After four straight seasons with more than 60 million U.S. skier visits, 2025-26 may be the winter that bucks the trend, according to the results of a highly informal poll of SAM readers in late March. Respondents’ skier visit predictions were generally less than optimistic, although the outlook for their own ski areas weren’t as lopsided, surely based on location.

Half the respondents estimated less than 54 million total skier visits for 2025-26. Not too rosy, but not surprising either (ICYMI, snow was not plentiful for much of the West this winter). Most of the remaining respondents (43%) predicted fewer than 59 million skier visits, while a scant 7% believed the industry would exceed that number. If our doubtful poll participants are right, the final tally will be a far cry from 2024-25’s 61.6 million.

Respondents to a late March (unscientific) SAM reader poll shared their predictions for 2025-26 total U.S. skier visits—and their outlook was less than optimistic. It wasn’t all bad, though. While about 43% of our crystal-ballers thought their own skier visits would be down, nearly 40% said their visits will be up, and 17% expected visits to be flat. Furthermore, nearly half (48%) expected their revenue to be up, and another 13% thought their revenue would be flat. Not too shabby.

For context, the predictions from unscientific SAM polls of seasons past tended to lowball the actual national results. In 2023-24, visitation totaled 60.5 million but only a quarter of poll respondents thought the total would exceed 59.1 million. Even fewer (16%) thought the 2022-23 season would exceed 61 million and a record-breaking 64.5 million visits were tallied. 

Compare with caution, though. This winter was different. Operators in the East and Midwest should rightfully be optimistic about their results—it was the best winter those regions have had in years. But most of the nation’s visitation (about 63 percent in 2024-25) is concentrated in the West, which was mired by record warmth and record low snowfall. 

Since the poll aimed to gather more feelings than facts, it produced a veritable treasure trove of honest sentiment. Asked how they would sum up the season, respondents offered gems like:

“A financial a$$ kicking”

“What season?”

“Short and skinny”

“An absolute joke of a winter”

“Eh”

“Meh”

And that worst of all adjectives, “unprecedented.”

Those who had a no good, very bad winter can perhaps take solace in (or vexation from) these other folks, who said:

“An amazing and solid season across Michigan!”

“It was great in Northern Vermont.”

“We got ours in the East and it was refreshing!”

“Nice old fashioned cold winter in Maine”

“Midwest champagne snow and Northeast never summer”

And, if you can believe it, “One of the best ever.”

It was, to use an overused idiom, feast or famine out there. Now only time, and the Kottke, will tell where the numbers landed.