2026-27 Ski Season

With Schweitzer's tentative November 27 opening day on the calendar, now is the time to get your gear mountain-ready. A little preseason attention in October saves you from the all-too-common opening-weekend discovery that your edges are rusty, your boots smell like a swamp, and your wax job is two seasons old.

Here is one of the best deals in Western skiing, and it is back for 2026-27: the Ski Idaho 5th and 6th Grade Peak Season Passport gives fifth graders three free ski days and sixth graders two free days at each of 18 participating Idaho resorts, including Schweitzer. Registration opens in October at Skiidaho.us.

Not every winter day at Schweitzer needs a lift ticket. Beyond the downhill runs, the mountain maintains 32 kilometers of Nordic trails, snowshoe-friendly terrain, and one of Idaho's best tubing hills, giving non-skiers and rest-day skiers plenty of ways to play in the snow once the season begins.

Thanksgiving week in the Sandpoint area offers a combination you will not find anywhere else: a fall fishing derby with more than four decades of tradition, and the tentative start of Schweitzer's ski season the day after the holiday. It is a week built for people who refuse to choose between a rod and a pair of skis.

This winter marks the end of an era at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. President and COO Tom Chasse announced in September that the 2026-27 season will be his final one leading the mountain, closing out roughly two decades at the helm of Idaho's largest ski resort.

Schweitzer's 2026-27 season brings one of the biggest waves of new guest experiences the mountain has announced in years. Whether you are a first-timer, a night owl, or a couple with a wedding on your mind, there is something new with your name on it.

Circle the date in pencil, not pen: Schweitzer is tentatively scheduled to begin its 2026-27 ski season on Friday, November 27, conditions permitting, the day after Thanksgiving. If nature cooperates, the mountain's 2,900 acres of Selkirk terrain will start spinning in less than seven weeks.

There is a particular feeling in the air around Schweitzer Mountain Resort right now. The summer chairlifts have stopped turning, the village has gone quiet, and somewhere up at 6,400 feet the first flakes are only a matter of time. The 2026-27 winter season is tentatively scheduled to begin on November 27, conditions permitting — and this year, there is a lot to look forward to.