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6 Essentials To Upgrade Your Ski Parking Lot Tailgate

Originally posted on Powder | By Izzy Lidsky | Last updated May 1, 2025 1:58 PM ET

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One of the greatest joys of spring skiing, aside from smashing slushy moguls, is that it's prime parking lot après season.

A ski ritual of its own, a good parking lot tailgate is one of those peak ski season experiences. While we may mourn the end of winter and powder days, there's something truly special about drinking a beer with your buds at the end of the day and feeling the sun on your Vitamin D-deprived skin while you do it.

Après is whatever you make it, but there's a few items that will really elevate your lot lizard season. The bonus? Most of these things you can use all year round for car camping, days by the water or park hangs, and whatever other on-the-go grill outs you can dream up. These are a few of our favorite things for spring tailgating.

1. Camp Chairs

A good camp chair to kick back in once your ski boots are off at the end of the day makes all the difference for a good tailgate hang. The more seating you have, the more friends can join! When it comes to camp chairs, I'm partial to the Kelty Low Loveseat. It's low height makes it easy to sink into and throw your feet up on a cooler, but not too hard to get out of. While it comes in a single chair version, the double or triple-wide versions mean you always have an extra seat for that person who forgot their chair, that dog that just wants to snuggle up without getting it's paws wet, or for you to stretch out for a parking lot disco nap. The carrying case also lays out flat as a pad for you to change in and out of your boots on and keep your socks dry.

If you're less of a chair person and more of a "sit on the tailgate person" (it's me, I am that person), my favorite thing to keep in my truck is the Kama Poco. This little origami mat has a million and one uses, but when it comes to tailgating, it's the best tailgate seat pad. Use it to keep your feet dry getting out of your boots and then throw it in your truck bed as another seat.

You can cook just about anything on one of these bad boys. Photo: wolv/Getty Images

2. Things to Cook With

The best way to upgrade any après is with good food. For those who want a good old fashioned glizzy cookout with the end of their ski day, you can't beat a good old-fashioned Coleman two-burner stove. They're pretty inexpensive, durable as heck, and will last forever for all your tailgate and car camping adventures. You can also find fuel canisters for them at most outdoor stores, Walmarts, and even gas station convenience stores.

If you're looking to get fancy with your parking lot meals, give Gozney Pizza Ovens a gander. Their gas-powered Tread oven makes 12-inch pizzas in a minute or less, and are super portable and durable. Rumor has it pro skier Sage Cattabriga-Alosa is a wizard with one of these things and has even been known to chef up pizzas at the summit of Mt. Bachelor.

3. Bluetooth Speaker

What's a tailgate party without tunes to go with it? While you might be able to find a full on rave in some ski resort parking lots in the spring (I'm looking at you, Jackson Hole), if you just want some good background music, it's always worth throwing a bluetooth speaker in you car to break out later. There's a million bluetooth speakers on the market, all with their own pros and cons, so it's pretty hard to go wrong. I have a JBL Go 3 that while tiny, is mighty in sound, has a little loop built in so you can clip it to whatever you want for maximum surround sound potential, and is super durable and waterproof.

4. Cooler

A cooler is perhaps the most essential piece of gear for a good lot party. Store your dawgs and snacks while you ski, keep après beverages cold, and use it as a foot rest or another seat, the possibilities are endless! Like many of these essentials, there's a handful of great outdoor cooler options on the market and it's pretty hard to go wrong. How much storage you want and what else you plan to use it for can help determine if you want a soft or hard sided cooler.

For parking lot hands, summer car camping trips, and most other applicable cooler uses, I prefer a hard sided cooler on the smaller side like the Dometic Patrol 20. They keep ice a little longer than soft coolers and can be another seat or surface when you need one.

5. Shoes

Nothing kills the vibe of your parking lot party like having to keep your ski boots on or having wet, cold feet. Ski resort parking lots can be a bit of a gamble in the spring on whether they're dry or still full of slush and melting snow. For days when it might be a little soupy in the lot still, you're gonna want something waterproof and easy to slip on and comfy after being in ski boots all day. When it's not frigidly cold, but I still want something waterproof, XTRATUF's Ankle Deck Boots are my favorites.

If I know it's going to be warm and the lot is pretty dry, Crocs are by far one of my favorite things to throw on after ski boots.

Who can say no to a game of cornhole?Photo: Photography By Tonelson/ Getty Images

6. Games

In case you've got more yayas to get out after a day of spring skiing, having a couple of yard games on hand can't hurt your tailgate après. Anecdotally, the best thing I've ever seen in the Mt. Bachelor parking lot was two teenagers in parachute pants sitting in camp chairs behind their car, bumping rap music and both doing Kendama tricks. If Kendama isn't your thing, a hackie sack is an easy one to keep in your car and breakout for a group game in the lot.

If you've got space, corn hole is another great tailgate game. Outside Inside makes a portable corn hole set up that folds away making it easy to transport and breakout wherever there's space.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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