Mount Shasta's Ski Season Has No Opening Day Yet. Its Deadlines Are Already Here.

How many days will you spend at Mt. Shasta Ski Park this winter? If the honest answer is five or more, the season pass has probably already paid for itself. Most of what decides that math happens in October and November, well before the first chair turns.

As of late August 2026, the Ski Park had not announced an opening date for the 2026/27 season. The pass side of the calendar is already moving. The Ski Park lets buyers pay monthly at 0% interest, but only through November. One published price list also carries an October 30 expiration date. So the cheapest way to ski this winter gets settled while the mountain is still bare.

Five days is the whole argument

Start with the 5-Day Pass. It covers any five days of the season with no blackout dates and belongs to one person. The Ski Park says 2026/27 sales start November 24. The adult price is $480 for ages 13 to 64, which works out to $96 a day. Last season, an adult day ticket listed at $99 on weekdays and $109 on weekends, so the 5-Day Pass is a modest discount.

Now put the 5-Day Pass next to the season pass. In April 2026, the Sacramento Bee reported the Ski Park's 2026/27 season pass prices and said they had not gone up from the previous season.

In every group except adults, the full season costs less than five days. A 15-year-old on the 5-Day Pass pays the adult rate of $480. The same teen's season pass is $349. A 67-year-old saves $111 by taking the whole winter instead of five days. For adults, the season pass costs $19 more than the 5-Day Pass, which is less than a single weekend day ticket at last season's price. Kids 4 and under and skiers 85 and older ski free on a season pass.

There is one wrinkle, and it makes October matter more. OnTheSnow's 2026–27 listing, last updated April 9, 2026, shows lower season pass prices: $429 adult, $199 senior 65–69, $169 junior and $99 for ages 5 to 7. That row is marked "price expires Oct 30, 2026." The Ski Park's own pass page names its 2026/27 pricing but didn't show dollar figures when we checked. So two published price lists disagree. Either way, the conclusion holds. At the higher list, an adult season pass costs $19 more than five days. At the lower list, it costs $51 less. If the lower list is still live, the October 30 date shown on that listing is the one to beat, and a quick check at skipark.com before the end of the month will settle it.

What a season pass carries beyond lift access

The pass math looks even better once you add the extras. The Ski Park's Pass Protection Program guarantees a 60-day season. For each day the season falls short of 60, pass holders get a rollover credit of 1.67% toward the following season. A 45-day winter, for example, would return about a quarter of the pass price as credit for next year.

Pass holders also get 50% off hourly snow tubing, 20% off food excluding alcohol, 20% off rentals, waxing and lessons, and 10% off in the mountain retail shop. If a family's season includes a few tubing afternoons or a round of lessons, those discounts add up quickly.

The pass also travels. It brings discounted lift tickets at Mt. Ashland Ski Area, three free days at each of the 18 Powder Alliance resorts, and free days at partners such as Bogus Basin and Hoodoo Ski Area. Hoodoo gives four days with no blackout dates. A 5-Day Pass includes none of this.

One mile down the hill, a December deadline

Cross-country skiers and snowshoers have their own calendar, set by the Mt. Shasta Nordic Center. The Center sits on Ski Park Highway, 3.5 miles up from Highway 89 and about a mile below the Ski Park. Its 2026/27 season pass is free for ages 17 and under, $250 for ages 18 to 69 and $150 for ages 70 and up. Bought online during the early-bird window, adult and senior passes drop to $200 and $100, and that window runs through December 6.

The comparison works much like the Ski Park's. An adult day pass to ski the trails is $30, and a five-day trail pass is $125. At the early-bird price, the adult season pass costs as much as seven day passes and $75 more than the five-day pass. The Center runs Wednesday through Sunday in the regular season and seven days a week over the holidays. That gives a pass holder plenty of days to come out ahead.

The free side of the mountain still has paperwork

Not every winter day on the mountain needs a lift ticket. The Mount Shasta Avalanche Center describes Everitt Memorial Highway as plowed to Bunny Flat year-round, which makes Bunny Flat the standard access point for winter recreation on the mountain. That trailhead description dates to 2017, so check current road updates before an early-season trip.

California's SNO-Park program runs on its own calendar. Every vehicle parked at a designated SNO-Park lot needs a permit from November 1 through May 30. Permits cost $15 a day or $40 for the season, and the state expected 2026/27 permits to go on sale around October 2026. One permit works at every lot in the program. The state's published lot list doesn't name Bunny Flat, so the season permit matters most for anyone heading to program lots elsewhere in the state. If you buy the permit, the $40 season option costs about as much as three daily permits.

Backcountry trips have one more date to watch. The Avalanche Center's October 3 conditions report says daily avalanche forecasts return in December. Once there is snow on the ground, the Center recommends carrying an avalanche beacon, shovel and probe.

For Ski Park days, the Ski Park says its lots are first-come, first-served and can fill, and it recommends arriving before 9:30 a.m. Drivers may need four-wheel drive, snow tires or chains, and chains must be carried either way.

Getting the gear ready in town

Gear deadlines can sneak up too, and two Mount Shasta shops handle most of what the mountain asks for. The Fifth Season, at 300 N Mt Shasta Blvd, is a ski, snowboard and climbing shop with rentals and demos. It takes online and phone reservations for alpine touring setups, splitboards, mountaineering gear and ski and snowboard rentals. Its touring rentals also include the transceivers, probes and shovels the Avalanche Center recommends.

Sportsmen's Den, at 100 Chestnut St, rents skis and snowboards. It also handles ski and snowboard tuning, waxing, repairs and binding work. Its rental sheet covers snowshoes along with ski and snowboard packages. A tune in November costs no more than a tune in December, and the queue is likely shorter before the first storm.

Up the hill, the Nordic Center rents classic and skate skis and snowshoes for on-site use. An adult trail pass with ski rental is $50, and a snowshoe pass with rental is $35.

The dates, in order

Town events fill the same weeks as the pass deadlines.

1. October 29: Shasta Sips & Strolls, 5 p.m.
2. October 30: The expiration date shown on OnTheSnow's lower 2026/27 Ski Park price list. Trunk or Treat runs at Banner Bank in Mount Shasta the same evening, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
3. November 1: SNO-Park permit season begins.
4. November 24: The Ski Park's 2026/27 5-Day Pass goes on sale.
5. November 27: Mt. Shasta Winter Magic brings a street fair, light parade, carriage rides, Santa and the tree lighting. The Chamber lists 1 to 9 p.m., and Mount Shasta Resort lists 3 to 7 p.m., so confirm with the organizer.
6. End of November: The Ski Park's 0% monthly payment option closes.
7. December: Daily avalanche forecasts return.
8. December 6: The Nordic Center's early-bird season pass pricing ends.

At Sunshine Realty 530, we keep an eye on the same seasonal calendar our neighbors do, from pass deadlines in Mount Shasta to winter roads across Siskiyou County. Winter is when a lot of homeowners start thinking about the year ahead. If that's you, we'd be glad to put together a free home valuation and local market review before the snow arrives.