Featured Image: Courtesy of Montana’s Yellowstone Country
The iconic Beartooth Basin Ski Area has announced plans to open for the 2025 summer season on May 26, conditions permitting. For the past two years, locals have hung their heads in disappointment as the resort remained closed due to low snowpack and ownership disputes. But Ullr has answered our prayers—and everything is about to change.
If a ski area opening in May sounds strange to you, you’re not alone. Beartooth Basin is the only summer-specific ski area in North America, making it truly one of a kind. The 90-acre ski area sits atop the Beartooth Highway, perhaps the most jaw-dropping roadway in the U.S. With too much snow to safely maintain during the winter, the road is only open to summer travel, but snow remains nearly year-round at the 10,947-foot summit.
Beartooth Basin confirmed on its website and in a recent Instagram post that they fully intend to spin lifts this year. That being said, 70 cm of base isn’t outstanding, and the team will be counting on cold spring weather to help keep the current snow in place.
Skier (right): Sander Hadley | Photo: Courtesy of Beartooth Basin Ski Area
Here on the Montana-Wyoming border, the atmosphere on a sunny summer day is surreal. For a few fleeting weeks, patchy snow clings to the landscape as tufts of green and brown begin to break through. It’s a strange, beautiful, and temporary time of year—and the stoke in the air rivals that of a deep January pow day. Honestly, the drive alone is worth it. Making turns is just the cherry on top.
A full-day ticket at the ski area will run you $50, with a half-day ticket (12 – 3 PM), priced at $40. Only 100 guests are allowed per day and tickets must be bought with cash or check. If you think you’ll make more than a couple of trips, check out the season pass option, which totals $395 for the summer.
Snow conditions and highway status permitting, the ski area management anticipates operations running from May 26 – June 6, 2025. Only time will tell, but we’ll keep up the snow dances well into May just to make sure.
