Colorado ski season is upon us.
As we near the end of what has been the hottest summer on record in Colorado, you won’t need to summit one of the 14ers to find relief. Ski resorts across the state are preparing to open to visitors, though the increasingly hot summers won’t help that happen any sooner.
As resorts announce their opening dates for 2026-27 ski season, it’s important to remember that those dates are subject to change depending on weather and how that weather affects conditions on the slopes.
POWDER Magazine published a helpful list of 22 Colorado ski resorts and their targeted opening dates, from Aspen to Wolf Creek. The earliest opener is Loveland Ski Area, which hopes to make its slopes available in late October or early November.
“Our expert local crews and professional snowmakers typically fire up the snowguns in late September, working around the clock to prepare for a mid-October to early-November opening,” reads the resort’s website. “Their goal: to deliver one of Colorado’s first top-to-bottom runs, covered tree-to-tree with an 18-inch base of packed snow.”
Other ski areas around the state have been building buzz in other ways. Reddit users were in a flurry for a short time in early September when Aspen Snowmass quietly began selling December 14 lift tickets for $3.75 a person, as reported by POWDER. For context, the same tickets were going for more than $200 a piece once the fire sale ended.
The short-lived surprise discount was no mistake: he ticket prices matched those from Jan. 11, 1947, when Aspen Mountain first opened Lift-1. Aspen Snowmass says to expect more surprise sales throughout the winter to mark its 80th-anniversary season.
In the public safety sector, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are raising the red flag for residents and tourists as Colorado has seen a record number of bear attacks this year.
With that in mind, it’s important for anyone who plans to be out in nature to be aware of a recent change to Colorado’s wildlife luring law that looks to prevent any more encounters.
House Bill 26-1342, passed by the Colorado General Assembly in May, amended Colorado law by changing the legal standard from “intentionally” luring bears into an area where they might conflict with humans to doing so “knowingly.” This makes it easier for law enforcement to cite irresponsible residents or visitors whose actions lead to bear encounters.
