Last Call For Most Lift Accessed Terrain – Skiing In May

Winter’s final grip has loosened and the snow receded to the highest points in the alpine. Besides the perennial holdout of Timberline, are there any ski resorts left standing when it comes to skiing in May? The answer is YES! We suggest slapping on some slush wax, grab your decks, and check out one of these resorts for what most of us will call the final hurrah.

For suggestions on spring skiing at these ski resorts in North America, see our article, “Everything you need to know about spring skiing & why it’s the time of year to visit.”

Where To Ski In May

Mount Bachelor

Acreage Open in May: Top-to-bottom skiing and over 1,500+ acres
Learn more about Bend & Mt. Bachelor

Our personal favorite, Mt. Bachelor, is ALWAYS our go-to for skiing in May. Besides having the most perfect topography and weather to generate primo corn, the city of Bend is a bike friendly town filled with mouthwatering cuisine and plenty of other après activities. If you do make it up there around mid-May, be sure to check out the ULTIMATE spring tradition the Pole, Pedal, Paddle Bend race which starts on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor and finishes on the legendary Deschutes River.

Mammoth Mountain

Acreage Open in May: Top-to-bottom skiing and normally 1,500-2,000 acres
Learn more about Mammoth Mtn. & Mammoth Lakes

Warm sunny days and cold windless nights translate to spring being THE time to hit the slopes at Mammoth Mountain. Besides the average end of lift-served skiing, Memorial Day weekend normally signifies the beginning of mountain biking season. That’s right! You can shred in the morning and then take some laps in one of the best mountain bike parks in the nation.

Don’t forget to set aside time to après and enjoy some great brews at Mammoth Mountain Brewing, JLB, and Distant Brewing. With plenty of sunshine, a deep snowpack, and a ton of pro riders calling it home, what other proof do you need? They also have the top team of snow sculptors crafting their terrain park! This is the place to be in the spring. This mountain is worth a trip even into June.

Snowbird

Acreage Open In May: Skiing and riding via its Mineral Basin Express and Little Cloud chairlifts, with uplift and download service via Aerial Tram.

Just a mere thirty minutes from Salt Lake City tucked away in the Little Cottonwood Canyon is the ski area with the longest ski season in Utah. The “Bird” as it’s known, by this time of year is usually one of the few ski resorts open in May. It has at a minimum the Mineral Basin and Little Cloud chairlifts running, but if the snow is deep and the crowds do show up, there’s a good chance they’ll start running a few more. Spring skiing and riding is always a bit different than that in the winter. In the spirit of the party atmosphere, Snowbird normally has live music on the deck every week. All performances take place on the Plaza Deck from 12 – 3pm weather permitting. 

Whistler Blackcomb

Acreage Open in May: Whistler Village Gondola (Access), Emerald 6 Express, Big Red Express (weather dependent – based on past years)

It used to be that Blackcomb would be open until late May providing 2,500 vertical feet of skiing and snowboarding and thousands of acres via Jersey Cream, Seventh Heaven, and Glacier Express lifts. Unfortunately, ever since Vail purchased Whistler Blackcomb, they’ve been reducing the amount of terrain available.

Still Unsure What Will Be Open

This year, skiing has shifted to Whistler due to lift maintenance and that they will begin construction on Jersey Cream. The upgrade from a 4-pack to a high-speed 6-pack chairlift is underway. As of April 24th, nearly all lifts on Whistler are operational, but it’s highly unlikely this will continue into the next month. From all the press releases we’ve read they’re keeping which lifts will run in May under wraps.

Nevertheless, Whistler still boasts a ski village that sets a standard for others to replacing, making it a must-visit destination for spring skiing. One of the highlights of late May skiing is the opportunity to ski the upper elevations in the morning and mountain bike the lower slopes in the afternoon. Talk about a fun filled, adrenaline rushing day! 

Palisades Tahoe | Alpine

Acreage open in May: On a good snow year expect around a 1,000 acres to be open.

This season has been… interesting. What started off as one of the worst in recent memory for North America swiftly rebounded in February and continued its momentum into early April. All that snow translates to a great late season. As of now, Alpine Meadows is scheduled to close on April 28th, while Palisades Tahoe plans to keep its lifts running until at least May 27th, or until the snow melts completely. For the most up-to-date information on open facilities, refer to the Palisades Tahoe operations blog.

Regardless of what happens, expect all-time spring shredding in May, a lively apres scene in the Village, and of course the Made in Tahoe festival. Local artisans, businesses, culinarians, organizations, and entertainers will gather in the Village to display a wide array of offerings that are made or inspired in the Lake Tahoe Basin and Truckee areas. The world-famous Cushing Crossing is even happening this May! In fact, we’ve had some of our BEST powder days of the season in May. How good was it? See for yourself: The Winter That Won’t End – May Powder Day In Lake Tahoe.

Honorable Mentions

Besides the ones listed above, there are a few other resorts that keep the lifts turning that we have to mention. In Colorado, the late season resort is of course Arapahoe Basin which keep their’s running into June or later. And In Canada, you have Sunshine Village. Lastly, you have Timberline Resort in Oregon. While these are all open during May, the consistency of producing high quality corn is less than ideal than the ones listed above. We wanted to also give a shout out to the East’s spring king. While the quality isn’t as great as the ones above, their dedication to late season skiing is insane. They shoot snow ALL WINTER to push the season. That’s some love for skiing.

Killington

Acreage Open in May: Normally a handful of trails

Have a Nor’Beaster spring pass? Every season Killington pushes the limit of how long a season can be with the help of snowmaking. Throughout winter they train their snowguns on Superstar burying it with more than three stories of snow ensuring that they’ll be skiing in late April and usually all the way into Memorial Day. With how rough of a season they’ve had for now, we’ll see if they make it. The one thing we can guarantee is that there will be all kinds of multi-sport fun to be had. From the Bike Park opening in late May to the annual legendary New England stage race and golfing on the links, you’ll be in for a treat to say the least.

No moping about the house that snow season is over! Skip the “summer traffic” in the city and head up to the mountains. You’ll enjoy some daytime drinking, get some shredding in, and maybe even your 1^st sun burn of the year! I don’t know about you but that sounds like a great long weekend.