CA Ski Resorts: What To Know About Opening Days For The 2025-26 Season

It's been a mixed start of the season for ski resorts in California, as several Lake Tahoe-area mountains have had to push back their planned November opening days due to lack of snow. But farther south, several Sierra Nevada mountains welcomed skiers and snowboarders the week before Thanksgiving — and one in Southern California is expects to open on Saturday.

Mammoth Mountain celebrated its opening day on Nov. 20, with seven lifts in operation and 54 open trails. The mountain saw 18 to 32 inches of snow earlier that week, making for an early-season total of 40 inches at the Main Lodge.

Meantime in the Lake Tahoe area, Heavenly and Northstar planned to open on Nov. 21, but had to delay the start of the season due to less-than-ideal conditions. The resorts have yet to announce a new opening date.

Similarly, Sierra at Tahoe — which planned to open on Nov. 28 — has made the call to push back its opening day.

"We’re still short of the base we need to open," the resort wrote. "With no snow in the immediate forecast and temps too warm for snowmaking, we’re holding off for now. We’ll announce a new opening date as soon as conditions allow."

And in an unusual turn of events, one Southern California mountain is opening early — Mt. Baldy plans to open one chairlift on Nov. 22 following several inches of snow.

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Big Bear is hoping for a strong start to the season.

"Snow Valley woke up with a fresh 3 inches of natural goodness at the peak. Add in a couple nights of solid snowmaking, and the crew is pumped about the growing base they’re building for the 25/26 winter season," the resort wrote on Nov. 21. "We’re not ready to drop an official opening date just yet."

Though early-season weather has been mixed across the state, forecasters say it's still a tossup whether this winter will be a particularly snowy one.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center's most recent forecast puts about equal chances for a winter defined by above-normal and below-normal precipitation across much of the state.

In Southern California, however, NOAA's forecast is leaning toward below-normal levels of precipitation.

The forecasters also predicted above-normal temperatures in the state from November through January.

Here's a rundown of the current estimated opening days at California's ski resorts. Note the days are subject to change based on snowfall and other weather conditions:

• Heavenly – delayed from Nov. 21, new date TBA
• Mammoth – opened Nov. 20
• Mountain High – Nov. 22
• Palisades Tahoe – Nov. 26
• Northstar – delayed from Nov. 21, new date TBA
• Sierra-at-Tahoe – delayed from Nov. 28, new date TBA
• Donner Ski Ranch – early December
• Homewood – Dec. 12
• June Mountain – Dec. 20
• Kirkwood – Dec. 5
• Tahoe Donner – Dec. 19
• Sugar Bowl — Nov. 27
• Mt. Baldy — Nov. 22
• Bear Valley — Nov. 28
• China Peak — Nov. 28
• Dodge Ridge — Nov. 28
• Boreal — delayed from Nov. 21, new date TBA
• Big Bear — TBA
• Mt. Shasta Ski Park — TBA
• Mt. Waterman — TBA
• Soda Springs — TBA
• Alta Sierra — TBA
• Badger Pass — TBA