- Wyoming’s Beartooth Basin is a ski area that only opens during the summer.
- The availability of the summer ski area depends on several factors, including weather, if there’s enough snow, and if surrounding highways are operational.
- Beartooth Basin ski area is scheduled to operate this year from May 28 to July 6, or until the snow melts.
If you thought skiing was over for the year, you don’t know about Beartooth Basin. It’s a ski area on the Wyoming side of the Wyoming-Montana border that only opens in the summer.
The low-key, summer-only ski spot doesn’t usually make much of a splash—often because its ability to open is dependent on a handful of factors that can’t be confirmed until the last minute. Is the road to it plowed and open? Is there enough snow? Is the weather cooperating?
This year, however, all the uncontrollables have aligned, and Beartooth Basin Summer Ski Area is set to open on May 28. It will operate daily through July 6 or until the snow melts. For reference, the ski area opened for less than a month in 2023 and not at all in 2024.
The no-frills ski spot is a haven for diehards who never really packed it in for the season and riders for whom summer skiing sounds like a novelty worthy of a bucket list. There’s no lodge, no condos, and no cappuccinos. It’s just 600 acres of steep terrain served by two, old-school poma lifts and a giant cornice, begging to be dropped.Â
Part of the appeal of Beartooth Basin is its location: it is perched at the top of Beartooth Pass at around 10,900 feet above sea level. The only way to get there is by driving the Beartooth Highway (Route 212, an All-American Road), which is a worthy feat in itself, as the scenic byway winds its way between Red Lodge, Montana, and the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
The conditions of the highway can be volatile, often leading to closures. For that reason (and in keeping with its old-school feel), Beartooth Basin encourages riders to buy their lift tickets in-person at the ticket office where only cash and checks are accepted. You can buy your full-day ticket ($50) or season pass ($395) on beartoothbasin.com, but online sales are non-refundable.
Half-day tickets ($40), which are valid for 12 to 3 p.m., can only be bought in person and the daily skier capacity is capped at 100.
Before you load your skis or snowboard in your car and make the winding drive up to Beartooth Basin, check the ski area’s social media (instagram.com/beartoothbasin) and the status of the Beartooth Highway. The status of the Montana side of the highway can be tracked at 511mt.net, and the Wyoming side at wyoroad.info.
