Kelly Canyon to Extend Snowmaking to Top of Goldrush Lift Ahead of 2026-27 Season

Kelly Canyon Is Extending Its Snowmaking System to the Summit This Summer

Kelly Canyon, the eastern Idaho ski area operating out of the Targhee National Forest, has announced a significant snowmaking infrastructure upgrade planned for this summer. The project will extend snowmaking coverage to the top of Goldrush - also known as Lift 2 - with the goal of having the system operational in time for the 2026-27 season.

What's Actually Being Done

The current snowmaking setup doesn't reach the top of Goldrush. This project changes that, running infrastructure all the way up Lift 2 so the resort can produce snow from top to bottom across that terrain.

For a mountain sitting at 6,600 feet with a 1,000-foot vertical drop, top-to-bottom snowmaking coverage is a meaningful operational upgrade. It means the resort isn't dependent on natural snow to open that terrain or keep it running through the season - which matters when you're sitting at a base elevation that can be marginal early and late in the winter.

Why It Matters for the Season

Kelly Canyon averages around 200 inches of natural snowfall annually, which is decent but not deep enough to carry the season on its own at lower elevations. Extending snowmaking to the top of Goldrush gives the resort more control over three things: getting terrain open earlier in the season, maintaining coverage during dry spells mid-winter, and pushing the closing date later in spring.

For regular visitors, that means less of the frustrating experience of showing up to find the top of the mountain closed because the natural snow hasn't arrived yet.

A Bit of Context on Kelly Canyon

Kelly Canyon isn't a big name on the international ski circuit - it's a regional area that opened in 1957, running four double chairlifts and a rope tow across 640 acres of north-facing terrain. The breakdown is 35% beginner, 45% intermediate, and 20% advanced, which gives it a fairly broad appeal for a smaller hill.

It also has Nordic skiing and snowshoeing trails beyond the alpine area, marked with Atlas Snowshoe signage for navigation.

At 1,000 feet of vertical, it's not the kind of place you'd compare to a destination resort - think closer in scale to some of Australia's smaller regional areas - but for the local Idaho Falls market, it clearly fills a genuine role. Investments in snowmaking at that scale suggest the resort is thinking seriously about reliability rather than just riding out whatever the season delivers naturally.

What's Next

Work is scheduled throughout summer 2026 with a target completion date before the 2026-27 season opens. Kelly Canyon has also flagged that additional improvements for the upcoming season will be announced separately, so this snowmaking project appears to be the first in a series of upgrades rather than the only one.