Skiing News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

New York Ski Resort Ranked As America's Most Affordable

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated Oct 31, 2024 3:05 PM ET

Looking for a cheap ski trip? Gore Mountain could be your best bet if you're cashing out on lift tickets and lodging.

HomeToGo, a vacation rental marketplace, has released its annual list of the United States’ most affordable ski resorts. Gore Mountain claimed the top position with a per-day cost of $195.02, including lift tickets and lodging.

The other members of the top five—in order of appearance—were Mount Baker, Washington (per day cost $200.92); Whitefish, Montana (per day cost $223.02); Sugarloaf Mountain, Maine (per day cost $229.37); and Ski Santa Fe, New Mexico (per day cost $233.18).

“While traditional favorites remain popular, our data reveals a growing interest in hidden gem destinations like Mount Baker and Whitefish, which rank highly for affordability, suggesting that travelers are seeking more budget-friendly options for ski trips,” said HomeToGo spokesperson Eleanor Moody.

HomeToGo based its rankings on a survey of one-day adult lift tickets conducted in October 2024. When resorts required date selections for ticket purchases, HomeToGo chose January 18th, 2025. Lodging costs were determined by collecting median nightly costs per person for accommodations at or near ski resorts between November 15th, 2024, and March 31st, 2025.

If you were to remove lodging from the equation and only include lift ticket prices, Gore Mountain—which HomeToGo lists as offering $107 lift tickets—wouldn’t rank first in an affordability survey.

In 2024 and 2025, Ski Cooper, Colorado, will charge $45 for adult lift tickets that provide access to the mountain Monday through Thursday (excluding holidays and spring break).

Last winter, lift tickets cost $57 at Hurricane Ridge, a small ski area on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

On January 18th, 2025—HomeToGo’s chosen lift ticket price measurement date—lift tickets currently cost $83 at Purgatory, Colorado, which uses dynamic, demand-based pricing. The cheapest tickets available at Purgatory are $9 (Purgatory appears in seventh place on HomeToGo’s list, thanks to higher accommodation prices than Gore Mountain). Of the ski resorts surveyed by HomeToGo, the average lift ticket price was $188.15.

Popular multi-passes that offer unlimited access to numerous ski resorts throughout the U.S., like the Ikon Pass and Epic Pass, could muddle the rankings further by creating a more-complicated affordability equation. At the end of the 2023-2024 ski season, the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) reported that season passes accounted for 50% of skier visits. Standard day or multi-day lift tickets only claimed 31% of visits.

HomeToGo's annual report also ranked the top trending and most popular ski resorts. Powder Mountain, Utah, and Breckenridge, Colorado, came out on top in these categories, respectively. HomeToGo conducted these rankings by surveying searches on hometogo.com starting January 1st, 2024.

Be the first to read breaking ski news with POWDER. Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing. From ski resort news to profiles of the world’s best skiers, we are committed to keeping you informed.

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

More must-reads: