These Are the 10 Highest Ski Resort Lift Ticket Prices In North America This Winter
When it comes to booking a ski trip, pretty much everyone wants to get the best bang for their buck. But with lift ticket prices skyrocketing in recent years, it’s been harder to do that. In fact, in recent seasons, several resorts have seen 1-day ticket costs rise to the point where they now cost an arm and a leg for all but the wealthiest individuals.
So which mountains have the highest costs of entry, and how did they arrive at these insane price tags? In this piece, we’ll go through the top 10 most expensive lift tickets you can buy in North America and our thoughts on the pricing structure of each ticket.
Most of the prices in this piece are those charged at the ticket window on peak days, so if you can, be sure to buy your tickets ahead of time! Enjoy!
#10: Big Sky
Top 1-Day Ticket Price: $239
Coming in at the 10th spot on this list is Big Sky, which is Montana’s largest resort and the third largest ski resort in all of North America. Big Sky has an incredible footprint with plenty of terrain for all abilities, as well as a truly breathtaking presence thanks to the jarring terrain off Lone Peak. Big Sky may not have the easiest layout or best on-mountain facilities, but its four enclosed bubble chairs will keep guests comfortable throughout a full day on the slopes.
So what’s the cost of entry for this massive Montana resort? Well if you buy at the ticket window on a peak day, it’s a whopping $239 for 1 day of access. There are discounts as low as $165 for a 1-day ticket if you buy in advance or on an off-peak day, but these rates are still no joke, and out of reach for the overwhelming majority of average travelers. Big Sky is on the Ikon season and Session Pass products, and if you plan on visiting the resort this winter, these are your best values for access. That said, these still aren’t even remotely cheap, and if you’re reading this after December 8th, they’re already off sale.
1-Day Ticket Range (Core Season):
Adult 15-69: $165-$239
Child 7-14: $116-$159
Senior 70+: $150-$199
Child 0-6: $1
Other Access Options (All off sale after Dec. 8):
Ikon Pass: $1,229 (Ages 23+)
Includes 7-day Big Sky access
Ikon Base Pass: $919 (Ages 23+)
Includes 5-day access with blackouts
Ikon Session Pass: $309-$519 (Ages 23+)
Includes 2-4 days with blackouts
#9: Winter Park
Top 1-Day Ticket Price: $249
Next up is Winter Park, which is one of the largest, most popular ski resorts in Colorado. The resort stands out with over 3,000 acres of well-rounded skiable terrain, really nice lodges, and some of the best mogul trails around in its Mary Jane zone.
However, Winter Park has always been a busy mountain, and crowds have only gotten worse as the Denver metropolitan area has exploded in popularity. So what’s Winter Park’s solution? Jack up the ticket prices, especially at the window and on weekends and holidays. This means that on holidays and Saturdays, a 1-day walk-up lift ticket is a whopping $249. Walk-up tickets on weekdays and Sundays aren’t much better, at $239 for one day of access.
Winter Park’s in-advance ticket prices are based on demand, and there are significant discounts on less busy days and for multi-day purchases, with the price falling as low as $143 (excluding early- and late-season) for in-advance purchases on off-peak Wednesdays. These early-bird prices are not cheap, but if you want to visit the resort, don’t sit on them, as the rates rise by design.
Like Big Sky, Winter Park is on Ikon, and you don’t plan on going on an off-peak weekday, Ikon’s Pass offerings are likely a somewhat better value than early-bird lift tickets. Winter Park also offers 2, 3, and 4-pack flex lift tickets that are on sale until December 8th, and with prices in the low one-hundreds per day, are the best deal of all.
1-Day Ticket Range (Core Season):
Adult 13+: $143-$249
Child 5-12: $89-$166
Child 0-4: $20
Other Access Options (All off sale after Dec. 8):
Ikon Pass/Base Pass: $919-$1,229 (Ages 23+)
Includes unlimited Winter Park access
Ikon Session Pass: $309-$519 (Ages 23+)
Includes 2-4 days with blackouts
Winter Park Flex Tickets: $260-$499 (Ages 13+)
Includes 2-4 days with blackouts
#8: Breckenridge
Top 1-Day Ticket Price: $255
Our first Vail-owned mountain on this list is Colorado’s most popular resort, Breckenridge. Despite the significant crowds one might expect from a popular Rockies destination, Breck gets a lot of things right, with a unique mix of all terrain types and one of the best ski towns out there.
But with high demand comes high prices, and Breckenridge’s 1-day ticket rates now stretch as high as $255 at the window on holidays and for the entire month of March. Rates are cheaper on off-peak weekdays and weekends, but with a starting 1-day adult rate of $186 (excluding early- and late-season) even with early-bird purchases, there’s no cheap way to buy a Breckenridge lift ticket. Shocked by the rate this year? Well if you bought a Breckenridge lift ticket last season, the average ticket cost has risen by a not insignificant 15% year-over-year.
If you’re planning a trip to Breckenridge this winter, there is a cheaper medium of access—but only if you move fast. Breckenridge is part of the Epic Pass suite, and 1-day access is available for as low as $104 until December 4. It’s kind of a poorly kept secret that Epic’s Day Pass products are essentially budget lift tickets for Vail-owned resorts, but after they go off sale, there’s no easy way to find a good deal on access to Breck.
1-Day Ticket Range (Core Season):
Adult 13-64: $186-$255
Child 5-12: $121-$166
Senior 65+: $176-$245
Child 0-4: Free
Other Access Options (All off sale after Dec. 4):
Epic Pass/Local Pass: $735-$949 (Ages 19+)
Includes unlimited Breckenridge access
Summit Value Pass: $579 (Ages 19+)
Includes unlimited access with blackouts
Epic Day Pass Tickets: $104-$122 per day (Ages 13+)
Includes 1-7 days of access
#7: Park City
Top 1-Day Ticket Price: $259
Park City is the largest ski resort in the United States, measuring in at an astounding 7,300 acres. The mountain is anchored by the best ski town in Utah and some of the best terrain parks in the country. That being said, Park City has seen its crowds increase in recent years, and on-mountain operations—including in line management and restaurant operations—took a hit as well.
But despite some of its recent controversies, lift tickets to Park City are not cheap—and not cheap at all. 1-day rates have increased substantially over the years, and they now top out at an astronomical $259 on holidays and throughout all of March. Rates of as low as $182 (excluding early- and late-season) on off-peak weekdays with in-advance purchases do little to make the mountain a reasonable value prop.
Like with Breckenridge, Park City is owned by Vail Resorts, meaning there’s still a small window of time to score a good deal on access with an Epic Pass product. The same $104/day rate with a 1-day Epic Pass is valid through December 4, so be sure to move quickly.
1-Day Ticket Range (Core Season):
Adult 13-64: $182-$259
Child 5-12: $116-$166
Senior 65+: $126-$179
Child 0-4: Free
Other Access Options (All off sale after Dec. 4):
Epic Pass: $949 (Ages 13+)
Includes unlimited Park City access
Epic Local Pass: $735 (Ages 19+)
Includes unlimited access with blackouts
Epic Day Pass Tickets: $104-$122 per day (Ages 13+)
Includes 1-7 days of access
#6: Deer Valley
Deer Valley is really known more for its luxury than the quality of its terrain. Deer Valley’s snow and terrain aren’t all that special compared to other Rockies destinations, with limited bowl runs, half the natural snowfall of some of Utah’s other mountains, and an incredibly built up footprint. But the resort does customer service incredibly well, with amenities such as complimentary overnight ski storage and on-site staff to assist with just about any request you might have.
But Deer Valley’s guest services do not come cheap, and the resort tops out at the same $259 rate as Park City. But even with an in-advance purchase on an off-peak weekday, 1-day adult lift tickets are never cheaper than $199 during the core season. The resort also has one of the highest ticket rates out there for kids 4 and under, with a 1-day rate of $48. Most other resorts let children this young in for free.
Deer Valley is on the Ikon Pass, but unlike Steamboat and Winter Park, you can’t access Deer Valley on the base Ikon or with a session pass, meaning that the cheapest pass product, which comes with 5 days of holiday-blacked-out Deer Valley access, is still over $1,000. These rates are absolutely outrageous, especially for a resort that can’t match the terrain, snow quality, and aesthetics of countless Rockies competitors.
1-Day Ticket Range (Core Season):
Adult 13-64: $199-$259
Child 5-12: $123-$161
Senior 65+: $149-$194
Child 0-4: $48
Other Access Options (All off sale after Dec. 8):
Ikon Pass: $1,229 (Ages 23+)
Includes 7-day Deer Valley access
Ikon Base Plus Pass: $1,119 (Ages 23+)
Includes 5-day access with holiday blackouts
#5: Palisades Tahoe
Palisades Tahoe visitors are in for a revitalized resort experience this winter. The mountain is finally linking its two resort sides—Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows—as one interconnected resort via a brand new gondola connection. The resort is also upgrading its Red Dog chair to a high-speed six-pack, providing much better access to some of its best lower-mountain terrain. The two Palisades Tahoe sides were already the best individual resorts in the Lake Tahoe region prior to the new gondola, and linking them together will give Palisades the largest skiable footprint in Tahoe, as well as one of the largest in all of North America.
But with these improvements, Palisades has hiked its ticket rates. The resort was never cheap, but it now charges a mind-blowing 1-day walkup rate of $269 on weekends and holidays. Walkup rates on weekdays aren’t much cheaper, and if you book within two weeks of your trip, you’re still likely to pay a rate close to $200 per day. Palisades does offer cheaper 1-day adult rates of as low as $149 on off-peak Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but the Tahoe region is not the most reliable, and booking a weeks—or even days—in advance ski trip means you could be risking terrain closures, snow droughts, and icy slopes.
Palisades Tahoe is on both the Ikon season and session passes, and for significantly discounted options on access, guests will definitely want to check out these products before they’re gone after December 8th. Like with Winter Park, Palisades offers 4-pack options, and these are the best deals for access if you book early enough—that said, they go off sale at the same time as the Ikon products.
1-Day Ticket Range (Core Season):
Adult 18-69: $149-$269
Child 5-12: $104-$188
Senior 70+: $134-$242
Teen 13-17: $134-$242
Child 0-4: Free
Other Access Options (All off sale after Dec. 8):
Ikon Pass/Base Pass: $919-$1,229 (Ages 23+)
Unlimited access (blackouts on Base and Base Plus Passes)
Ikon Session Pass: $309-$519 (Ages 23+)
Includes 2-4 days with blackouts
Tahoe 4-Pack: $449-$529 (Ages 18+)
Includes 4 flexible days with or without blackouts
#4: Steamboat
Steamboat is a much more remote mountain than most of the other Colorado destinations, and its location north of the I-70 corridor is several hours from Denver. The resort is anchored by a historic, lively town where some of the best skiers in the country grew up skiing, and it has some really standout tree terrain. But while Steamboat is an enjoyable mountain, weak above-treeline and expert terrain and a number of really bad resort chokepoints put it at a noteworthy disadvantage against its Colorado competition.
So given Steamboat’s drawbacks, its lift tickets are priced accordingly, right? Nope. Turns out Steamboat charges some of the most insane lift ticket prices on the continent. 1-day adult lift tickets go for as high as $269, matching the highest rate of Palisades Tahoe and outcharging nearly every other Colorado mountain. 1-day prices do start as low as $177 on off-peak weekdays (during the core season), but these “cheap” lift tickets book up fast. Steamboat’s pricing structure is demand-based, and 1-day rates rise above the $200 mark months in advance of all but the most off peak of days.
Steamboat is the most expensive mountain on this list that’s also on the Ikon season and session passes, so be sure to lock in one of those products before the end of the day on December 8th if you plan on visiting this winter.
1-Day Ticket Range (Core Season):
Adult 15-69: $177-$269
Child 5-12: $133-$195
Senior 65+: $167-$259
Child 0-4: $10
Other Access Options (All off sale after Dec. 8):
Ikon Pass: $1,229 (Ages 23+)
Includes unlimited Steamboat access
Ikon Base Pass: $919 (Ages 23+)
Includes 5-day access with blackouts
Ikon Session Pass: $309-$519 (Ages 23+)
Includes 2-4 days with blackouts
#2 (tie): Vail / Beaver Creek
Vail and Beaver Creek are arguably Vail’s co-flagship resorts. And fascinatingly, they happen to have the exact same lift ticket prices for every single day, no matter how far in advance you buy.
But perhaps less fascinatingly to those who find themselves at the ticket window this winter, the highest walkup rates for both mountains are an astounding $275 for 1 day of access. This walk-up rate is valid for the entire month of March, as well as during the December, January, and February holiday periods.
So how did these mountains end up in a position to have such astronomical price tags? Well first off, Vail and Beaver Creek are both world-class resorts with almost unparalleled experiences in their respective strengths elsewhere in North America. Beaver Creek does hospitality incredibly well, and it’s one of the few luxury-oriented resorts that actually comes with a fully modern lift setup and surprisingly demanding expert terrain. And Vail has a one-of-a-kind skiable footprint, with a combination of sheer size and terrain diversity that basically has no parallel. And secondly, Vail Resorts, which owns both mountains, has really gone on a path of moving towards pass-oriented lift access, pushing guests towards purchasing Epic Pass products ahead of the season. It’s probably safe to say Vail Resorts prefers that guests purchase passes over tickets, as they’re much more reliable revenue streams than lift tickets, which guests may decide not to purchase depending on weather or other outside factors. These really high price tags are just another incentive for consumers to move to these more dependable revenue streams.
Both Vail and Beaver Creek do offer cheaper tickets ahead of time, as well as during the months of January and February, which are less busy. But even advance-purchase tickets start at over $200 for adults, and start as high as $247 in March and on holidays. This means the only way for most typical adults to get even a remotely reasonable deal on access to either of these mountains is to buy one of Epic’s season or day pass products ahead of time. If you’re reading this before the end of the day on December 4, you better move quickly!
1-Day Ticket Range (Core Season):
Adult 13-64: $208-$275
Child 5-12: $144-$190
Senior 65+: $198-$265
Child 0-4: Free
Other Access Options (All off sale after Dec. 4):
Epic Pass: $949 (Ages 13+)
Includes unlimited Vail and Beaver Creek access
Epic Local Pass: $735 (Ages 19+)
10 cumulative days across Vail and Beaver Creek with blackouts
Epic Day Pass Tickets: $104-$122 per day (Ages 13+)
Includes 1-7 days of access
#1: Homewood
And finally, the most expensive lift ticket in North America this winter is from…a small ski resort in Tahoe. Wait, what?
That’s right, California’s Homewood resort has really jacked up its window rates this winter, charging an absolutely barbaric $279 rate for 1-day access during peak times. Walk-up rates are now $229 on weekends and $159 on off-peak weekdays. Homewood used to offer some of the cheapest lift tickets in Tahoe, but these rates are not a joke.
So how is this even possible? Well, Homewood has seen its visitation decline significantly over the years, with barely 1,000 visitors even on the busiest days last season, and rumors have even swirled that the resort will go private in the near future. It seems like at least for the short term, Homewood is trying to curb its revenue problem by jacking up its lift ticket prices.
Homewood’s lack of crowds during peak times is a huge plus, and the resort’s lakeside location gives it one of the most amazing vibes of any resort we’ve tried. However, these factors do little to make a $200+ cost of entry for a 400-acre footprint any less insane. Other Tahoe resorts may charge nearly-as-absurd prices, including the aforementioned Palisades Tahoe, but they’re much bigger, better mountains overall.
Homewood does offer significant discounts of as low as $99 with in-advance purchases. However, the resort is one of the most fickle ski areas in the Tahoe region, with a low elevation and limited snowmaking resulting in variable conditions. In years’ past, complete resort shutdowns were not unheard of if conditions deteriorated past a certain point. Homewood’s lift tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable, so guests will be taking a bet by booking their tickets in advance of their vacation date.
Ultimately, we’re reasonably confident these pricing changes will effectively turn Homewood into a passholders’-only mountain on weekends and peak holidays, essentially achieving privatization during those times before it’s even official. Homewood may hold the title of the most expensive 1-day lift ticket in North America, but it’s by far the least competitive mountain on this list, and we would be shocked to see anyone decide to pay these walkup prices.
1-Day Ticket Range (Core Season):
Adult 19-61: $99-$279
Child 5-12: $59-$179
Senior 62+: $79-$199
Teen 13-18: $79-$199
Child 0-4: Free
Bonus Mention: Big Sky Lone Peak Tram Add-On
If you’re familiar with Big Sky and you watched the earlier portion of our article, you might be wondering—wait a minute, what about the Lone Peak Tram? Well it turns out that a regular Big Sky lift ticket does not include Lone Peak Tram access, meaning that guests will have to pay extra to access Big Sky’s best expert terrain, most amazing views, and full top-to-bottom vertical drop.
Lone Peak Tram access is not cheap, and a 1-day access pass costs an additional $30-$100 dollars—on top of the already existing lift ticket. This means that if you get a walk-up ticket along with a Lone Peak Tram pass, the damage could be as high as $339 for a single day of access. That is a completely outrageous price tag, and even with terrain as distinctive as Lone Peak’s, it’s going to be really hard to justify. There’s no way to buy Lone Peak Tram access ahead of the day you visit, so if you do plan on buying one of these passes, be sure to save as much money as you can on your regular Big Sky lift ticket.
1-Day Tram Access Cost Range (Core Season):
Adult 15-69: $195-$339
Child 7-14: $146-$259
Senior 70+: $180-$299
Child 0-6: $31-$101
Final Thoughts
So those are the top 10 most expensive ski resort lift tickets you can buy in North America this winter. While most of the mountains on this list are very competitive, absolutely none of them are worth their top-priced ticket costs. Prices continue to rise over the years, and this season’s rates are the craziest yet—we didn’t even cover the other 10 resorts that sell lift tickets of over $200, making for a total of 20 mountains across North America that have now joined the “200 Club.” There are an additional five mountains that missed the cut by less than ten dollars, so we’ll likely have even more new inductees next season.
If there’s one thing you should take away from this piece—buy early. Nearly all of these astronomical lift ticket prices can be avoided with in-advance planning, and for the overwhelming majority of resorts on this list, there’s little—or at least tolerable—downside to figuring your plans out months in advance.
For more information on these resorts, check out our full Rockies, West Coast, and East Coast rankings.
