
Hurricane Ridge
11 runs inside Olympic National Park. Rare national park skiing with Pacific Ocean views.
Hurricane Ridge's summit reaches 5,498 feet, dropping 698 vertical feet to a base at 4,800 feet across 11 runs within Olympic National Park, Washington. Terrain splits 40 per cent advanced, 35 per cent intermediate, 15 per cent expert and 10 per cent beginner, with average annual snowfall of roughly 279 inches. The resort carries Indy Pass affiliation and operates as a small, weekend-focused ski area within a national park rather than a conventional commercial resort. Three t-bars serve the entire mountain.
Hurricane Ridge is one of very few ski areas operating inside a US national park, giving it a genuinely wild, backcountry-adjacent atmosphere unlike almost any other lift-served mountain in the country. Its modest scale, with just three t-bars and eleven runs, reflects a deliberate choice to keep the operation low-impact within the park's protected setting. Sweeping views over the Pacific Ocean and the Olympic Mountains define the visitor experience as much as the skiing itself.
The ski area opened on 1 January 1958 with two rope tows relocated from Deer Park on Blue Mountain, which had been Washington's premier ski area through the 1930s. Deer Park's light snowfall, sun-exposed slopes, narrow winter access road and tiny 50-car parking lot made it impractical to expand, prompting the move. The National Park Service's Mission 66 program, launched in 1956 to modernise park infrastructure ahead of the agency's 1966 fiftieth anniversary, funded the paved road that made Hurricane Ridge accessible.
A Poma surface lift was added in 1971 as the ski area's infrastructure continued to develop within the park. On 7 May 2023, the historic Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge and visitor centre, built in 1952, was destroyed by fire during preparations for a planned renovation. Adult daily tickets run from 32 to 42 US dollars, with a season pass from 195 dollars, reflecting the modest, community-scale nature of skiing within the park.
Hurricane Ridge spreads 11 runs of terrain. It leans advanced at 40%, with 1 beginner run to find your feet and 6 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
The 2025-26 season at Hurricane Ridge ran from 20 December 2025 to 30 March 2026, a comparatively short season of roughly fourteen weeks. Average annual snowfall of around 279 inches supports this window, though the ski area's weekend-only operating pattern, typical for a national park facility, shapes the practical rhythm of the season more than snowfall alone. Season dates can shift depending on weather and road conditions.
Midwinter, from January through February, typically offers the most reliable conditions on the mountain's advanced-weighted terrain. Given Hurricane Ridge's location within Olympic National Park and its road access via a route that can close during storms, conditions and access can vary considerably from week to week. Weekend operations are standard, reflecting the ski area's status as a small, community-run facility rather than a full-time commercial resort.
As an Indy Pass resort, Hurricane Ridge draws some visiting skiers holding that multi-resort pass in addition to its core Olympic Peninsula visitor base. The spectacular Pacific Ocean and Olympic Mountains views are a significant part of the experience regardless of skiing conditions. School holiday periods bring some increase in family visitation, weather and road access permitting.
Specific event programming beyond standard weekend operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Following the May 2023 fire that destroyed the historic day lodge, planned rebuilding efforts continue to shape the resort's near-term development. Hurricane Ridge's identity as a rare national-park ski area remains its clearest point of distinction each season.
Hurricane Ridge sits within Olympic National Park on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, with a base elevation of 4,800 feet and a summit at 5,498 feet across a 698-foot vertical drop. This remote, mountainous setting offers sweeping views across both the Olympic Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, a combination unique among the ski areas covered here.
Port Angeles is the nearest town, serving as the gateway community to Olympic National Park and offering lodging, dining and services for visitors. The broader Olympic Peninsula combines the ski area with extensive hiking, wildlife viewing and coastal recreation, giving the region a four-season appeal well beyond winter sports. Seattle lies across Puget Sound, requiring a ferry crossing or a lengthy drive around the sound to reach the peninsula.
Hurricane Ridge Road, built during the National Park Service's Mission 66 program in the 1950s, provides the sole route from Port Angeles to the ski area, climbing steadily into the park. Winter driving conditions on this road can include snow and ice, and the road is subject to closure during storms or for avalanche control, a genuine consideration for visitors given the ski area's national park setting. There is no direct public transport service to the ski area itself.
William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles offers limited general aviation access, while Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, requiring a ferry or lengthy drive, provides far more extensive commercial flight options. Most Hurricane Ridge visitors travel from the Olympic Peninsula or the broader Puget Sound region by car and ferry rather than flying in directly.
Hotels and lodges near Hurricane Ridge, powered by Stay22.

Dolomiti Superski is spending around €100 million across its 12 areas before winter. Kronplatz gets a new 10-passenger gondola with a middle station, 3 Zinnen gets Helmissimo, and Val di Fassa swaps a chairlift for a gondola above Col Valvacin. New water-storage basins and upgraded snowmaking follow, and construction has started on the San Martino to Passo Rolle link. A peak adult day pass is €89.

Brian Head is targeting 6 November, though last year it aimed for 7 November and did not open until the 25th. Park City, Alta and Solitude are pencilled in for 20 November, Snowbird and Snowbasin for 27 November, and Deer Valley for 5 December. Eagle Point will stay closed after the Cottonwood Fire. A super El Niño is forecast, but the big snow is not expected until January.

Hintertux became Austria's second glacier to open for 2026-27 on Friday 2 October, after the Pitztal Glacier. Twelve kilometres of piste are running around the Olperer and Gefrorene Wand, served by one gondola and two drag lifts, with the Betterpark also open. Lifts officially run 8:15 am to 4:30 pm, but skiing stops at 2 pm for now.

A historically poor western winter cut Vail Resorts' annual net income from $280 million to $147.5 million and skier visits by 13.4 per cent. Now 2026-27 pass units are down 12 per cent as of 18 September, worse than the 10 per cent flagged in spring. Vail blames the weather and thinks some buyers are simply waiting, and it forecasts a rebound if the snow behaves.

Arizona Snowbowl advertised eight $1 lift ticket days this winter. Go looking and only three are showing - 10 March, 1 April and 10 April - so the rest may already have gone. The consolation is a calendar full of $9 days, including all but one day in April. Opening day is 20 November, weather permitting, and opening weekend is $19.

For years, Whitewater's Short Side was where you ducked a rope and hoped for the best: unmapped, ungroomed and unpatrolled. This winter it's inbounds. Six new runs of glades and fall-line skiing add 190 acres (about 77 hectares), taking the resort past 1,400 acres in total. F2 Logging spent a month in the trees to make it happen, and opening day is pencilled in for 4 December. Bonanza now needs less snow to groom, too.

Mammoth got its first snow of 2026-27 on Monday 28 September - and promptly lost it by Tuesday morning. Barely an inch fell at McCoy Station, but with opening day pencilled in for Friday 13 November, it's the first sign the Sierra is waking up. Last year's date slipped from 14 November to 20 November, so nobody's booking flights on a dusting just yet. Here's where California's early openers stand.

Four connected areas, 70 lifts and a World Championship course, yet Saalbach Hinterglemm still runs like a family holiday. Two days on snow and a Worlds Super-G later, here is who it suits, what the Ski ALPIN CARD covers and why Epic Pass holders should pay attention. Big on blues, light on steeps.
More Hurricane Ridge intelligence: trail map, lift system, resort overview.