Colorado Ski Resort Opening Days for the 2026–27 Season

Mark your calendar. Breckenridge opens Friday, November 6. Vail opens Friday, November 13. Beaver Creek opens Wednesday, November 25. Keystone and Arapahoe Basin opened October 28. 

Here's every opening date near our shops, what day one actually looks like, and how to get on the hill without starting your trip in a rental line.

2026–27 Colorado Ski Resort Opening Dates

Resort	Target opening day	Status	Nearest Base Mountain Sports shop
Keystone	Wednesday, October 28, 2026	Open	Breckenridge
Arapahoe Basin	Wednesday, October 28, 2026	Open	Breckenridge
Loveland	No date set (Nov 5 is its 5-year average)	Making snow	—
Winter Park	As soon as possible		—
Breckenridge	Friday, November 6, 2026	Scheduled	Breckenridge
Copper Mountain	Friday, November 6, 2026	Scheduled	Breckenridge
Vail Mountain	Friday, November 13, 2026	Scheduled	Vail
Steamboat	Saturday, November 21, 2026	Scheduled	—
Beaver Creek	Wednesday, November 25, 2026	Scheduled	Beaver Creek · Avon
Crested Butte	Wednesday, November 25, 2026	Scheduled	Our Friends at Butte & Co
Aspen Mountain / Snowmass	Thursday, November 26, 2026	Scheduled	—
Telluride	Thursday, November 26, 2026	Scheduled	—

These are the resorts' target dates, and the weather gets a vote. We'll update this page as each mountain opens.

Breckenridge Opening Day: November 6, 2026

Breckenridge is scheduled to open Friday, November 6. Day one usually means a handful of groomed beginner and intermediate runs off Peak 8 and Peak 9, built on man-made snow. More terrain opens as natural snow stacks up through November. 

Opening weekend in Breck gets busy, and so do the rental counters on Main Street. We hate those lines too. Book your gear online before you get here and you'll head straight to fitting. See Breckenridge ski rental rates →

New this season: ski and snowboard delivery in Breckenridge. We bring skis, boards, boots and helmets to your condo, fit everyone right there, and pick it all up when you're done.

Vail Mountain Opening Day: November 13, 2026

Vail Mountain plans to open Friday, November 13. Early-season laps usually start on the front side around Mid-Vail, on man-made snow. The Back Bowls wait for real storms and often open in December. If you're in town on a Friday, there's live music at the mountain for the first month of the season.

Rather spend your first morning skiing than standing at a counter? See Vail ski rental rates → or get your gear delivered in Vail →

Beaver Creek Opening Day: November 25, 2026

Beaver Creek opens Wednesday, November 25, the day before Thanksgiving. That makes it an easy pick for a holiday ski trip. On Saturday, November 28, there's a free Retro Skate Party at the Beaver Creek Village ice rink.

Traveling with kids? Book online and we'll have everyone's gear sized and waiting. Or skip the shop entirely and we'll fit the whole family at your lodging. Beaver Creek rates → · Avon rates → · Rental delivery in Beaver Creek & Avon →

Keystone and Arapahoe Basin: The Race to Open First

Keystone and A-Basin don't set opening dates. They open the minute conditions allow, and every fall they race to be first in Colorado. This season, they both opened on October 28. 

Real talk: opening day at either one is usually one or two man-made runs, mostly full of locals getting their legs back. It's not a powder day, but it's skiing in October, and that's hard to argue with. Both are a short drive from our Breckenridge shop.

Other Colorado Resorts Opening Nearby

• Copper Mountain: November 6, same day as Breckenridge
• Loveland: no date set; it's opened around November 5 on average over the past five years
• Winter Park: as soon as possible
• Steamboat: November 21
• Aspen Snowmass and Telluride: November 26 (Thanksgiving Day)

What Early-Season Conditions Actually Look Like

Most Colorado mountains open on man-made snow, not natural snow. Day one is usually a few groomers, a little crowded, with the rest of the mountain opening as storms roll in. By Christmas, Vail and Beaver Creek usually have most of their terrain open. 

How to make the most of it:

• Check the snow report before you drive up. Terrain changes fast in November.
• Expect firm, chalky snow. Sharp edges make a real difference on man-made snow. If your skis haven't been tuned since last spring, bring them in, or rent something we've already dialed in.
• Take the first few laps easy. Only a few runs are open, so they're busy. Give people room and find your legs.

2026–27 Colorado Snow Outlook

Honest version: last season was rough. 2025–26 brought record-low snowpack across much of the West. This winter, forecasters are watching a strong El Niño. That's a probability, not a promise, and El Niño has historically been a mixed bag for central Colorado.

The mountains are leaning hard on snowmaking this year, and the mid-October storm gave the early openers a solid head start. If the pow takes a while to show up, groomers will still be fast and the park will be running. Swing by and we'll tune you up for firm snow.

For the full forecast, read our Colorado snowfall predictions for 2026–27. 

Key Dates for Planning Your 2026–27 Ski Trip

Date	What it means
Nov 6–25	Opening weeks: limited terrain, short lines, lowest prices
Thanksgiving, Nov 26	First big crowd of the season
Early December	One of the best-value windows of the year
Dec 26 – Jan 2	Peak week. Book lodging, rentals and delivery early
MLK weekend, Jan 16–18, 2027	Very busy for a three-day weekend
Presidents' Day week, Feb 15, 2027	The busiest non-holiday week of the season
March	Spring break, busy all month

Want more help picking your dates? Read our guide to the best time to go skiing in Colorado.

Book Your Rentals Before Opening Day

A rental line is a rough way to start opening weekend. We hate them as much as you do. Book online before you arrive, and when you walk in, you go straight to fitting and out the door. Book online. Get 25% off. Go ride (or ski). 

• Breckenridge: rates & reservations
• Vail: rates & reservations
• Beaver Creek: rates & reservations
• Avon: rates & reservations
• Staying in a condo or hotel? We'll bring your gear and fit it there in Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek and Avon (2-day minimum).

Shopping for your own setup before the season? Check out our gear shop, or swing by and talk it through with the crew.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Breckenridge open for the 2026–27 season? Breckenridge Ski Resort is scheduled to open Friday, November 6, 2026, weather permitting.

When does Vail open in 2026? Vail Mountain is scheduled to open Friday, November 13, 2026.

When does Beaver Creek open in 2026? Beaver Creek is scheduled to open Wednesday, November 25, 2026, the day before Thanksgiving.

Which Colorado ski resort opens first? Usually Keystone or Arapahoe Basin. Neither sets a date. They open as soon as snowmaking and weather allow, often in late October. Both opened for the 2026-2027 season on Wednesday, October 28. 

Are opening dates guaranteed? No. Opening dates are targets, and they can move earlier or later depending on temperatures and snow. Check the resort's website before you travel.

How much terrain is open on opening day? Usually just a few groomed runs on man-made snow. Terrain opens up through November and December as natural snow builds, and most of the mountain is typically open by the Christmas holidays.

See You On the Hill

Opening day is close, and on some mountains, it's here. Book online, get 25% off, and go ride. Then come back and tell us about it.

Breckenridge · Vail · Beaver Creek · Avon · Delivery