Thorens, Ischgl, Obergurgl and the Jungfrau region. The third wave, from the first weekend of December into mid-December, is the mass of French and Swiss resorts that wait for real snow: Courchevel, Verbier, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Avoriaz, Megeve and Morzine.

Japan: planned opening dates 2026/27

Hokkaido's big names have settled on the last weekend of November again. Niseko United, Furano, Rusutsu, Nozawa Onsen and Kiroro all list November 28, 2026, and Niseko's four areas run on a single all-mountain pass through to May 5. Hakuba Valley is the exception: Goryu has announced a November 21 start on one lift, but Happo-One and the other Hakuba areas only say "December" so far, after last season ended early on April 19 with a sudden melt. Myoko's Akakura Onsen opens December 12.

Southern Hemisphere: 2026 recap and 2027 outlook

The southern winter of 2026 was a story of slow starts and record-late finishes. Thredbo and Perisher opened on schedule on June 6 but Thredbo closed three weeks early on September 13, while the Chilean Andes did the opposite: Portillo postponed its opening twice before finally spinning lifts on July 4, then stayed open to October 11, and Valle Nevado skied until November 8, the latest close in its history. Only Thredbo and Cardrona have published tentative 2027 windows so far.

Which resorts open first, and which open last

If you want to ski in October, the realistic list is short: the Austrian and Swiss glaciers above (lift tickets there run roughly 60 to 80 euros a day, cheaper than mid-winter), Zermatt's year-round glacier, and whichever of Keystone and Arapahoe Basin wins Colorado's annual race. In early November add Kitzbuhel's weekend-only Resterkogel run, Breckenridge, Copper, Banff Sunshine and Lake Louise. By the weekend of November 20 to 22 roughly half of the resorts on this page are open, and by December 12 almost all of them are. At the other end, the longest planned seasons are Zermatt, Val Thorens, Val d'Isere, Les Deux Alpes, Ischgl and Cervinia in Europe (all to May 2 or 3, 2027), Niseko Grand Hirafu and Annupuri in Japan (May 5), and Mammoth, Snowbird, Palisades Tahoe and Arapahoe Basin in North America, which routinely run into late May.

Pass partners at a glance

The pass column shows the multi-resort pass each resort honours for 2026/27, which matters most for early-season trips: our full Epic vs Ikon comparison is coming later this month, but the short version is that Epic covers Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Park City, Whistler, Telluride and the Alpine partners Les 3 Vallees (Courchevel and Val Thorens), Verbier, Ski Arlberg (St. Anton and Lech), Solden, Mayrhofen-Hintertux and Hakuba, while Ikon covers Alta, Snowbird, Jackson Hole, Aspen, Big Sky, Mammoth, Palisades, Steamboat, Revelstoke and the Alpine partners Zermatt, Chamonix, Megeve, Kitzbuhel, Ischgl, St. Moritz and the Dolomiti Superski and Valle d'Aosta areas, plus Niseko and Furano in Japan. Mountain Collective overlaps heavily with Ikon's destination resorts (Alta, Snowbird, Jackson Hole, Aspen, Big Sky, Revelstoke, Niseko, Chamonix, Megeve) at two days each. Verbier and Ski Arlberg have the tightest restrictions on Epic (consecutive days only, and a lodging booking at Arlberg), so read the fine print before planning an Alpine week around a pass.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which ski resort opens first in 2026?

In Europe the glaciers already have: Hintertux (October 2), Solden and Stubai (October 9) and Kitzsteinhorn (October 10) are open now, with Cervinia and Engelberg due October 24 and Zermatt's winter season on November 1. In North America it will be Keystone or Arapahoe Basin, both of which open "as soon as possible" in late October; Keystone opened October 25 in 2025 and Arapahoe Basin the day after.

When does Vail open for the 2026/27 season?

Vail Resorts has announced November 13, 2026 for Vail, November 6 for Breckenridge, November 20 for Park City, Whistler Blackcomb, Northstar and Heavenly, and November 25 for Beaver Creek and Crested Butte, all subject to weather and conditions. Keystone opens without a fixed date as soon as it can.

When does Niseko open?

All four Niseko United areas (Grand Hirafu, Hanazono, Niseko Village and Annupuri) are scheduled to open on November 28, 2026. Grand Hirafu and Annupuri plan to run until May 5, 2027, Hanazono until April 11 and Niseko Village until April 4, and night skiing runs from December 12 to March 22.

Are these opening dates guaranteed?

No. Every resort publishes them as planned, tentative or targeted dates, and all of them depend on snowfall and snowmaking temperatures. Snowmaking-heavy resorts at altitude (Colorado, Austria's glaciers, Val Thorens) hit their dates most years; lower resorts that rely on natural snow (Morzine, Bansko, much of Vermont) are the ones most likely to slip. Check the linked official page in the week before you travel, and book early-season lodging with a flexible cancellation policy.