It was common knowledge among skiers and snowboarders that Colorado ski resorts suffered through an abysmal season in 2025-26 because of near-record-low snowfall, but now there are numbers to back it up.
Colorado Ski Country USA projects that skier visits statewide declined nearly 24%, from 13.8 million during the 2024-25 season to 10.5 million this season. The record for Colorado is 14.8 million, which was set in 2022-23. Colorado resorts hit 14 million in 2023-24, the second most in state history.
Colorado Ski Country, the state’s ski industry trade association, represents 21 member resorts, but they do not include the five Vail Resorts mountains (Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte). Wolf Creek is also not a member. But Vail Resorts reported in April that skier visits to its resorts in the Rocky Mountain region fell by 25% year over year, while its total visits to all of its North American resorts declined 14.9% compared to the prior year. Lift revenue was down 5.6%, ski school revenue was down 12%, and dining revenue was down 11.7%.
Ski Country announced this year’s figures — using metrics to factor in estimated skier visits at the non-member resorts — to come up with a “projected preliminary statewide” number, which it announced at Thursday’s annual meeting in Denver.
In a news release, Ski Country said every visitor segment declined — in-state, out-of-state and international — and the average number of days resorts were able to operate declined from the 20-year average of 144 days to 129 days. Visits declined more than 20% below the five-year and 10-year averages.
“This year revealed the experience, dedication, and grit of Colorado’s resorts and the teams behind them,” Ski Country chief executive Melanie Mills said in the release. “Their work supports mountain economies, keeps people connected to the mountains, and sustains the experience that generations of Coloradans and visitors come here to share. Skier visits are an important metric, but they are far from the only measure of the health of our industry.”
