A skier navigates the cliffs and rock features at Magic Mountain Ski Resort in Southern Idaho near Kimberly. Photo by Ryan Zimmer for Ski Idaho.
Gem State ski areas feeling the stoke as 2025-26 season beckons
KELLOGG, Idaho (Nov. 4, 2025) — There’s more area to explore at several Idaho ski areas this winter. Sun Valley Resort and Tamarack Resort are unveiling 90 acres and 50-60 acres of new inbounds terrain, respectively, while Silver Mountain Resort and Kelly Canyon Resort have added new glades, Magic Mountain is expanding its beginner area and tubing hill, and Soldier Mountain debuted 250 acres of side country at the end of last ski season.
Premiering amidst an array of upgrades during Sun Valley Resort’s 90th season, 90 acres of newly gladed terrain are home to four advanced runs between Canyon, Exhibition, and Olympic. Developed through the resort’s Bald Mountain Forest Stewardship Project with the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Forest Foundation, the effort reduces fire risk and improves forest health while providing heating firewood to local indigenous communities like the Shoshone Bannock at Fort Hall and the Shoshone Paiute in Duck Valley. The project also unlocks some of the most exciting advanced terrain on the mountain and has led Sun Valley to develop more than 350 acres of glades over the last 5 years.
Lucy Sackbauer, a pro skier on Nordica’s freeride crew, enjoys some off-piste pow at Sun Valley Resort. Photo by Tal Roberts.
The family owned Central Idaho ski area — renowned as America’s first destination resort and the birthplace of the chairlift — is introducing RFID technology across all base areas of Bald and Dollar mountains to improve guest experiences and efficiency. Sun Valley is also launching new ski and ride clinics — including multiday adult camps — as part of its award-winning ski school programming. Plus, this winter Dollar Mountain will debut Sunny’s Adventure Park, a bright, whimsical addition to the resort with fun, imaginative terrain-park-style features.
Sun Valley, rated no. 8 in SKI Magazine’s list of the top 30 resorts in the West for 2026, is slated to open for skiing and riding Nov. 27.
Turning lemons into lemonade after this summer’s Rock Fire scorched 80 acres of forest near its boundary, Tamarack Resort is transforming upwards of 60 acres south of Bliss into terrain that will appeal to advanced skiers and riders. The fire began with a lightning strike Aug. 12 less than 2 miles from Tamarack and burned nearly 2,800 acres across Idaho’s West Central Mountains.
Tamarack also enhanced its main green run, Waltz, to allow more room for progression and learning, and it moved additional mobile snowmaking guns there to ensure early opening conditions and consistent coverage throughout the season. In addition, the resort brought in specialized Aebi mowers to cut brush on Tamarack’s most popular runs, including Serenity, Showtime, and Encore, for earlier openings and to provide smoother, more manicured surfaces all winter. Plus, it installed new loading and unloading ramps at key chairlifts, including Discovery Chair, Tamarack Express, and Summit Express, to ensure smoother transitions for skiers and riders of all ability levels.
The resort, in Southwest Idaho near Donnelly, recently announced plans to limit day ticket sales on peak dates this winter — a measure adopted by other ski areas to minimize crowds and improve the on-mountain experience. Tamarack is expanding Nordic rentals, lessons, and programming, too, and it’s taking après to new heights, introducing a mobile DJ Snowcat to bring high-energy experiences to different areas of the mountain. Plus, the mid-mountain lodge, which debuted last winter, will offer expanded dining offerings, live music, and enhanced outdoor seating overlooking Lake Cascade.
It has relocated Tamarack Sports School to a new, centralized location in the Village that conveniently includes rentals and lesson check-ins. Likewise, the resort has established a new Central Reservations and Lodging Check-In center in the Village. And it is opening Elevation Studio to offer guests and club members a range of fitness and wellness classes from yoga and mobility to guided stretch and recovery sessions.
Expansions to Tamarack’s upper and lower Village parking lots will ease congestion during peak weekends, and the new Aspen lot will significantly grow capacity. The new lot sports 10 camping spots that are 26 ft. wide by 40 ft. deep (ideal for Class A and C motorhomes) and four spaces that are 12 ft. wide by 25 ft. deep (optimal for Sprinter vans and Class B camper vans).
The event calendar at Tamarack is packed for the holidays and beyond and includes Night Skiing on Discovery Jan. 17, an Intermountain Division under-14 qualifier Feb. 6-9, Valentine’s Day with Expedia Cruises Feb. 14, Disco on Disco Night Skiing Feb. 14, a Ski Like a Girl Tour stop Feb. 21, Snowfort Music Festival March 6-7, the Idaho State Pond Skim Championship April 4, and an RMSHA Hillclimb X Games qualifier April 17-18.
Tamarack plans to open for winter Nov. 28.
Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area in Southwest Idaho near Boise thinned undergrowth and opened up more gladed terrain across Pine Creek and Bitterroot Basin, partnering with Asplund to test a new piece of remote brush-cutting equipment called The Green Climber. Plus, it graded two aspects off the top of the top of the Morning Star Express chairlift, creating a more direct, beginner- and intermediate-friendly path toward the Bitterroot and Morningstar sides of the mountain.
But the big news for Bogus Basin this winter is that guests will be skiing on snow from last winter, because it’s been piloting innovative snow-storage technology from Finland that is only in use at three North American ski areas. The system stored approximately 11 acre-feet of snow over the summer with a 70 percent to 80 percent retention rate regardless of temperature, elevation, or aspect. Dubbed a clear success, the effort preserved roughly. 2.6 million gallons of water in snow form on Lower Coach’s Corner.
The mountain also installed 10 new fixed-position snow guns and implemented SmartSnow 7 software and key pump upgrades to optimize water and energy use and allow snowmaking teams to respond more quickly to temperature windows.
The nation’s largest nonprofit ski area, Bogus Basin undertook a major remodel of the Pioneer Lodge exterior and the entire lower level. That has transformed it into a modern, multi-use hub. Upgrades include a new elevator, providing full ADA access to all lodge floors, and renovated locker rooms that include a kitchenette-style food station for visitors who bring their own provisions. The mountain also upgraded and expanded lighting in the Pioneer Parking Lot. Pioneer Lodge will reopen in December.
Other improvements include a new point-of-sale and e-commerce platform to modernize guest transactions, a near complete rental fleet refresh for downhill and Nordic gear, the acquisition of a mid-sized snow plow to help keep the parking lots and roads clear and a PistenBully 600 Winch Cat to enhance grooming on steep terrain, new fire alarm systems at Bogus Creek Lodge and several other base-area buildings, and a refresh of the exterior of Frontier Point Lodge for Nordic skiers.
Bogus Basin anticipates beginning winter operations Nov. 21.
Up in North Idaho, Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg conducted extensive thinning in new areas of the North Face Glades, yielding additional steep, fall-line tree skiing and reducing the need for traversing. It also expanded Sheer Bliss, a run on skier’s left, and installed a permanent rope line for safety and clarity. In addition, the resort trimmed and gladed traverses throughout the mountain to improve flow and access.
Other mountain improvements include updated signage that provides more accurate run status updates and links to backcountry forecasts at backcountry gates, as well as transceiver park repairs and updates to support avalanche safety training and practice. Tubing sessions are now extended to seven days per week, and Silver Rapids — Idaho’s largest indoor waterpark — will boast extended midweek hours. Plus, a new partnership is bringing the Rossignol Experience Center to Silver Mountain Sports that will offer a wealth of branded hard goods and expanded demo experiences.
Silver Mountain, which features North America’s longest single-stage gondola, anticipates beginning winter operations Nov. 28.
In Southern Idaho near Kimberly, family owned Magic Mountain Ski Resort doubled its surface lift capacity, adding a second magic carpet to serve an expanded beginner area. It is also expanding the Twilight Tubing Hill by adding a new beginner/child area and adding new private weekday tubing sessions for schools, churches, businesses, and other organizations and large groups.
For the first time guests can rent Magic Mountain for private full-day events on its nonoperational days (it is typically closed Mondays-Wednesdays except holidays). It will begin selling single-ride lift tickets (uphill only) for backcountry skiers, Nordic skiers, and snowshoers desiring a “lift bump.” Plus, Magic Mountain is new to the Indy Pass this winter, bringing the total number of Idaho ski areas accessible via that popular multiresort pass product to eight.
Magic Mountain is targeting Dec. 13 as an opening date, weather permitting.
In Eastern Idaho near Ririe, Kelly Canyon Resort cleared and graded a new cat track between the tops of Lift 2 and Lift 4 to provide easy access to more terrain when the latter chair is not running, plus it opened a whole new glade below that. The resort also installed a new rope tow to serve its terrain park, which will boast 13 new features, including dancefloors, F-boxes, spines, and 10-inch-diameter tanker tubes. Kelly Canyon added a Prinoth Bison X groomer to its fleet, too. And Big Jud’s, a small but popular Idaho chain of burger joints, has taken over the lodge restaurant.
Gus Colburn, marketing manager at Silver Mountain Resort, descends through a glade at the North Idaho ski area in Kellogg. Photo by Ryan Zimmer for Ski Idaho.
Kelly Canyon plans to open Thanksgiving Day.
Soldier Mountain in southern Idaho near Fairfield opened 250 acres of intermediate and expert terrain for two weekends last March that it will open this winter for guided excursions on select dates aboard the TRAX side-by-side UTV the resort added to its catskiing fleet. Guests possessing the necessary skills and equipment can also reach the Bridge Creek Sidecountry Project’s steep, north-facing ridges and trees by foot on established bootpack trails or by skinning up in alpine touring gear.
TRAX side-by-side UTV that Soldier Mountain added to its catskiing fleet. Photo courtesy of Soldier Mountain.
The resort, once owned by actor Bruce Willis, is run by the Alden family, to which the sport of snowboarding is deeply beholden, and they have big plans for the mountain this winter. Competitions and athlete training this winter include the inaugural Soldier Mountain Freeride Invitational limited to 20 top riders, the RMSHA Uphill Battle Snowmobile Race Jan. 16-17, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Cross Training in April, the launch of the Soldier Scholastic Ski & Snowboard Team, and the Soldier Mountain/Sun Valley Ski Education Speed Project. The resort is also adding Ladies Backcountry Days and Intro to Backcountry Days to its expanded, world-class cat-skiing program.
Mountain improvements include a reforestation project with the US Forest Service, expanded snowmaking, new restraint bars on chairlifts and other safety enhancements, and the return of its tubing park. Community and youth programs include a Soldier Mountain Nature Guide, a Volunteer Ski Patrol Recruitment program for certified EMTs to earn CEUs, a Legacy Family Wall honoring families who’ve helped sustain the mountain, the Soldier Student Ski Fund to provide race equipment and gate supplies for local youth programs, the Soldier Mountain/SVSEF Training Alliance to develop freestyle and slopestyle training, and its annual Wing Day Feb. 6 with Mountain Home Air Force Base.
Soldier Mountain has not announced an opening date yet.
Although it hasn’t added any new terrain for this winter, Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area in North Idaho near the historic town of Wallace undertook numerous projects this summer to improve many trails.
The resort used a large bulldozer to remove all the stumps on two black diamond trails on Chair 3, smoothing and grading Big Dipper and Hercules to perfection, and it used the dozer to remove large, exposed rocks on the slopes of Whitetail, Keystone, Cloud 9, and Sundance to enhance early and late season experiences. Lookout Pass, which straddles the Idaho-Montana border and the Pacific and Mountain time zones, also regraded its Success beginner terrain, conducted additional grading on the recently opened Eagle Peak terrain, mowed virtually all the slopes on Chairs 1 and 2, and removed standing dead wood in several glades.
In addition, Lookout Pass added two groomers to its fleet — a new Prinoth and a gently used Prinoth — to yield more beautiful corduroy when “Idaho’s number one pow place” isn’t inundated with fresh snow. The resort also repainted Chair 3, installed a new locker room floor in the lodge, expanded its lower parking lot, and is completing a U.S. Forest Service bathroom at the bottom of the Eagle Peak Chair. Plus, it is offering a new, very affordable Lift Ticket 3 Pack for $179 if purchased by Dec. 1.
Lookout Pass will unveil its new website in mid-November, and the mountain anticipates opening Nov. 14 or 21, weather permitting.
Several other Idaho ski areas are making noteworthy infrastructure improvements and adding new programs in anticipation of this winter:
- Brundage Mountain Resort — which has a target opening day of Nov. 28, conditions permitting — added a new 1,800-square-foot emergency services building to house the ambulance and fire engine it added in 2024 to support its independently operated fire protection agency and emergency medical service. The resort also began its popular preseason 4PAK Sale on Nov. 1 and will celebrate its uncrowded midweek slopes throughout its 65th season by offering $65 Tuesday Tickets, and other weekday tickets for as little as $70, in limited quantities. Construction at Norhaven, its second slopeside neighborhood, continues.
- Lost Trail Ski Area — which anticipates opening by Dec. 18 for its 19-day Christmas Run through Jan. 5 — made numerous updates to enhance the guest experience, from terrain maintenance and lodge updates to lift improvements and new technology. Chief among them is the launch of RFID ticketing this winter. Events planned at the family owned mountain, one of two that span the states of Idaho and Montana, include ski clinics with Olympian Deb Armstrong in January; the annual Lost Trail Ski Patrol Steak Fry fundraiser, which includes live music, fireworks, and a torchlight parade; the annual Grom Bomb mini-shred event for the next generation; Smash Life Banked Slalom, which blends freeride fun and avalanche awareness; the Nat Wilson Memorial Race honoring an LT friend; and the resort’s legendary Skiesta spring celebration.
- Pebble Creek Ski Area — which hopes to open Dec. 12 depending on conditions — began making snow last week to establish a good base layer. The resort, in Southeast Idaho near Inkom, completed a major overhaul of the Aspen Beginner Lift, including the installation of a brand-new control system. Pebble Creek continues to upgrade its snowmaking system and purchased a new snow gun over the summer. The resort gave the rental shop a facelift, too, which also boasts new gear for this winter. Plus, Pebble Creek installed two brand-new fryers in the kitchen to keep cranking out its world-famous, homestyle (i.e. skin-on) french fries, the spuds for which are sourced from a local potato farmer, and which the resort allows guests to stack sky high provided they don’t drop any.
- Pomerelle Mountain Resort — which typically opens between Thanksgiving and the first full week of December — added $30,000 worth of new gear to its rental fleet and replaced the conveyor belt on its magic carpet, which at 440 feet is one of the longest in the West. The family owned resort put the final touches on a new lodge roof, a project that began last year, and installed high-tech, energy-efficient windows.
- Rotarun Ski Area — which plans to open Dec. 20 — is installing a magic carpet. The magic carpet will be free to all users, although a lift ticket will be required to ride the Poma lift (for guests ages 5 and up). Adult lift tickets will increase to $20, with Wednesday nights still free from 6-9 p.m. Weekend hours have changed to 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. New and returning events include Friday Night Silent Discos once per month January-March, a Skimo Showdown Series three nights in February and March, and special events in the beacon park with The Friends of Sawtooth Avalanche Center.
- Schweitzer — which opens Nov. 21 weather permitting — is launching a themed pre-fixe early ups breakfast series called Summit Sunrise Breakfast at Sky House on select Saturdays and Sundays, and Sky House Snowcat Dinners will return on full-moon evenings. Expanded Ski & Ride School offerings include new full-day group lessons for kids ages 6-12 and a multiweek Freestyle Camp Jan. 3-March 22 to teach kids freestyle and freeride skills in terrain parks and natural terrain. Families will enjoy Kids Ski Free Week Dec. 6-12 when children 17 and under can ski or ride at no cost with preregistration online.
- Snowhaven Ski & Tubing Area — which anticipates opening Dec. 20 — upgraded its septic system and completely overhauled the T-bar. Owned and operated by the City of Grangeville, the North Central Idaho ski area is celebrating its 80th birthday in 2026.
The North Central Idaho destinations Bald Mountain Ski Area near Pierce and Cottonwood Butte Ski Area near Cottonwood — both nonprofits run by local ski clubs — have not announced any significant upgrades this winter beyond the usual maintenance and brush cutting. Bald Mountain will open Dec. 26-Jan. 4 and weekends through mid-March if Mother Nature cooperates, but Cottonwood Butte has not announced its opening date. Bald Mountain plans to stage its annual Valentine’s Day fundraiser Feb. 14.
Similarly, Grand Targhee Resort — which was rated no. 5 in SKI Magazine’s list of the top 30 ski resorts in the West for 2026 — is not introducing any significant upgrades this winter. Just four miles across the border in “Wydaho,” The Ghee affiliates with Ski Idaho because the only way to reach the resort is through Driggs, Idaho. The resort plans to open Nov. 21.
The Little Ski Hill in Southwest Idaho near McCall hasn’t announced any significant infrastructure improvements this winter or a target opening date.
IDAHO PEAK SEASON PASSPORT
This winter Kelly Canyon Resort has rejoined the Idaho Peak Season Passport, which means 5th-graders can ski or ride three days for free at 18 participating Gem State ski areas and 6th-graders can spend two days free at those mountains for only $29. And just like previous winters, it comes with a complimentary family subscription to AirFlare, the app that turns your smartphone into an outdoors rescue locator, offering families an extra layer of safety and peace of mind.
The Idaho Peak Season Passport program is open to any child from any state or country ages 10-12 — NOT just Idaho kids.
The Idaho Peak Season Passport is accepted at 18 of 19 Ski Idaho destinations. The only Ski Idaho destination that doesn’t participate is Rotarun, which offers a community-skis-free night weekly every Wednesday. Participating destinations reserve the right to limit passport use for ski racers, on race days, and on any scheduled blackout dates that may apply. Visit skiidaho.us/passport-blackout for a list of scheduled blackout dates, and check with your ski hill for full details.
ADAPTIVE SKIING & SNOWBOARDING FOR VETERANS
WAVES, short for Western Adaptive Veteran Education Snowsports, empowers veterans through adaptive snowsports education, providing them with opportunities to overcome limitations, foster healing, and build camaraderie on the slopes. The group is staging several events at Southern and Southwest Idaho ski areas for disabled and able-bodied veterans this winter:
· Nov. 11 at Voodoo Brewing — a Pray for Snow party at the brewpub’s Boise location
· Jan. 10-11 at Magic Mountain — all veterans, both disabled and able-bodied, are welcome
· Feb. 7-8 at Soldier Mountain — all veterans, both able-bodied and disabled, are welcome
· Feb. 13-14 at Soldier Mountain — WAVES will help the national NubAbilty Athletics Foundation stage a ski and snowboarding camp for young limb-different athletes who are congenital, traumatic, or medical amputees
· March 7-8 at Pomerelle — all veterans, both disabled and able-bodied, are welcome
· March 20-22 at Tamarack — the second-annual Women Veterans Weekend for women only all weekend featuring all-female instructors
Visit wavesidaho.org for more details about participating in and volunteering for the events.