The Best Spring Skiing in North America, From British Columbia to Montana

11.12.2024 - 20:57 / cntraveler.com

I never bought into spring skiing until I flew to Aspen in March for the FIS Alpine Skiing Cup. As much as I love skiing, spring break destinations usually mean chasing the sun—not only because this East Coaster was skeptical about skiing conditions on the tail end of winter. When I arrived, though, snow was coming down steadily. The next morning? The skies had cleared, and the fresh powder was seemingly untouched—all conditions that make any ski or snowboarder want to stay out on the mountain forever.

At Aspen Snowmass, where there was little to no wait time for lifts, and the cold had less of a bite. The après scene at St. Regis's Snow Lodge kept the energy up with outdoor DJ parties marked by mini huts offering swanky cocktails and ski apparel for purchase. On my last day, with some time before my flight but not enough to ski, I strolled the shops and ate lunch in the sun, outside Bear Den.

This cycle—big snowstorms followed by warm, sunshine-y, bluebird days—is just one of the many reasons to love spring skiing. The days are longer, which means more daylight hours for skiing and exploring off the slopes, and the après-ski scene gets a little livelier. Skiers and snowboarders participate in festive—and, at times, ridiculous—spring traditions like pond skims, which involve skiing as fast as possible over a manmade pool of water dug into the snow. (Spoiler alert: The fun part is that most people don’t make it very far, and end up swimming.)

As crowds tend to thin out, the real lovers of all things ski remain. And though the weather can vary wildly in the mountains in March, April, and May, average temperatures tend to be warmer. Come spring, ski resorts and snowy places have also been accumulating snow for months, so they usually have all (or nearly all) of their lifts and terrain open thanks to a hearty base layer.

This spring, in particular, is shaping up to be a good one for skiing. While there are plenty of options for those seeking the best skiing in the northeast earlier in the season, snow continues to pummel many resorts in western North America until much later, including those in California, Utah, Montana and Colorado. And though it’s too soon to tell whether that trend will continue, the hefty winter accumulation means there will be feet to ski and ride well into the coming months. (According to a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) report, an impending La Niña will bring lower temperatures and high amounts of precipitation than average in the north and northwest across North America this year.)

In other words: Ski season is far from over. If you’re hoping to get in a few more turns this year, visit one of these North American ski areas for spring skiing worth the