The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Pine Creek's summit reaches 8,225 feet, dropping 1,424 vertical feet to a base at 6,801 feet across 32 runs spread over 640 acres in Lincoln County, Wyoming. Terrain splits 40 per cent advanced, 30 per cent intermediate and 30 per cent beginner, with no expert-rated runs. A single quad chair serves the entire mountain. Average annual snowfall reaches roughly 350 inches, though the resort carries no major multi-resort pass affiliation.
The advanced-heavy terrain split reflects Pine Creek's steep pitches relative to its modest 1,424-foot vertical drop. With only one lift serving 32 runs, skier traffic concentrates on whichever routes the single quad chair accesses each day. There is no terrain park or groomed beginner-specific zone beyond the general 30 per cent beginner share. The mountain's small scale keeps lift lines minimal even on the busiest weekends.
Pine Creek operates as a community ski hill rather than a commercial resort, co-owned by Lincoln County and longtime operator Paul Etcheverry, who has run the area for close to 50 years. The base lodge began life as a Union Pacific train depot, donated and moved from Cokeville to the ski hill in one piece. Public skiing runs on weekends, with the entire mountain available for private weekday rental at a flat rate. This weekday rental model is unusual among Wyoming ski areas of any size.
Ski School Day Tickets, priced for public access alongside instructional programming, form the core of Pine Creek's public offering rather than a standard lift ticket structure. A full-mountain private weekday rental costs 3,000 US dollars, while a season pass runs 299 dollars. The resort suits local Lincoln County families and weekday groups seeking exclusive mountain access over destination skiers, given its distance from Wyoming's larger resort towns. Its cooperative structure with the Wyoming Division of Tourism and the Bureau of Land Management keeps the operation community-focused rather than commercially driven.
1,424ft
Vertical
32
Runs
640 acres
Skiable
29ft
Annual snow
The Terrain
32 runs across 640 acres skiable
Pine Creek spreads 32 runs across 640 acres skiable of terrain. It leans advanced at 40%, with 10 beginner runs to find your feet and 13 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
32
runs
32 runs across 4 grades
Beginner10 runs · 30%
Intermediate10 runs · 30%
Advanced13 runs · 40%
Expert0 runs · 0%
Time it right
When to visit Pine Creek
The 2025-26 season at Pine Creek ran from 6 December 2025 to 29 March 2026, a roughly sixteen-week window. The resort's public operating schedule concentrates on weekends, with weekdays available for private group rental rather than general public skiing. This structure means the effective public ski season is shorter than the full open-to-close window suggests. Season dates shift year to year based on snowpack and the operator's scheduling.
Average annual snowfall of roughly 350 inches supports the mountain's 640 acres of advanced-leaning terrain, though live season snowfall tracking is not available in current resort data. Lincoln County's position in western Wyoming places it in a moderate snowbelt compared with the heavier totals seen further north in the Tetons. Base depth and conditions are typically reported informally given the ski area's small, community-run scale. Snowmaking coverage has not been documented for this area.
Weekends through the core winter months of January and February typically offer the most consistent public skiing access at Pine Creek. Weekday visits require booking the mountain as a private rental rather than showing up for standard lift access. Late-season conditions in March can be inconsistent, with the area's 29 March close date reflecting typical spring snowpack decline at this elevation. The weekend-only public model makes advance planning more important here than at resorts with daily public access.
Pine Creek does not offer night skiing or a dedicated events calendar, consistent with its role as a community and rental ski hill rather than a destination resort. Ski school programming operates alongside public weekend access as a core part of the mountain's offering. The full-mountain weekday rental option effectively functions as private event hosting for groups willing to book the entire hill. As a Lincoln County and Etcheverry-operated area, the calendar centres on serving local skiers over hosting a resort-style event programme.
Season 2025 - 2026
6 Dec 2025
Opens
29 Mar 2026
Closes
113
Days open
29 ft
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Pine Creek, and where to stay
Pine Creek sits seven miles east of Cokeville, in Lincoln County in southwestern Wyoming, with a base elevation of 6,801 feet. The ski area's summit reaches 8,225 feet, a 1,424-foot vertical drop across 640 acres. This is a working ranching and small-town region rather than a resort corridor, with Pine Creek serving as the area's local ski hill. The surrounding landscape is open range and forest rather than a built-up mountain village.
Cokeville, Wyoming, is the nearest town, a small community that originally donated the train depot now serving as Pine Creek's base lodge. The area was built by local cowboys seeking winter recreation, a history that still shapes its community, non-resort character. Larger service towns like Kemmerer and Afton sit further away, providing additional lodging and supplies beyond what Cokeville itself offers. The wider Lincoln County region carries a ranching identity rather than a ski-tourism one.
Local county roads provide access to Pine Creek from Cokeville, without the state highway infrastructure that serves Wyoming's larger resorts. The drive from Cokeville takes a short time given the seven-mile distance, though winter conditions on rural roads can include snowpack and ice. No major highway runs directly to the ski area, consistent with its role as a local rather than destination attraction. No public transport service reaches Pine Creek, making a car essential for access.
The nearest airport with scheduled commercial service is not confirmed in available resort information, given Pine Creek's remote Lincoln County location. Salt Lake City International Airport, roughly two to three hours south by road, offers the nearest major hub with extensive flight options. Jackson Hole Airport sits considerably further north and east, making it a less practical option for Pine Creek visitors specifically. Rental cars from either airport are the standard way to reach this part of southwestern Wyoming.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Pine Creek, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Aspen Snowmass Marks 80th Anniversary With $3.75 Throwback Lift Tickets
Aspen Snowmass turns 80 this December, and it's marking the milestone with $3.75 lift tickets on the anniversary itself - the original 1946 price. A discounted long weekend, $19.46 dining specials, lodging deals up to 46 percent off, and a season of anniversary programming round out the celebration across all four mountains.
17 Sept 2026
Doppelmayr Group Posts 9.1% Revenue Growth in 2025/26, Passing 1.3 Billion Euros
Doppelmayr closed its 2025/26 business year with revenue up 9.1 percent to 1.3 billion euros, driven by projects including the Big Sky Explorer Gondola, Deer Valley's Mayflower East Village Gondola, and the first TRI-Line installation at Hoch-Ybrig. Headcount grew too, with the ropeway manufacturer now employing almost 4,000 people worldwide.
16 Sept 2026
Hintertux Glacier Replaces 40-Year-Old Gondola to Tuxer Fernerhaus
Hintertux Glacier is retiring its 40-year-old gondola to the Tuxer Fernerhaus. The replacement carries 10 people per cabin instead of four, with seat heating and nearly 40 percent more hourly capacity. Doppelmayr's new line opens at the end of October 2026, right as the glacier's high-altitude terrain becomes accessible again for the new season.
16 Sept 2026
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 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 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
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 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