SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., April 16, 2025—While many North American ski areas have already stopped spinning lifts for the season, plenty have plans to stretch their spring skiing and riding into May and even beyond.
Credit to Jay Peak The cast includes the usual characters, as well as a few outliers looking to capitalize on conditions.
Of the dozens of ski areas still open for skiing and riding, many plan to wrap over the next two weeks with a fair bit of fanfare.
Lookout Pass, Idaho, for example, is closing out this weekend with 90-cent lift tickets and nine holes of “ski golf” in celebration of its 90th season of operation.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, Mt. Bachelor, Ore., which currently has 123 of 124 trails open, plans to stay open for daily operations until Memorial Day (May 26), and Crystal Mountain, Wash., will be open daily through April 20 and then weekends-only through Memorial Day. Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore., is shooting for May 3 after 460 inches of snowfall on the season, while neighboring Timberline Lodge, Ore., will offer summer skiing through mid-August as usual on the Palmer Snowfield.
Further north, Banff Sunshine Village, Alberta, plans to close May 18, and Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia, is aiming for May 19.
In the West, despite a below average snow year of 281 inches so far (average annual snowfall is 400 inches), Mammoth Mountain, Calif., is 100 percent open and is aiming to keep the season going through Memorial Day weekend, as are Palisades Tahoe, Calif., and Snowbird, Utah. Arapahoe Basin, Colo., plans as usual to stay open as long as conditions allow, likely into June.
Many western resorts will close on schedule before the end of the month. Alyeska, Alaska, which has the deepest snowpack in the country after receiving 739 inches of snow so far on the season, will close April 27.
April 20 is the target for Alta and Deer Valley in Utah, and Sierra-at-Tahoe, Northstar, Heavenly, June Mountain, and Bear Valley in California.
Despite solid snowpack, Tahoe Donner, Calif., shut April 6 to complete construction of a new lodge.
Breckenridge, Copper, and Loveland, Colo., and Solitude, Utah, will continue ops until May 11, while Winter Park, Colo., and Brighton, Utah, will push to May 18.
After a strong winter, several ski areas are still operating in the Michigan. Ski Brule, on the Upper Peninsula, is opening for at least one more weekend on all trails, April 19-20.
Boyne Mountain logged more than 30 hours of snowmaking in March and a few more hours in April on its intermediate Victor trail, stockpiling a base of over 200 inches of snow to create the “Victor Glacier.” The resort plans to be open for weekend operations through Memorial Day weekend.
“We are still making snow during the week and maintaining the trails for weekend skiing,” said director of marketing Kari Roder in an interview with the Petoskey News-Review.
Mount Bohemia plans to operate into May as well. Resort president Lonie Glieberman told Bridge Michigan that Mount Bohemia is hoping to win its ongoing friendly competition with Boyne Mountain to claim the latest Midwest closing date this season.
In Minnesota, Lutsen Mountains has added a couple of “bonus weekends” to close out the season, April 18-20 and April 25-27.
To the north, a few Ontario ski areas are on weekend operations. Loch Lamond will reopen this Friday-Sunday for its final weekend of the season. Searchmont will reopen this weekend, too, and might extend its season if conditions allow.
After a multi-day ice storm during the last days of March knocked out on-mountain power at Blue Mountain and shuttered lift operations for 11 days (March 29-April 8), the resort looks to put that challenging time behind it and close out its season on a high note with last chair going up on Monday, April 21.
Lift-served skiing and riding is still on offer at several East Coast ski areas, too. Quebec resorts Le Massif de Charlevoix, Massif du Sud, Mont Tremblant, and Mont Sainte Anne will wrap up this weekend. Sommet Saint-Sauveur, which is often the last resort in eastern Canada to close for the season, has more than a month of skiing and riding left before its planned closing date of May 19.
Jay Peak, Vt., has gotten 464 inches of snow on the season—the most in the East, with another storm on the horizon—and hopes to offer skiing and riding well into May.
Sunday River and Sugarloaf, Maine, which both often ski until early May, are selling daily lift tickets through April 27.
After closing on March 7 last season, Black Mountain, N.H., is a new entry to the late season skiing game. The independently owned ski area plans to operate through May 3, citing its 90th anniversary season as motivation.
“Our mission is to open and meaningfully run through our 90th season and beyond,” said general manager Erik Mogensen in an April 10 letter to pass holders, adding, “our snowmaking system is roaring at full capacity, with our small team pulling all-nighters to make it happen.”
The mountain will be open Fridays through Sundays until closing, with extended hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sugarbush, Vt., is aiming to be open daily through April 27, with plans to close out with a final weekend of fun, May 3-4.
Killington, Vt., which typically claims the longest season in the East, expects to operate into late May, with a shift to weekends-only after May 5. The resort has historically offered late season skiing and riding on the Superstar trail, but spring ops will shift to the North Ridge and Canyon terrain this year due to a $12 million lift replacement project.
“While we know spring skiing and riding will look a little different this year, this $12 million investment will elevate the guest experience for decades to come,” said president and GM Mike Solimano in an update. "That said, we’re still committed to hosting the longest ski season in the East and will stay open as long as Mother Nature allows."
Editor's note: This report is meant to provide a sample of resorts that remain open for skiing and riding, not a comprehensive list. By our estimation, there are around 90 North American ski areas that will spin lifts this weekend, and we congratulate all for being able to do so.
