British Columbia, Canada · Epic
Kicking Horse
1,411 hectares, 120 runs near Golden. Substantial vertical drop, dry powder, advanced terrain, Epic Pass.
Season 2025 - 2026
Opens
5 Dec 2025
Closes
5 Apr 2026
Days open
121
Annual snow
8m
The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Kicking Horse's summit reaches 2,505 metres, dropping 1,315 vertical metres to a base at 1,190 metres across 120 runs spread over roughly 1,411 hectares near Golden, British Columbia. Terrain splits 45 per cent advanced, 20 per cent each for beginner and intermediate, and 15 per cent expert, with average annual snowfall of roughly 8.2 metres. The resort carries Epic Pass affiliation. Six lifts, including two quad chairs and one double chair, serve the mountain alongside one gondola and two surface lifts.
Kicking Horse holds a genuinely distinctive place among Canadian resorts for its considerable vertical drop, among the largest in North America, and its consistently light, dry snow, long marketed by the resort as Champagne Powder. Its heavily advanced-and-expert-weighted terrain has built Kicking Horse's reputation as a serious big-mountain destination rather than a family-oriented resort.
The area began as Whitetooth Ski Area, a small, town-owned facility that opened in 1986 with the Pioneer Chair serving three runs on around 2,000 feet of vertical. Vancouver architect Oberto Oberti envisioned a considerably larger four-season resort in 1996, and the following year the local community voted 97 per cent in favour of selling the ski area to Oberti and the European development firm Ballast Nedam.
The resort opened in its current form as Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in December 2000. Resorts of the Canadian Rockies acquired the resort from its original developers in 2011, and Boyne Resorts has more recently taken ownership. Adult daily tickets run from 149 to 175 Canadian dollars.
1315m
Vertical
120
Runs
3,487 acres
Skiable
8m
Annual snow
Epic
Pass
The Terrain
120 runs across 3,487 acres skiable
Kicking Horse spreads 120 runs across 3,487 acres skiable of terrain. It leans advanced at 45%, with 24 beginner runs to find your feet and 72 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
120
runs
120 runs across 4 grades
Beginner24 runs · 20%
Intermediate24 runs · 20%
Advanced54 runs · 45%
Expert18 runs · 15%
Time it right
When to visit Kicking Horse
The 2025-26 season at Kicking Horse ran from 5 December 2025 to 5 April 2026, a roughly seventeen-week season supported by average annual snowfall of around 8.2 metres. Season dates can shift depending on early and late-season weather conditions near Golden.
Midwinter, from December through February, typically brings the most consistent, dry powder conditions to Kicking Horse's heavily advanced-weighted terrain. As an Epic Pass resort, Kicking Horse draws dedicated big-mountain skiers alongside Epic Pass holders seeking the resort's considerable vertical drop.
Kicking Horse's substantial, reliable snowfall continues to draw committed powder-seeking skiers throughout the season, with the resort's comparatively remote location offering lighter crowds than the busier Alberta Rockies resorts. School holiday periods bring some family visitation to the resort's more moderate lower-mountain terrain.
Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Since opening in its current form in December 2000, Kicking Horse has continued building on nearly four decades of history since Whitetooth Ski Area's 1986 founding. The resort's considerable vertical drop and dry snow remain central to its enduring appeal among dedicated skiers.
Season 2025 - 2026
5 Dec 2025
Opens
5 Apr 2026
Closes
121
Days open
8 m
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Kicking Horse, and where to stay
Kicking Horse sits near Golden, British Columbia, with a base elevation of 1,190 metres and a summit at 2,505 metres across a 1,315-metre vertical drop over roughly 1,411 hectares. This considerable vertical places Kicking Horse among the more dramatically situated resorts in the Canadian Rockies.
The town of Golden, a small but growing mountain community, offers lodging and dining within a short drive of the resort, providing a considerably quieter alternative to the busier Banff and Whistler corridors.
The Trans-Canada Highway provides direct access to the resort from Golden. Winter driving conditions on this route can include snow and ice, and travellers should carry appropriate equipment given the mountainous terrain surrounding the area.
Calgary International Airport, roughly a three-hour drive away, is the primary gateway for visitors flying into the region, with Kicking Horse's comparatively remote British Columbia location drawing a genuinely dedicated visitor base seeking the resort's considerable vertical and consistent powder.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Kicking Horse, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Spain Moves to Ban Smoking at Ski Resorts Under New Tobacco Law
Spain's government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking across a wide range of outdoor spaces, including sports venues - a category Spanish winter sports media expect to cover ski resorts, potentially extending to slopes and lifts themselves. The rules would also apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, even nicotine-free ones. The bill still has to clear the Spanish parliament before any ban, signage, or fines can take effect.
22 July 2026
South Tyrol Approves New 16-Person Ciampinoi Gondola in Val Gardena
South Tyrol has approved a full rebuild of the Ciampinoi cable car in Selva di Val Gardena, replacing the current 12-person gondola with a 16-person cabin and a new mountain-station restaurant. Capacity is capped at 3,200 people an hour rather than the 3,600 the operator wanted, and 250,000 euros must go toward compensatory measures. No construction or opening date has been set, though the upgrade is partly aimed at clearing bottlenecks before the 2031 Alpine Ski World Championships.
22 July 2026
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21 July 2026
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21 July 2026
The Remarkables Adds Scarpa Bowl to Its Inbounds Terrain
The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.
21 July 2026
Ski Portillo Cut Off After Storm Dumps More Than 4.5 Metres of Snow
Ski Portillo remains isolated after an extended storm buried the Chilean resort under more than 4.5 metres of snow, with both ground and air access suspended since Tuesday while crews monitor avalanche hazards and worsening weather. Resort officials say further snowfall is expected in the coming days and haven't set a timeline for reopening the mountain road. Once access resumes, the scale of the snowpack could set up a strong season at one of the Southern Hemisphere's most historic ski resorts.
21 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Lotte Arai - Japan's Corporate Ski Anomaly With 22 Metres of Annual Snowfall
Lotte Arai receives 22 metres of annual snowfall - exceptional even by Japanese standards - but its corporate ownership model and limited terrain create an unusual cost-benefit equation. Here's what the numbers actually mean on the ground.
19 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Banff Sunshine Village - Nine Metres of Snow and a Season That Runs Until May
Banff Sunshine Village sits at 1,660m base and receives 9.27m of snow annually. Inside Banff National Park, it offers a six-month season and terrain split that skews heavily advanced - though the crowds and lift infrastructure tell their own story.
18 July 2026
Lift system
Kicking Horse runs six lifts: one double chair, two quad chairs and one gondola, serving 120 runs across roughly 1,411 hectares, alongside two surface lifts. This comparatively lean network reflects the resort's origins as the small, town-owned Whitetooth Ski Area, which opened in 1986 with a single Pioneer Chair.
The lift network expanded considerably following the community's 1997 vote to sell the ski area to Vancouver architect Oberto Oberti and European developer Ballast Nedam, who built out the infrastructure ahead of the resort's December 2000 opening.
The gondola provides considerable base-to-summit access across Kicking Horse's substantial vertical drop, while the quad and double chairs distribute skiers across the mountain's heavily advanced-and-expert-weighted terrain.
Since Resorts of the Canadian Rockies' 2011 acquisition and Boyne Resorts' more recent ownership, continued investment has supported this six-lift network as part of the Epic Pass system. Specific recent individual lift replacement projects are not confirmed in available resort information. Kicking Horse's efficient lift network remains well matched to its considerable vertical and advanced terrain focus.
6lifts across 4 types
1
Gondola
2
Quad Chairs
1
Double Chair
2
Surface Lifts
Kicking Horse lift system
Kicking Horse is served by 6 lifts, listed here by type. Check which lifts are turning against the live conditions before you plan your first laps - early lifts and high-speed chairs get you to the best snow fastest.
More Kicking Horse intelligence: trail map, snow report, webcams, resort overview.