SAM Magazine—Natick, Mass., November 19, 2025—More than a dozen North American ski areas have opened for the season, some for daily operations and some weekends only for now, with several more planning to get started before Thanksgiving. Sunday River

A stretch of snowy, cold weather in the East has allowed many ski areas to hit—or to soon hit—targeted opening dates and others to open earlier than expected. It’s a different story nearly everywhere else, especially in the West where warm weather and scant natural snowfall has forced ski areas to punt their opening days until winter weather settles in, which will hopefully happen soon, as the Thanksgiving holiday draws nearer.

East

Sunday River became the first ski area in Maine to open for daily operations when it spun the Locke Triple on Nov. 12 with access to upper mountain terrain for pass holders. Day tickets were available starting Nov. 13. After a few days of downloading from the Locke mid-station, the resort was able to make enough snow for top-to-bottom skiing and riding in the past couple days. 

Neighboring Sugarloaf is scheduled to open Friday, Nov. 21, with two lifts serving five trails and a terrain park with eight features, and snowmakers already working hard pre-opening on additional terrain. The Carrabassett Valley resort plans to kick off its 75th season with commemorative buffs for the first 75 skiers and riders in the lift line on Friday.

The first lift-served tracks in New Hampshire were served up at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 at Black Mountain for season pass and Indy Pass holders. The Summit double chair served an upper mountain trail with a 4- to 12-inch manmade base. Downloading was required from the Summit mid-station. Black only operated on Saturday and hasn’t said when it will reopen. Once it opens for the season, operating hours will be 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., Thursday through Monday and Holidays.

Also in the Granite State, Bretton Woods opened to the public at 9 a.m. and operated until 3:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. It will be closed through Wednesday and reopen on Thursday this week. Loon Mountain plans to open on Friday after several days of its snowmaking system flexing recent major upgrades with more than 300 snow guns going at once. Terrain and lifts were still to be determined at press time. 

To date, many areas in the Northeast have tallied the best (deepest) natural snow conditions across the country, with Jay Peak, Vt., unsurprisingly leading the way as it gears up for an early “soft opening” weekend, Nov. 22 and 23, precipitated by 92 inches of natural snowfall so far in November, including a reported 40 inches in the past 48 hours (as of Nov. 18). Jay will close midweek and open daily starting Nov. 28 with its “Day for the Devoted” event for loyal fans.

WhitefaceVermont’s Mount Snow, Okemo, Stowe, and Sugarbush plan to open for the season on Saturday. Stowe Mountain will be opening with an impressive 50 trails on 225 skiable acres of terrain thanks to a combination of snowmaking and mother nature. The mix includes groomed routes on Spruce Peak and Mt. Mansfield, where the natural snowfall has been supplemented with snowmaking, as well as ungroomed terrain.

Whiteface, N.Y., has also been getting doused with snow. It opened for the weekend on Nov. 15 with 18 inches of fresh and snowmaking operations in full gear. Whiteface GM Aaron Kellett said his crews began making snow in early November, marking the earliest start in about two decades.

Whiteface ran its Summit Chair and guests downloaded back to the base area via the Face Lift. The mountain will reopen for season pass holders only on Passholder Appreciation Day, Friday, Nov. 21. The day will include free light bites, two-for-one drinks, live music, additional discounts on retail, and a “Meet the Team” event in the Cloudspin Bar & Grill from 2-4 p.m. Whiteface will welcome the public Saturday and Sunday before closing until Friday, Nov. 28 when it begins daily operations. 

Gore and Belleayre, also owned and operated by New York’s Olympic Regional Development Authority along with Whiteface, will kick off their seasons on Friday with Passholder Appreciation Day events for pass holders only, and will follow the same schedule as Whiteface—open to the public for the weekend, close midweek, and reopen for daily ops on Nov. 28. 

In the Southeast, Cataloochee, near Asheville, N.C., dropped ropes on Rock Island on Nov. 12, with a quad lift serving the mid-mountain trail. The ski area paused operations on Nov. 17 to finish work on “necessary projects,” according to a post shared on Cataloochee’s Instagram, with plans to reopen for early season hours on Nov. 22. 

Beech Mountain, N.C., was also scheduled to open for the season Nov. 22, but has bumped its opening day to Nov. 29 to allow for more snowmaking. The warmer weather has also prompted Appalachian Ski Mountain, N.C., to postpone its planned Nov. 21 opening day

West

A dry and mild November for much of the West has forced several ski areas to push back their planned openings, while those that are open are skiing and riding on just a handful of trails. Weather patterns look more promising later this week. Reports show snowpack at 20 percent of normal in some areas.  

EldoraNot all have had to forgo their openings, though. Vail Mountain, Colo., opened on Friday, Nov. 14 with its Gondola One, Eagle Bahn Gondola, Little Eagle and Mountaintop Express lifts serving five runs on an 18-inch base. With daytime temperatures in the 50s, skiers and riders enjoyed live DJs and free strudel at the top of Gondola One. Vail Mountain is open daily from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

On Colorado’s Front Range, Eldora opened for the season on Saturday, Nov. 15, spinning its Alpenglow lift to serve two runs on an 8-inch base. Powdr is in the process of selling the ski area to the neighboring town of Nederland while also searching for a general manager to replace retired GM Brent Tregaskis.   

Of the eight open ski areas in Colorado today—the only eight in the western United States—none have more than six open trails. Winter Park opened Nov. 1 and currently has five trails and a season total of 13 inches of snow. The resort hosted a ski ballet competition this past Saturday. Loveland, which sent up its season’s first chair Nov. 8, still has one trail open and 19 inches of snow on the season.

A heavy winter storm in Southern California last Thursday dropped more rain than snow, soaking Mammoth Mountain’s plans for a Nov. 14 opening. Steve McCabe, vice president of operations at Mammoth posted the following update to Instagram. 

“This storm is not producing as much snow as we had hoped, and as a result we’re going to have to push back our opening day, we’re going to go to day-by-day model, and our teams are here working hard to get this mountain open to skiing.”

Mammoth has since announced it will open Nov. 20. Sugar Bowl pushed back its planned Nov. 21 opening to Nov. 28. 

Mt. Rose – Ski Tahoe in Nevada couldn’t open as planned on Nov. 8. The ski area shared on its website that it will open once it reaches a 12- to 14-inch “sustainable packed base” with snowmaking teams at the ready when temps finally drop.

In Utah, Solitude pushed back its planned Nov. 14 opening, and is now looking to open this week, Nov. 19. A more favorable weather pattern was forecast to move into the state this week—good news for skiers and riders at Alta, Brian Head, and Park City, all planning Nov. 21 openings.  

A storm passing through Flagstaff has dropped 9 inches of snow on Arizona Snowbowl, with up to another 13 inches forecast to fall before Friday, Nov. 21, when the ski area plans to open for the season.

In the Pacific Northwest, Schweitzer, Idaho, has delayed its opening to Nov. 28, which is also the “earliest possible opening day” for 49 Degrees North, Wash., according to the ski area’s website. 

Canada

Lake LouiseUnlike the rest of western North America, Banff Sunshine in Alberta is having a great start to the season after being the first Canadian ski area to open on Nov. 2. It currently has more than 50 trails open served by seven lifts and a 22- to 43-inch base. Lake Louise has 16 trails and five lifts open. Mt. Norquay and Nakiska are also open in Alberta. 

The season in British Columbia looks like it’ll begin at Whistler Blackcomb, which is aiming for a Nov. 21 opening. Sun Peaks pushed its target date back from this weekend to Nov. 27. Powder King said today that it needs to push back its opening from Nov. 20 to Nov. 27 due to low snow on the lower part of the mountain. 

Sommet Saint-Sauveur in Quebec remains the only other ski area currently open in Eastern Canada, according to information currently available.