Montana, Usa
Montana Snowbowl
950 acres, 37 runs 12 miles from Missoula. 2,600ft vertical drop, National Forest terrain.
Season 2025 - 2026
Opens
6 Dec 2025
Closes
13 Apr 2026
Days open
128
Annual snow
19ft
The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Montana Snowbowl's summit reaches 7,579 feet, dropping 2,600 vertical feet to a base at 4,980 feet across 37 runs spread over 950 acres roughly 12 miles from Missoula, Montana. The resort carries no major multi-resort pass affiliation and operates under a Special Use Authorization on National Forest land. Specific lift configuration details beyond the resort's core chairlift network are not confirmed in available resort information.
When Montana Snowbowl opened in December 1962, it was promoted as offering the most vertical drop of any ski area in the Pacific Northwest region at the time, a distinction that has remained a point of pride for the resort ever since. Its proximity to Missoula, a considerable university city, gives Snowbowl a distinctly local, no-frills character relative to Montana's larger destination resorts. The mountain hosted the National Alpine Championship in 1967, a notable early marker of its standing among serious ski racers.
The resort's origins trace to a facility known as Snow Park on TV Mountain, developed with connections to the Thorsrud family, who had earlier been involved with the smaller Diamond Mountain ski area near Potomac, Montana. By the early 1960s, a single chairlift served the mountain, supporting the area's opening in December 1962 and its rapid rise in reputation given its considerable vertical drop.
By the mid-1980s, the resort faced closure, and Brad Morris and his family purchased Snowbowl to save it, installing the LaValle chairlift around 1985 as part of their investment in the mountain's future. Specific current ownership and adult daily ticket pricing are not confirmed in available resort information.
2,598ft
Vertical
37
Runs
950 acres
Skiable
19ft
Annual snow
The Terrain
37 runs across 950 acres skiable
Montana Snowbowl spreads 37 runs across 950 acres skiable of terrain. It leans intermediate at 40%, with 7 beginner runs to find your feet and 15 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
37
runs
37 runs across 4 grades
Beginner7 runs · 20%
Intermediate15 runs · 40%
Advanced13 runs · 35%
Expert2 runs · 5%
Time it right
When to visit Montana Snowbowl
The 2025-26 season at Montana Snowbowl ran through the winter months, with the resort's considerable 2,600-foot vertical drop and elevation supporting reliable conditions across the season. Specific opening and closing dates for the 2025-26 season are not confirmed in available resort information.
Midwinter, from December through February, typically brings the most consistent conditions to the mountain's varied 950-acre terrain. Given Snowbowl's proximity to Missoula, roughly 12 miles away, the resort draws heavily from the university city's population, giving it a distinctly local, accessible character relative to Montana's more remote destination resorts.
As an independently operated resort without major pass affiliation, Snowbowl's visitor base skews toward Missoula-area locals and University of Montana students and staff seeking convenient, nearby skiing. Weekend crowds draw primarily from the Missoula region, with the resort's considerable vertical drop attracting skiers seeking a genuine mountain experience close to the city.
Specific event programming beyond the resort's historic hosting of the 1967 National Alpine Championship and standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Since Brad Morris and his family's purchase in the mid-1980s, which saved the resort from closure, Snowbowl has continued operating under Special Use Authorization on National Forest land. The mountain's considerable vertical relief remains central to its seasonal appeal for Missoula-area skiers.
Season 2025 - 2026
6 Dec 2025
Opens
13 Apr 2026
Closes
128
Days open
19 ft
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Montana Snowbowl, and where to stay
Montana Snowbowl sits roughly 12 miles from Missoula, Montana, with a base elevation of 4,980 feet and a summit at 7,579 feet across a 2,600-foot vertical drop over 950 acres of National Forest land. This proximity to a considerable university city makes Snowbowl one of the more accessible mountains in Montana relative to its scale.
Missoula, home to the University of Montana, provides the resort's primary lodging, dining and visitor base, with the ski area functioning as a genuine local mountain for the city's population. The broader Missoula Valley combines the resort with extensive additional outdoor recreation options across the surrounding region.
Local roads connect Missoula directly to the resort, a relatively short drive given the mountain's proximity to the city. Winter driving conditions on the approach can include snow and ice, though the route is well travelled given the resort's role as Missoula's primary nearby ski destination. Specific public transport service to the resort is not confirmed in available resort information.
Missoula International Airport, within the city itself, is the nearest airport with commercial service, making Snowbowl notably accessible for fly-in visitors given its short distance from both the airport and downtown Missoula. This combination of proximity and considerable vertical drop distinguishes Snowbowl among Montana's ski areas.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Montana Snowbowl, 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
Resort Spotlight: Hoshino Tomamu - Corporate Japan's Mountain Playground Revisited
Hoshino Tomamu is the ski resort equivalent of a conference hotel that happens to have excellent powder. Built for corporate retreats and package tourists, it offers genuine Hokkaido snow on surprisingly limited terrain - 29 runs spread across 585 vertical metres.
21 July 2026
La Thuile's New Cable Car Replaces Two Ageing Chairlifts
La Thuile is spending 38.7 million US dollars on a new 10-person cable car linking Les Suches to Chaz Dura, replacing the La Combe and Chaz Dura chairlifts after nearly forty years of service. Built by Leitner, the new cable car runs 1,950 metres to a top station at 2,576 metres, carrying up to 3,000 people an hour with a six-minute ride. It also improves the connection to La Rosiere in France via the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass, and is on track to open for the 2026/27 season.
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
Trail map & terrain
Terrain split
37
runs
Beginner20%
Intermediate40%
Advanced35%
Expert5%
950 acres skiable384 hectares
Resort Stats
Elevation
Base4,980ft
Summit7,579ft
Annual snowfall
19ft
Season
2025 - 2026
6 Dec 2025 - 13 Apr 2026
Trail coverage
37 runs
950 acres (384 ha)
About Montana Snowbowl's trail map
Explore Montana Snowbowl's full trail map with 37 runs across the mountain, colour-coded by difficulty and shown alongside the terrain split. Use it to plan a day that matches your ability, find lift-served pockets of your favourite grade, and see how the resort links together. Download the piste map (PDF) ↗
More Montana Snowbowl intelligence: snow report, lift system, webcams, resort overview.