Winter is right around the corner, and the team at Whitefish Mountain Resort has been working on improvements big and small! Here's a few things you can expect when the snow starts flying and the lifts start spinning. Opening day is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4!
New trails and terrain improvements!
This summer, Whitefish Mountain Resort and the U.S. Forest Service undertook the Big Mountain Fuels Reduction Project, which involved felling trees on roughly 200 acres of terrain. The goal was to reduce wildfire risk and protect resort infrastructure by clearing corridors along the Chair 1, Chair 2 and Chair 4 lift lines on the front side of the mountain.
The fuels reduction project, along with the efforts of our slopes crew, will significantly improve the skiing experience this winter. These combined glading efforts have opened up two new tree runs that we've named Bad Medicine and Big Twig. This gives us a total of 112 named trails!
Bad Medicine descends from skier's right of Toni Matt, just below Good Medicine. Big Twig is skier's left of Toni Matt and descends toward the Chair 4 lift line. See this before-and-after image from our winter trail map:
We've also made a concerted effort to clear brush and overgrowth mountainwide. So far, our slopes crew has tended about 125 acres this summer and fall, including North Bowl Face, Schmidt's Chute, Elkweed, Movieland from Russ's Street to the Danny On Memorial Trail, a section of the Back 9, and a section between Langley and Inspiration. In the Chair 2 zone, the crew also cut brush on Hibernation, Heaven and the middle section of Mully's, meaning there will be less stubble to cover up early in the season.
Grooming and snowmaking upgrades!
Our grooming and snowmaking capabilities got another upgrade this season with two snowcats and six more TechnoAlpin snow guns, which are more efficient than the older snow guns we've been replacing. This gives us a total of 22 mobile guns, as well as four guns that are fixed alongside Chipmunk, our beginner run near the Base Lodge.
Friends-and-family tickets without blackout dates!
In addition to unlimited chairlift access, Whitefish Mountain Resort season passholders enjoy tons of awesome Passholder Perks, including night skiing, uphill passes, discounts on lodging and lift tickets for friends and family, and complimentary lift tickets at partnering resorts. And new for the 2026/27 season, friends-and-family tickets have no blackout dates, so you can show your loved ones a great time on Big Mountain any day this winter — even during the holidays!
Earlier rental pickups at the Base Lodge on weekends and holidays!
Weekends and holiday periods mean busy mornings at Base Lodge Rentals, with many guests arriving to pick up their rental skis and snowboards before meeting their lesson instructors on the slopes.
To streamline this process, reduce long lines and ensure everyone can make it to their lessons on time, Base Lodge Rentals will open at 8 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday this winter, and during holiday periods, Dec. 28-Jan. 1 and Feb. 15-19. On most weekdays, the shop will open at 8:30 a.m.
Managing parking challenges on busy days
We're making a few changes aimed at reducing crowding in our parking lots on busy days. Starting this ski season, the Pine and Spruce lots will join our small group of preferred parking areas on weekends and around the holidays. Carpoolers will get free access to these lots every day of the season!
Day tickets or seasonal parking passes will be required in Pine and Spruce during normal operating hours every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as Christmas week, Dec. 28-31, and Presidents Day, Feb. 15.
Otherwise, free parking in Pine and Spruce will continue for all guests Monday-Thursday. Carpool vehicles carrying three or more guests can park in these lots at no charge, any day of the season, when space is available.
Seasonal parking passes can be purchased online, and we're now offering a combined Pine/Spruce pass that can be used at either lot.
Uphill skiers still may park in the Spruce Lot at no charge before ski season starts on Dec. 4. During the season, uphill skiers must park in the new Poplar Lot, conveniently located along the right side of Glades Drive as you head toward the Base Lodge.
As always, we recommend taking the free S.N.O.W. Bus to and from the mountain if you want to beat traffic and skip the hassle of parking altogether!
And more coming soon!
Finally, be on the lookout for some cool new features on our website, including interactive trail maps and an online merch store featuring a small selection of Whitefish Mountain Resort-branded apparel and other items. We're also transforming the Vertical Tracker into the All-Mountain Tracker, an interactive page that will let guests earn virtual badges and awards for various skiing and riding accomplishments!