California’s 2026-27 ski season is starting to take shape.
As of Sept. 17, seven major California ski resorts have published opening dates or targets for the coming winter, with Mammoth Mountain currently positioned to get things started in mid-November.
The calendar then gets busy around Thanksgiving, when Heavenly, Northstar California, Palisades Tahoe and Sugar Bowl all hope to be spinning lifts within the span of a week.
Other mountains, particularly in Southern California and lower-elevation parts of the Sierra, are not ready to commit. Resorts including Big Bear, Sierra-at-Tahoe, China Peak, Dodge Ridge and Mt. Shasta Ski Park are still waiting for weather and snowmaking conditions before putting an official date on the calendar.
Here is where things stand.
California Ski Resort Opening Dates Announced So Far
Mammoth Mountain: Nov. 13
Heavenly Mountain Resort: Nov. 20, target
Northstar California: Nov. 20, target
Palisades Tahoe: Nov. 25
Sugar Bowl Resort: Nov. 27, target
Kirkwood Mountain Resort: Dec. 4, target
June Mountain: Dec. 19
All opening dates remain dependent on weather, snowmaking and mountain conditions.
Unofficial Networks is also maintaining a broader look at ski resort opening dates already announced across North America for the 2026-27 season.
Mammoth Mountain: Nov. 13
Mammoth Mountain currently has the earliest announced opening day in California.
The Eastern Sierra resort has scheduled its 2026-27 opening for Friday, Nov. 13, with lifts expected to begin spinning at 8:30 a.m.
Opening day traditionally centers around Broadway Express at Main Lodge, including Mammoth’s first-chair celebration and banner breakthrough.
Mammoth’s ability to make significant amounts of snow around Main Lodge and its upper-mountain elevation have historically helped it become one of California’s most reliable early openers.
The resort is already promoting opening weekend lodging and lift-ticket packages around the Nov. 13 date.
Mammoth Mountain official 2026-27 opening day information
Heavenly Mountain Resort: Nov. 20
One week later, the California ski season could expand to Lake Tahoe.
Vail Resorts has set Nov. 20 as the target opening date for Heavenly Mountain Resort.
Heavenly’s early-season operation is heavily dependent on snowmaking, and the resort’s opening terrain can vary substantially depending on November temperatures and natural snowfall.
The Nov. 20 date is one of several 2026-27 opening targets announced by Vail Resorts in August.
Vail Resorts’ official 2026-27 opening date announcement
Northstar California: Nov. 20
Northstar California is targeting the same Friday, Nov. 20 opening as Heavenly.
The resort is already advertising the date on its website as it prepares for the 2026-27 season.
Northstar’s extensive snowmaking infrastructure gives the resort an advantage when cold November temperatures arrive before significant natural snowfall.
Opening terrain will ultimately depend on conditions.
Northstar California official website and opening information
Palisades Tahoe: Nov. 25
Palisades Tahoe plans to open Wednesday, Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.
The resort has already begun promoting opening day as the start of its 2026-27 winter, although available lifts and terrain will depend on weather and conditions.
Palisades Tahoe is also heading into winter with several projects underway, including work on its iconic aerial tram and additional mountain improvements.
The Nov. 25 target puts Palisades five days behind Heavenly and Northstar on the current Tahoe calendar.
Palisades Tahoe’s official 2026-27 opening information
Sugar Bowl Resort: Nov. 27
Sugar Bowl is targeting Friday, Nov. 27, one day after Thanksgiving.
The independent Donner Summit resort is currently in the middle of a major capital improvement program that includes a new Village Gondola and improvements to the Main Lodge.
Sugar Bowl repeatedly notes that its Nov. 27 opening remains conditions permitting.
Sugar Bowl’s official hours and opening-day information
Kirkwood Mountain Resort: Dec. 4
Kirkwood is taking a more conservative approach than Vail Resorts’ other two Tahoe mountains.
The resort is targeting Friday, Dec. 4, two weeks after Heavenly and Northstar.
That later start is not unusual for Kirkwood. The resort sits high along the Sierra Crest and is much more dependent on natural snowfall than resorts that rely heavily on large early-season snowmaking networks.
When storms do arrive, Kirkwood’s location can produce some of the largest snowfall totals in the Tahoe region.
Vail Resorts included the Dec. 4 date in the same announcement that set the Nov. 20 targets for Heavenly and Northstar.
Vail Resorts’ official Kirkwood opening target
June Mountain: Dec. 19
June Mountain currently has the latest firm opening date among California resorts that have put a day on the calendar.
Mammoth’s sister resort plans to open Saturday, Dec. 19.
June Mountain sits roughly 20 miles north of Mammoth but generally opens considerably later. The resort is particularly known for its family-oriented terrain and continues to offer free skiing and snowboarding for children 12 and younger through its Kids Season Pass.
June Mountain notes that its Dec. 19 opening remains subject to weather and conditions.
June Mountain official opening day information
Big Bear Is Not Calling Nov. 21 Its Opening Day
Southern California is more complicated.
Big Bear Mountain Resort has lift tickets available beginning Nov. 21 for the 2026-27 season, but the resort explicitly says that should not be interpreted as an official opening date for Bear Mountain, Snow Summit or Snow Valley.
Nov. 21 is simply the earliest those resorts could open.
Big Bear says it likely will not know when winter operations can begin until around mid-November, when temperatures become cold enough to evaluate snowmaking conditions.
That distinction is worth emphasizing because projected opening-date calendars can make Nov. 21 look more definitive than it actually is.
Big Bear Mountain Resort’s official winter operations update
Several Other California Resorts Are Still Waiting
A significant portion of California’s ski industry has not announced an official 2026-27 opening date.
That group currently includes Boreal Mountain Resort, Bear Valley, China Peak, Dodge Ridge, Homewood Mountain Resort, Mountain High, Mt. Baldy, Mt. Shasta Ski Park, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Soda Springs, Tahoe Donner and several smaller ski areas.
Some third-party ski websites are already publishing projected dates for those mountains, but in many cases those dates are based on historical opening patterns rather than a current announcement from the resort itself.
Sierra-at-Tahoe, for example, currently says it typically opens in late November or early December but has not announced a specific day for 2026-27. Sierra-at-Tahoe’s official operating FAQ
China Peak is selling 2026-27 passes and preparing for winter, but its current pass information refers only to “opening day” without assigning a date. Mt. Shasta Ski Park is also selling 2026-27 products without announcing when lifts will begin turning.
That will likely change quickly as California moves deeper into fall.
Mammoth Currently Has the Inside Track
For now, Nov. 13 belongs to Mammoth.
If the date holds and another California mountain does not make a weather-driven early opening, Mammoth Mountain will kick off the state’s 2026-27 lift-served ski season.
One week later, Heavenly and Northstar hope to join it. Thanksgiving week brings Palisades Tahoe and Sugar Bowl, followed by Kirkwood in early December and June Mountain just before Christmas.
But this is California, where November opening plans can change dramatically with a single Sierra storm or a stretch of cold snowmaking weather.
Consider this the starting calendar, not the final one.
