Wolf Creek ski area will claim Colorado first-tracks honors Tuesday when it becomes the first ski area to open for the 2024-25 season, maintaining the state’s three-decade streak of October skiing.
The last time Colorado failed to open any ski area in October was in 1992, when Loveland and Keystone shared opening-day bragging rights on Nov. 3.
Located 250 miles from Denver at Wolf Creek Pass in southern Colorado, Wolf Creek received 26 inches of snow in recent days and will open 11 trails at 9 a.m. with an 18-inch settled base. Those trails represent 30% of Wolf Creek’s skiable terrain. Lift tickets are $68. Wolf Creek is celebrating its 85th anniversary this season.
Tuesday’s opening will mark the earliest Colorado opening since 2021 when Wolf Creek opened for weekends-only skiing on Oct. 16. Arapahoe Basin opened a day later that season.
Closer to Denver, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Keystone and Copper Mountain have been busy making snow. Arapahoe Basin was the first Colorado ski area to open the past two years and in 11 of the past 13 years. That run includes a tie with Loveland on Oct. 29 in 2015.
In conceding the race to Wolf Creek, Arapahoe Basin spokeswoman Shayna Silverman declined to say how close that area is to opening.
“We won’t be opening by tomorrow,” Silverman said. “We congratulate Wolf Creek for kicking off the winter strong. We are still targeting an ASAP opening.”
