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    Spain, Europe

    Sierra Nevada

    Ski Europe's southernmost and Spain's highest resort — 107km of Andalusian terrain near Granada with the continent's most sunshine.

    Season 2025 - 2026
    Opens
    13 Dec 2025
    Closes
    4 May 2026
    Days open
    142
    Annual snow
    4m
    The Overview
    MF
    Michael Fulton
    Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.

    Sierra Nevada is the highest ski resort in Spain and the southernmost in Europe, a combination that produces one of the most geographically unusual skiing experiences on the continent. The ski area sits on the northwestern slopes of Veleta — the third-highest peak in mainland Spain at 3,398m — with the base village of Pradollano at 2,100m and the highest lifts reaching 3,282m, delivering a skiable vertical of 1,182m.

    The resort covers 107km of marked terrain across 116 runs, weighted toward intermediate and advanced skiers with 40% intermediate, 37% advanced, 16% beginner and 7% expert — an accessible spread that reflects Sierra Nevada's status as one of the most heavily visited ski resorts in Spain, predominantly by a domestic clientele travelling up from Granada, Málaga and the wider Andalusian coast.

    The resort hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 1996, the 2015 Winter Universiade and the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in March 2017 — a competition record that confirms both the calibre of the groomed race terrain and the infrastructure capacity to handle major international events.

    The entire ski area sits above the treeline, as Sierra Nevada's latitude and elevation place it in a Mediterranean alpine climate zone with virtually no subalpine forest at skiable altitudes. This gives the mountain an open, exposed character distinct from the forested Pyrenean resorts further north, with sweeping uninterrupted views across Andalusia that on clear days extend south to the African coastline across the Strait of Gibraltar.

    1182m
    Vertical
    116
    Runs
    107 km
    Piste
    4m
    Annual snow
    The Terrain

    116 runs across 107 km of piste

    Sierra Nevada spreads 116 runs across 107 km of piste of terrain. It leans intermediate at 40%, with 19 beginner runs to find your feet and 51 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.

    Terrain split
    116
    runs
    116 runs across 4 grades
    Beginner19 runs · 16%
    Intermediate46 runs · 40%
    Advanced43 runs · 37%
    Expert8 runs · 7%
    Time it right

    When to visit Sierra Nevada

    Sierra Nevada operates one of the longest ski seasons in Spain, running from late November through to early May in strong snow years, with the 2025/26 season scheduled from 13 December to 4 May. The resort averages around 4 metres of annual snowfall, delivered predominantly in concentrated winter storms rather than the sustained Atlantic snowfall patterns of the Pyrenees.

    What distinguishes Sierra Nevada's snow preservation is altitude — with the entire ski area above 2,100m in a high-pressure Mediterranean climate, cold temperatures persist long after natural snowfall, and the base depth as of early March 2025/26 stands at 400cm against a season total of 298cm. This reflects the resort's pattern of relying on altitude-preserved snowpack rather than frequent fresh accumulation.

    The resort records the most sunshine hours of any ski destination in Europe — a product of its Andalusian latitude and the predominance of Mediterranean high-pressure systems across southern Spain in winter. This makes spring skiing at Sierra Nevada a genuinely different proposition to alpine alternatives: warm temperatures at the base, firm morning groomers on upper runs and the surreal possibility of combining a morning ski session with an afternoon on the Costa del Sol beaches 90 minutes away by road.

    The late-season window — typically March through to early May — is widely regarded as the optimal period, when base depths are at their deepest, daylight hours are long and the mountain's competition-grade terrain on the Veleta sector is running at full capacity.

    Season 2025 - 2026
    13 Dec 2025
    Opens
    4 May 2026
    Closes
    142
    Days open
    4 m
    Annual snow
    Getting there

    Getting to Sierra Nevada, and where to stay

    Sierra Nevada sits within the Sierra Nevada National Park in the province of Granada, Andalusia, approximately 32km southeast of Granada city along the A-395 road. The resort base at Pradollano is around 50 minutes by car from Granada city centre, making it one of the most city-proximate ski resorts in Europe — a factor that drives the predominantly day-visitor and weekend character of the mountain during the season.

    A regular bus service operates from Granada's main bus station to Pradollano during ski season, running several times daily on weekdays and more frequently on weekends, with the journey taking around 45 minutes. The closest major international airport is Granada-Jaén Federico García Lorca Airport, 55km from the resort, though it handles limited international routes. Málaga Airport is the main international gateway at around 170km to the west, with connections from across Europe during the winter season.

    The city of Granada is the resort's most compelling draw beyond the skiing itself. The Alhambra Palace — one of the most visited monuments in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage site — sits within the city, making Granada one of the few places on earth where a day on a ski slope can be followed by dinner in the shadow of a medieval Moorish fortress.

    The resort village of Pradollano operates as a year-round community with a permanent population, giving it a more self-contained character than the seasonal stations typical of the Pyrenees, including supermarkets, a pharmacy, multiple ski schools and a range of restaurants and bars that operate on Spanish hours through the après-ski period and into the evening.

    Where to stay

    Search all stays →

    Hotels and lodges near Sierra Nevada, powered by Stay22.

    Latest News

    From the SnowStash desk

    View all news →
    FIS Weighs Holding World Championships in Almost Every Winter, Starting 2032

    FIS Weighs Holding World Championships in Almost Every Winter, Starting 2032

    The International Ski and Snowboard Federation is looking at a major shake-up to its title events calendar. From 2032, World Championships could run not just in odd-numbered years but in every non-Olympic winter too, effectively putting a global title event on the calendar almost every season. The FIS Council has approved the concept following a feasibility study, though an accelerated rollout as early as 2028 is also under consideration.

    4 Sept 2026
    Mount Buller Becomes Latest Australian Resort to Call Time Early on 2026

    Mount Buller Becomes Latest Australian Resort to Call Time Early on 2026

    Mount Buller closes out its 2026 season this Sunday, joining Falls Creek, Hotham and Charlotte Pass in a cluster of closures landing almost simultaneously and roughly a month ahead of schedule. The culprit is stark: Spencers Creek's benchmark snow depth hit 31.2cm on 3 September, just 18% of the 73-year average and an all-time low for this point in the season. Six of Victoria and NSW's best-known resorts will have shut their lifts early within a span of about two and a half weeks.

    4 Sept 2026
    Tremblant to Add New Timber Summit Ski Sector for 2027/28 Season

    Tremblant to Add New Timber Summit Ski Sector for 2027/28 Season

    Tremblant has confirmed a major expansion of its Quebec ski area, with a new Timber Summit sector adding 62 acres of terrain, eight trails and a high-speed quad chairlift for winter 2027/28. It's part of a CAD 42.5 million investment that also includes a new beginner learning zone at Versant Soleil opening this coming season. The project has grown considerably since it was first announced back in 2020, when it carried a far smaller budget and an opening date that never eventuated.

    2 Sept 2026
    Mount Hotham to Close for the 2026 Season on Sunday, September 6

    Mount Hotham to Close for the 2026 Season on Sunday, September 6

    We knew when the Bird Bath Pond Skim showed up on Hotham's Instagram that the season was on its way out. It's been a rough one - I only managed two days on snow all year, at Falls Creek - and now Baw Baw, Selwyn and Hotham have all called it, possibly the worst Australian season I've seen in a decade. Hotham's last day of lift operations is Sunday, 6 September, with a Retro Day, Father's Day après and closing sales before the lifts stop turning for good.

    1 Sept 2026
    Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028

    Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028

    Thredbo Alpine Resort has confirmed plans to replace its 37-year-old Gunbarrel quad chairlift with a new six-seat Doppelmayr D-Line, targeting winter 2028. The AUD 35 million project will keep travel time roughly the same but lift capacity from 2,800 to 3,000 skiers per hour. It's part of a broader investment push that also includes doubled snowmaking capacity at Friday Flat for 2027, with the ageing Kosciuszko Express now flagged as the resort's next major lift replacement after Gunbarrel.

    31 Aug 2026
    Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured

    Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured

    An aerial tram carrying around fifty passengers struck the boom of a construction crane on the route to Pic Blanc at Alpe d'Huez on Wednesday morning, injuring 23 people, three seriously. The cabin tipped on impact before the operator reversed it to right the car. Most of the injured were treated on site, with five taken to hospital in Grenoble, including a pregnant woman assessed as a precaution.

    28 Aug 2026
    Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do

    Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do

    A deadly flood on the Nepal-China border, a decade-old tragedy on Italy's Marmolada, and an unstable glacier right now above a village near Zermatt - three very different mountain ranges, the same underlying story. Warming ice is destabilising terrain that was considered settled for generations, and the results range from catastrophic floods to slow-motion monitoring situations that could go either way.

    27 Aug 2026
    Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September

    Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September

    Tyrol's highest ski area is gearing up to open a full month ahead of most of the Alps. The Pitztal Glacier is scheduled to start its 2026/27 season on Saturday 26 September, running through to 2 May 2027, with the lower-altitude Rifflsee area following in December. High-altitude terrain up to 3,440 metres gives the glacier a head start on snow, though as always, the actual opening extent will depend on how September's weather plays out. Early online ski pass bookings can save up to 30%.

    26 Aug 2026

    Sierra Nevada Snow Report

    Snow Report
    Updated 9 Sept 2026
    3282m
    summit
    +0cm
    new snow · last 24 hours
    Partly Cloudy5°C / 12°C · N 28km/h
    Snowfall
    24 hours
    0cm
    48 hours
    0cm
    7 days
    0cm
    Base depth
    0cm
    Season total
    0cm
    Total lifts19

    Live open status isn’t available right now.

    13 Dec 2025 - 4 May 2026

    Hour by Hour

    Next 48 hours· Updated Sep 10, 2026 at 4:02 AM
    Thu6aNow8a9a10a11a12p1p2p3p4p5p6p7p8p9p10p11pFri12a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8a9a10a11a12p1p2p3p4p5p6p7p8p9p10p11pSat12a1a2a3a4a5a
    Conditions
    Temp°C · feels
    53
    52
    52
    62
    74
    85
    97
    118
    117
    128
    127
    126
    115
    105
    95
    84
    73
    73
    62
    63
    63
    62
    52
    52
    52
    52
    52
    73
    85
    106
    118
    1210
    1210
    129
    139
    138
    127
    116
    106
    95
    85
    85
    84
    74
    74
    74
    74
    74
    Snowfallcm
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    0
    Precip chance%
    0%
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    0%
    Precipmm000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
    Wind / gustkm/h
    7G30
    7G28
    6G29
    8G28
    9G30
    8G32
    9G31
    12G27
    15G27
    19G33
    21G44
    28G58
    28G60
    22G62
    20G55
    15G51
    13G42
    10G40
    9G39
    9G39
    8G37
    8G39
    7G39
    6G37
    8G35
    7G32
    7G31
    7G32
    6G34
    8G40
    10G40
    13G42
    16G36
    18G32
    18G37
    21G44
    25G49
    25G50
    12G48
    9G39
    8G32
    8G31
    8G32
    7G31
    7G29
    8G27
    8G26
    8G25

    Scroll for the full outlook · Open-Meteo

    7-Day Outlook

    3,282 mUpdated Sep 10, 2026 at 4:02 AMOpen-Meteo

    Days 1–7

    0.0cm

    Days 8–14

    0.0cm

    Unlock days 8–14

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    Thu, Sept 10

    Slight Rain Showers
    Temp12° / 5°°C
    Snow0.0cm(53%)
    Wind28 km/h N

    Live snow from the resort feed; forecast from Open-Meteo, via Supabase.

    Understanding the Sierra Nevada snow report

    Track current conditions at Sierra Nevada in Spain. This report covers snowfall totals, base and summit depth, and the forecast across 116 runs.

    Snow measurements

    Snow depth at Sierra Nevada is tracked at both the base and summit, since the two elevations often see different totals — roughly a 1182m difference here. We report fresh snowfall over the last 24 hours and 7 days alongside the running season total, in both metric and imperial units.

    Weather conditions

    Current weather conditions affect snow quality. Cold temperatures with low wind typically preserve snow quality, while warm temperatures or rain can impact conditions negatively — something worth watching closely at Sierra Nevada's 2100m base elevation, where temperatures run milder than the summit.

    Data sources

    Sierra Nevada snow data is collected through a combination of on-mountain reports and weather forecasting services, giving you both official resort updates and independent forecast data in one place. The mountain is served by 19 lifts, including 3 quad chairlifts and 5 6-person chairlifts.

    When to check

    Conditions can change overnight, so mornings and late afternoons are the best times to check back on Sierra Nevada.