What weeks have the best deals on a ski and snowboard vacation?

Robert SnowPak.com 12/18/10

I get asked by skiers and snowboarders all the time for the best time to go on a ski and snowboard vacation. There are many considerations. The main ones are price and snowfall. And those two are vary much related as you will see below.

What are the least expensive weeks to go on a ski and snowboard vacation?

The price of a mountain vacation at a destination resort usually has one major component. Lodging. Of course the cost of an airline ticket goes up and down during the ski season as does the cost of lift tickets, ski and snowboard rentals, etc. But for most ski and snowboard vacations to destination ski resorts the cost of the lodging is the biggest portion of the price of the vacation.

To find out what weeks have the lowest lodging prices we looked at the lodging inventory of some of the major destination ski resorts. We checked the pricing of a variety of properties, from 5* ski-in/ski-out properties to 2* properties.

We checked out the prices anybody can get on the web. We checked prices directly from the lodging properties web sites as well as their prices on sites like Expedia.com.

The 3 Cheapest weeks to go on a ski and snowboard vacation are . . .

1. The second week of January.
2. The third week of January.
3. The second week of February.

Why Shoulder Seasons Don't Count.

Wait a minute, what about the shoulder seasons? The weeks before mid December and after the third week of March. Those weeks have the best prices don't they?

Well, there is a reason that the shoulder seasons are the least expensive. And it's because the chances are greater during those time frames that the snow conditions are not nearly as good as during the heart of the ski season. If you are willing to take that chance, you could be rewarded with a great vacation value. Or, you could be looking for other things to do at the resort besides skiing or snowboarding.

Early season - before mid December - is very risky at almost any destination resort. Late season - after mid March - is a better bet. As a matter of fact, some areas in Colorado have a history of having their biggest snow storms in late March and early April.

Here is the current Ski Season Snowfall Progress Report.

What are the most expensive weeks to go on a ski/ride vacation?

1. The week of Christmas and New Years.
2. The third week of February - Presidents Day.

The week to ten days between Christmas and New Years is the most expensive time to go on a ski/ride vacation at just about any destination resort.

Each resort will have it's share of events during the ski season. Park City/Deer Valley has the Sundance Film Festival in late January where prices are actually higher than the Christmas/New Years time frame. Aspen has it's ESPN X-Games in late January. There are also other holidays that prices go up. MLK Day, Presidents Day, etc.

The chart below shows pricing for each of the 15 weeks in the heart of the ski & snowboard vacation season. This chart shows how much more or less the weeks average nightly price is above or below the seasons average nightly price.

Every resort's lodging prices will be different to some extent. This chart shows an overview of the general price trends for destination ski resorts.

Other Factors.

You may have heard of the different parts of the ski and snowboard vacation seasons. Early, Holiday, Value, Regular, Late, etc. Those terms are only relative to that property or resort. For example, the dates for a Value season may be different for two properties next door to each other.

Summary

Book early and take your vacation during the first two weeks of January or the second week of Feburary to get the best deals on lodging.

We checked lodging prices for these destination resorts.

Aspen
Banff
Big Sky
Breckenridge
Jackson Hole
Snowmass
Telluride
Vail
Whistler

Related articles:

Ski Season Snowfall Progress Report.

How do you get the best ski package deal?