Collectively, Idaho’s ski areas boast 29,000 feet of vertical spanning more than 21,000 acres, short lift lines, and extremely affordable passes. Plus, most offer skiing seniors significant discounts on lift tickets (and season passes).
Here’s a comprehensive list of the deals available to seniors looking to ski Idaho:
- Bald Mountain Ski Area (Pierce) — Seniors ages 70 and older ski for free.
At Bald Mountain, a small nonprofit ski area near Pierce in North Central Idaho, seniors ages 70 and older ski for free while full-day adult lift tickets go for only $25. Nestled amongst the vast Clearwater Mountains along the Gold Rush Historic Byway, Bald Mountain offers 21 runs that span 140 acres of skiable terrain with 845 feet of vertical. It is operated by the Clearwater Ski Club on land leased from PotlatchDeltic Corp., a forest products company based in Spokane, Wash. (Photo courtesy of Idaho Tourism) - Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area (Boise) — Seniors ages 70 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $57 vs. $76 for adults 18-69, late arrivals (1 p.m. to close) costing $49 vs. $69, and twilight passes (3 p.m. to close) costing $32 vs. $39. There are no discounts on night passes (6 p.m. to close). Seniors also can purchase discounted Nordic passes, with full-day passes costing $17 vs. $24 for adults 13-69 and half-day passes costing $12 vs. $17. There are no senior discounts on winter tubing or the Glad Runner mountain coaster.
- Brundage Mountain Resort (McCall) — Seniors ages 70 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $62 during the regular season and $64 on holidays vs. $86 and $94, respectively, for adults ages 18-69. Likewise, seniors receive discounts on late-arrival tickets, which cost $48 during the regular season and $50 on holidays vs. $72 and $76, respectively, for adults. Seniors also enjoy discounts on multiday tickets. Buy full-day tickets online two days ahead of time and enjoy additional discounts. Brundage does not offer discounts for seniors booking snowtubing at the McCall Activity Barn, snowcat adventures, or snowmobile tours.
Brundage Mountain Resort in Southwest Idaho near McCall about two hours north of Boise is home to what SKI Magazine has claimed is “the best powder in North America.” Its base area is blessed with more than 320 inches of snow annually, creating a consistently satisfying mix of bluebird and powder days throughout winter. It is also home to some of the best senior lift ticket discounts in the Gem State. (Photo courtesy of Ski Idaho) - Cottonwood Butte Ski Area (Cottonwood) — The mountain doesn’t offer seniors discounts, but full-day adult lift tickets only cost $20.
- Grand Targhee Resort (Alta, WY) — Seniors ages 65 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $90 during the regular season and $103 on holidays vs. $120 and$135, respectively, for adults ages 13-64. Buy your alpine ski tickets online and save up to 6 percent on most dates. Seniors also can purchase discounted Nordic passes, with day passes costing $15 vs. $20 for adults. Grand Targhee does not offer discounts for seniors booking snowshoe tours. Those wishing to fatbike its winter sports trail system must purchase a full-day alpine lift ticket or Nordic trail ticket.
- Kelly Canyon Resort (Ririe) — Seniors ages 70 and older enjoy the same lift ticket pricing as juniors ages 6-12, with a full day costing $59 vs. $79 for adults ages 13-69. Likewise, half-day and night-skiing lift tickets cost seniors $39 vs. $59 for adults.
- Little Ski Hill (McCall) — The mountain doesn’t offer seniors discounts, but full-day adult lift tickets only cost $25.
- Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area (Mullan) — Seniors ages 80 and older ski for free. Seniors ages 62-79 enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with full-day passes costing $45 midweek, $52 on weekends, and $54 on holidays vs. $55, $66, and $73, respectively, for adults ages 18-61. Buy them online well before 8 a.m. the day before your visit and save another $3 per ticket. Additionally, if you show your photo I.D. or birth certificate at the ticket window on your birthday you’ll receive a free lift ticket on your birthday.
Show your photo I.D. or birth certificate at the ticket window of Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area on your birthday and you’ll receive a free lift ticket for that day. Plus, seniors ages 80 and older ski for free and 62- to 79-year-olds enjoy sweet discounts on lift tickets. Near the historic town of Wallace and straddling the Idaho-Montana border and the Mountain and Pacific time zones, Lookout Pass is debuting its Eagle Peak expansion this winter, nearly doubling its footprint and adding another 500 feet of vertical. (Photo courtesy of Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area) - Lost Trail Ski Area (Sula, MT) — “Golden agers” 60 to 69 years old and seniors ages 70 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $50 and $29, respectively, vs. $58 for adults ages 13-59. Likewise, golden agers and seniors only pay $45 and $26 for half-day passes, respectively, vs. $53 for adults.
- Magic Mountain Ski Resort (Kimberly) — The mountain doesn’t offer seniors discounts, but full-day adult lift tickets only cost $40.
- Pebble Creek Ski Area (Inkom) — Seniors ages 66 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $50 and a half day costing $42 vs. $62 and $49, respectively, for adults ages 18-65. Pebble Creek does not offer seniors discounts on lift tickets that only allow riding on the Aspen beginner lift, which costs $25 for guests ages 6 and older.
- Pomerelle Mountain Resort (Albion) — Seniors ages 70 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $27 online and $37 at the ticket window vs. $50 and $60, respectively, for adults ages 13-69. Pomerelle does not offer seniors discounts on half-day and night tickets.
- Rotarun Ski Area (Hailey) — The mountain doesn’t offer seniors discounts, but adult lift tickets only cost $15. Plus, Rotarun offers free public night skiing 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays.
- Schweitzer (Sandpoint) — Seniors ages 65 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $97 their first visit and $92 to reload their RFID card for subsequent dates vs. $110 and $100, respectively for adults ages 18-64. Schweitzer does not offer seniors discounts on afternoon and twilight lift tickets or Nordic trail passes. Book a stay in any Schweitzer-managed property and receive discounted lift tickets.
- Silver Mountain Resort (Kellogg) — Seniors 65 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $60 midweek (Monday-Friday), $64 on weekends, and $70 on holidays vs. $65, $71, and $75, respectively, for adults ages 18-64. Likewise, senior half-day tickets cost $55 midweek and on weekends and $60 on holidays vs. $57 and $65, respectively, for adults. Seniors also enjoy discounted scenic gondola rides (the resort is home to the world’s longest single-stage gondola that serves a ski area), which cost them $17.95 vs. $21.95 for adults. Silver Mountain does not offer seniors discounts on snowtubing or passes to Silver Rapids, Idaho’s largest indoor waterpark, which is adjacent to the resort’s Morning Star Lodge in the gondola village.
- Snowhaven Ski & Tubing Area (Grangeville) — Seniors ages 62 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $22 vs. $24 for a regular adult ticket and half-day passes costing $17 vs. $22 for a regular adult ticket. There are no senior discounts on snowtubing.
- Soldier Mountain (Fairfield) — Seniors ages 70 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day costing $39 online and $54 at the ticket window vs. $59 and $74, respectively, for adults ages 18-69. Half-day tickets cost $24 online and $39 at the ticket window vs. $44 and $59, respectively, for adults. Soldier Mountain does not offer seniors discounts for its snowcat adventures.
Seniors save 27 percent off regular adult prices when purchasing their Soldier Mountain lift tickets onsite at the ticket window, and up to one-third when they buy them online. It is one of only 10 ski areas in the U.S. you can rent out for the day. For $6,000 you can privately book the mountain during nonoperational days (Mondays-Wednesdays) for corporate retreats or personal events. So if you and 99 friends got together, you could have the entire mountain to yourself for the day for only $60 apiece. (Photo courtesy of Ski Idaho) - Sun Valley Resort (Sun Valley) — Seniors ages 65 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets, with a full day ranging from $86-145 depending on the date vs. $104-225 for adults ages 13-64.
Boasting 3,400 ft. of vertical, Sun Valley Resort’s senior discounts are nearly as steep, reaching upwards of 35 percent. For the third consecutive year, SKI Magazine named it the top ski resort in North America in its 2022 Annual Resort Guide. Sun Valley ranked no. 1 in the West for overall satisfaction, lifts, dining, and local flavor, and also ranked highly in the grooming, guest services, lodging, après, nightlife, and family friendly categories. (Photo courtesy of Sun Valley Resort) - Tamarack Resort (Donnelly) — Seniors ages 70 and older enjoy discounts on lift tickets. When pre-purchased in advance online, a full-day pass costs seniors $40 midweek and weekends and $60 on holidays vs. $55, $75, and $90, respectively, for adults ages 18-69. When purchased at the ticket window, seniors pay $60 for a half day, $75 for a full day, and $95 on holidays vs. $80, $115, and $135, respectively, for adults.
Please visit skiidaho.us for more details.
Arguably the greatest bargains on snow for the senior skier are to be had at Red Mountain, Whitewater and Panorama in eastern British Columbia. Check out the daily rate for the over 75 skier. Even in our paltry Canadian dollar it is cheap !
No, the best deal by far for senior skiers is at Alta, Utah, where we over-80s ski free!! An additional perk is the best snow and conditions in an area with at least 9 ski areas within 1 and 1/2 hours of each other, even in really terrible snow years.
Alyeska in Girdwood, Alaska the over “70” Seasons Pass…$250 mid week. Caveat,Dec-Jan upper mountain lift flosees 3:30 .
Visibility is awful..”If you need to see”,wait until md Feb.
Sea level snow conditions and narrow,narrow funnels to the lower lifts. Very well run Resort overall ,great Ski Patrol, open meadows after snow control has been implimented.
Ni senior discount on a season pass at Sun Valley. It is said if they had one, they would go broke.
Could you please tell me when will the pricing for Seniors Ski Lift ticket be posted for Sun Valley 2023-24? I am 74 yrs old and attempting to plan a ski trip and just trying to budget for the lift ticket but cannot find where the 2023-24 ski lift ticket pricing is posted?? Thank you for your assistance. Gary