Get the full mountain experience
Install the free SnowStash app for real-time Red Lodge Mountain conditions, webcams, offline trail maps, plus track your ski days - it'll open straight to this resort.
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Skiing for 15 years and visited resorts in:
🇦🇺 Australia (6) • 🇺🇸 USA (15) • 🇯🇵 Japan (5) • 🇪🇺 Europe (10)
Red Lodge Mountain's summit reaches 9,416 feet, dropping 2,400 vertical feet to a base at 7,015 feet across 70 runs spread over 1,635 acres along the eastern front of the Beartooth Mountains, roughly an hour from Billings, Montana. The resort carries Indy Pass affiliation. Specific detailed lift-type breakdown beyond the resort's core network is not confirmed in available resort information, though the mountain operates a substantial lift system supporting its considerable scale.
Red Lodge Mountain's position along the Beartooth Front gives it a genuinely dramatic mountain backdrop, with the historic town of Red Lodge itself, established during the region's coal-mining era, adding character to the base area. Its relative proximity to Billings, Montana's largest city, and to Yellowstone National Park's northern reaches makes it one of the more accessible substantial ski areas in southern Montana. The resort's considerable 1,635-acre footprint places it among the larger Montana ski areas.
The ski area opened on 2 January 1960 as Red Lodge Grizzly Peak, a modest beginning with a single double chairlift, three trails and a small lodge. Grizzly Peak Inc., the founding company, raised roughly 250,000 US dollars through local stock sales in the late 1950s to fund the resort's development, reflecting strong community investment in the project from the outset.
The resort expanded steadily through subsequent decades, adding the Grizzly Peak Chair in 1971 and the Miami Beach Chair in 1973, followed by a Winter Sports Center and triple chair in 1983 and a replacement Midway Lodge in 1986. In 2007, JMA Ventures, which also owns Homewood Mountain Resort in California, purchased Red Lodge Mountain, bringing the resort under its current ownership.
Total Runs
70
Total Area
1635 ac
661.7 ha
Red Lodge Mountain's lift network has grown substantially since the resort's January 1960 opening with a single double chairlift under the Red Lodge Grizzly Peak name, serving 70 runs across 1,635 acres along the Beartooth Front. Specific current detailed lift-type counts are not confirmed in available resort information, though the network has expanded considerably from its founding infrastructure.
The Grizzly Peak Chair, added in 1971, and the Miami Beach Chair, added in 1973, marked the resort's first major lift expansions beyond its original single chairlift, unlocking substantially more of the mountain's 1,635-acre footprint for lift-served skiing. These additions came during a period of steady growth for the young resort.
A further Winter Sports Center and accompanying triple chair arrived in 1983, followed by a replacement Midway Lodge in 1986, continuing the pattern of incremental lift and facility investment through the resort's second and third decades of operation. This sustained development reflects the founding Grizzly Peak Inc. company's community-backed investment model, funded originally through local stock sales.
Since JMA Ventures, which also owns Homewood Mountain Resort in California, purchased Red Lodge Mountain in 2007, investment has continued to support the resort's substantial lift network. Specific recent lift replacement or expansion projects beyond this ownership change are not confirmed in available resort information. The mountain's considerable scale, among the larger Montana ski areas, continues to be served by this decades-long pattern of lift investment.
Total Lifts
7
Lift Types
4
The 2025-26 season at Red Lodge Mountain ran through the winter months, with the resort's considerable 2,400-foot vertical drop and elevation supporting 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 1,635-acre terrain along the Beartooth Front. Given Red Lodge Mountain's roughly one-hour drive from Billings, Montana's largest city, the resort draws a substantial regional visitor base alongside destination skiers, aided by its Indy Pass affiliation.
As an Indy Pass resort, Red Lodge Mountain attracts visiting skiers holding that multi-resort pass in addition to its core Billings-area and regional Montana visitor base. The historic town of Red Lodge itself, with its coal-mining-era character, provides a genuine mountain-town base area experience for visitors throughout the season. Weekend crowds draw substantially from Billings given the manageable drive time.
Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Since JMA Ventures' 2007 purchase, the resort has continued to build on more than six decades of development dating back to its January 1960 opening as Red Lodge Grizzly Peak. The mountain's considerable scale and Beartooth Front setting remain central to its appeal throughout the season.
Current Season
2025 - 2026
Opening Day
12/6/2025
Closing Day
4/13/2026
Days Open
129
Red Lodge Mountain sits along the eastern front of the Beartooth Mountains, west of the historic town of Red Lodge, Montana, roughly an hour's drive from Billings, with a base elevation of 7,015 feet and a summit at 9,416 feet across a 2,400-foot vertical drop over 1,635 acres. This setting places the resort within reach of Yellowstone National Park's northern reaches as well as Montana's largest city.
Red Lodge itself, a historic former coal-mining town, provides the resort's primary lodging, dining and mountain-town character, sitting a short distance from the ski area's base. Billings, Montana's largest city, lies roughly an hour away, providing a substantial population base within a manageable drive. Yellowstone National Park's northern entrance region also lies within reach of the area.
Montana Highway 78 and US Highway 212, the Beartooth Highway, provide access to Red Lodge from Billings and the surrounding region, with the resort itself a short drive further from the town. Winter driving conditions on these routes can include snow and ice, particularly given the substantial elevation and snowfall of the Beartooth Front. There is no direct public transport service to the resort.
Billings Logan International Airport, roughly an hour's drive away, is the nearest airport with substantial commercial service, making Red Lodge Mountain one of the more accessible larger ski areas in southern Montana for fly-in visitors.
