A disappointing ski season melts away in the Mountain West

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The Keystone Resort in Colorado. Low snowfall this past winter, especially in Colorado and Utah, hurt the ski industry.
The Keystone Resort in Colorado. Low snowfall this past winter, especially in Colorado and Utah, hurt the ski industry. Photo Credit: Oleg Shabunin/Shutterstock

Due to historically low snowfall, especially in Utah and Colorado, the occupancy rate in the Mountain West ski resort towns this past winter season was 47.9%, down from 51.3% last year. That includes occupancy for hotels, condos and private homes. 

The data, compiled by the DestiMetrics division of Inntopia, spans from November through the remaining bookings for April.

DestiMetrics compiles data from 17 mountain destinations across Colorado, Utah, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

"Even though we still have one more month of winter to include in the seasonal data, the widespread early resort closures triggered by such challenging conditions means that we've essentially reached the end of the season, and there is no hope for improved numbers as we run out the clock," said Inntopia director of business intelligence Tom Foley.

"To be fair, some destinations have done better than others and the northern Rockies, the Sierras, and parts of the Cascades all had stretches of having a significant amount of terrain open. But as resorts wrap up this season on a mostly disappointing note, the focus has turned to building on the early summer momentum, which is pretty strong at this point."

The occupancy rate across the Mountain West was especially dismal in March at 60%, down from 68.2% in 2025. Record warm temperatures in many ski areas rapidly melted the already substandard snowpack. 

The average daily rate (ADR) held up better than visitor numbers. For the six-month season, it was up 1.3% year over year at $632. In March, ADR was down 2.2%, to $654.

The summer picture looks better. Occupancy on the books for May through October is tracking slightly ahead of this time last year. ADR for the summer is up 6.5%, to $482.

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