Opening Day Is Here – First Ski Resort Openings In US/Canada For 2024-25 Season

There’s something special about opening day for any sport. No matter what happened last year, it’s a clean slate. There is hope. It’s a time for friends to reconnect and catch up on what they’ve been doing during the off season. A reason to celebrate a new beginning. So, where can you go NOW (or really soon) to get some turns in? Well, here are the first ski resort openings in the US & Canada or ones that will be open in the very near future for the 2024-25 ski season.

Perfect Time To Plan That Big Trip

Even if you aren’t heading to one of these ski resort openings, it’s a perfect reminder to start planning your ski trips this winter! Check out our trip planning guide to get the low-down on time of year to visit and where to find the best snow. Learn what items to bring. Read about unheard of ski resorts that you can find fresh powder days, even weeks after a storm. No matter if you’re a beginner or an expert, you’ll find some juicy tidbit to make this the best winter ever.

Wolf Creek

Snowiest Resort In Colorado

Being the first ski resort to open in Colorado is an award that typically is chased by perennial snowmaking giants. In fact, Arapahoe Basin has been the first Colorado ski area to open for 11 of the past 13 years! This year though the annual fight was won by Mother Nature at Wolf Creek Ski Resort in southwest Colorado on NATURAL snow. Yup! After a set of storms dropped over 26 inches of snow, they were able to open on October 22^nd. This wasn’t the first time they’ve turned their lifts in October either. That’s why we listed this resort as the perfect place to start your endless winter road trip. For this season, they’ve started fast with three of their lifts runnings right from the get go – Treasure Stoke, Bonanza, and Nova accessing 30% of their terrain.

Arapahoe Basin

First to Open & Last to Close

Known as “The Legend”, their investment in snow making and high elevation has really helped them be a competitive force in holding the torch as the first to open in Colorado and many times the first to open in the US. The earliest ever opening being October 9^th in 2009, this year they still pushed to open as early as possible by getting the lifts turning on November 2nd. And, like in years past, they eeked out the coveted spot of being the ‘first’ by starting the lifts at 8:12 a.m. Now that they’re open, they’ll be the first resort to turn lifts 7 days/week. As usual, the Black Mountain Express lift was running giving skiers & snowboarders access to their intermediate “High Noon” trail from A-Basin’s front side.

Keystone

First To Open In The Colorado Front Range

Keystone began running their lifts on Saturday, November 2nd as well, making it the second ski resort to open in the I-70 corridor by Denver. Keystone offered up two miles of schussing across 40 acres to start the season off right. The opening day trails were Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon. These trails are accessed by the River Run Gondola and Montezuma Express chairlift. While this winter they didn’t provide top-to-bottom skiing on opening day, we’re just glad winter is back baby!

Lake Louise

First To Open In Canada

Due to its location, the first to open usually goes to one of Alberta’s “Big 3.” Last season Mt Norquay was hit with a snowstorm dropping over seven inches on the slopes. This year, Lake Louise came out on top, opening first on Tuesday, November 5th. Currently, three trails and one lift are open. Skiers can enjoy Bald Eagle, Wiwaxy, and part of the Easy Street trail, all accessible via the Glacier Express chairlift. The lower section of Easy Street also features a small terrain park.

Loveland Ski Resort

Closest major resort to Denver

Loveland is located only 53 miles from Denver with over 1,800 acres of terrain. They’ve signaled they’ll provide an announcement on when they’ll be open later this week. Most likely it’ll be the “Chet’s Dream” chairlift to carry skiers & snowboarders to one top-to-bottom run covered from tree-to-tree with an 18-inch base. To do this, the trails “Catwalk,” “Mambo”, and “Home Run” comprise the Opening Day run, which is over a mile in length and contains nearly 1,000 vertical feet. A great way to start the season!

 

Timberline Ski Resort

Longest Season in North America

Known for their summer skiing and being open twelve months a year, Timberline usually shuts down for a few weeks of maintenance and for the first snowfall to refresh the base, but that’s about it. La Niña has already rewarded eager Pacific Northwesterners with thirteen inches of snow on top of a 25-inch base, allowing Timberline to operate the Pucci lift on November 3rd and 4th for a sneak peak.

Sunday River

A Treat for East Coasters

 

East Coast skiers are a hardy bunch. If there’s even an inkling of white stuff (or liquid snow, for that matter) on the ground, they’ll figure out a way to ski it. It makes sense that, while it isn’t an official opening for the season, Sunday River in Maine couldn’t pass up the opportunity to let people ski on Halloween! The Locke Mountain Triple was run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with expert-only and ungroomed skiing taking place on T2. The official opening date is still TBD.

 

Killington

The Beast Of The East

Not to be outdone by the West Coast, Killington normally strives every fall to have a VERY early opening each and every year. Always known to be in the running as one of the earliest if not THE earliest resort to open and the latest to close. Unfortunately, this year they’re not pushing to get the single chair open. Instead, it’s about opening when they have top-to-bottom skiing which they’re stating is typically November 6^th based on meteorological averages.

Wild Mountain

First In The Midwest?

There are a few ski areas that push to be the first open in their respective states. The Midwest is where snowmaking was perfected on the slopes of Boyne Mountain. But shockingly, it isn’t Boyne Mountain that normally wins the race on the first ski resort openings list in the region. Two years ago, the outright winner was Wild Mountain, keeping its 40 year+ tradition alive of being the first in the state to open on October 18^th. It wasn’t even the mountain’s earliest opening ever (that was on Oct. 7, 2012), but it did tie for Wild Mountain’s second earliest opening (the other being in 1994). For 2024, the weather hasn’t been conducive for ANY snowmaking, so the race to be the 1st to open in the Midwest is still wide open.

Lastly, if you aren’t prepared for winter yet, check out our gear check-up and tips on getting your body ready for the season.