Top 9 Most Budget Friendly Ski Resorts in the USA

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budget, powder mountain, utah
Keep slaying those inbounds lap! | Tele skier Eamon rips down Lightning Ridge at Powder Mountain, Utah. | Photo: SnowBrains

For most of us, one of the biggest considerations when planning a ski trip is how much it’s going to cost. Not all of us can afford to stay ski-in ski-out at one of the mega-resorts, buy lift tickets at the window, and eat on the mountain.

To get the best bang for your buck, it’s going to take some budget planning. Holidu, the search engine for vacation rentals, has carried out a study to determine which US ski resorts offer the least expensive trips without having to sacrifice on the slopes this season. To accomplish this, they evaluated the prices of more than 500 ski resorts in the United States, and those with over 50miles of slopes were considered. To compile the ski price index, they calculated the average price per person per day in both high and low seasons for the ski pass and accommodations.

Here are the cheapest nine ski resorts in the USA for those on a budget:

9. Mt. Bachelor, OR – $132 (average per person per day; ski pass + accommodation)

budget,
Mt. Bachelor, OR. | Photo courtesy Mt. Bachelor

8. Mission Ridge, WA – $125

Ski run Mission, budget, Washington,
The terrain and snow are awesome at Mission Ridge. Photo courtesy of Mission Ridge.

7. Sugarloaf, ME – $117

maine, sugarloaf, east coast, budget
Credit: sugarloaf.com



6. Mt. Baker, WA – $112

Snowboard Jump
A Mt. Baker boarder sending it off a booter under chair 8.

5. Purgatory, CO – $110

budget, purgatory, Colorado
Credit: Purgatory

4. Alta, UT – $109

Only at Alta. | Photo courtesy of SnowBrains



3. Mt. Hood Meadows, OR – $103

mt hood, oregon, pnw
Credit: Mt. Hood Meadows Facebook

2. Schweitzer, ID – $78

schweitzer, Idaho
Powder off the T-bar at Schweitzer. Credit: Facebook

1. Powder Mountain, UT – $74

Powder Mountain. The name doesn’t lie. Photo: SnowBrains 02.01.2020.

The final Ski Price Index data highlights that:

  • Powder Mountain in Utah took first prize as the least expensive slopes for skiing
  • Utah, Washington, Oregon, & Colorado all claim 2 resorts within the top 10!
  • Sugarloaf is the best bang for your buck with the lowest cost per km of skiable slopes

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5 thoughts on “Top 9 Most Budget Friendly Ski Resorts in the USA

  1. Bought a season pass in the alps for $350, covers 7 large resorts. That’s like less than 3 days at Flail, right.

  2. Alta $109, must be something wrong. Alta is a high end resort. No cheap lodging and day pass must be close to $200.

  3. One of the reasons these resorts are “budget friendly” is they are very difficult to get to. So, what you save in resort prices you make for in travel expenses.

  4. Nice try. PowMow hasn’t been that cheap in years. It’s over $100, if you buy online, in advance.

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