Tough Winter? Not in Vermont, Where Ski Resorts Saw Best Visitation in Decades

It was a challenging year out West, but for ski resorts in Vermont, the 2025-26 season told a different story.



Earlier this month, Ski Vermont, a local non-profit trade group, announced that the state's ski resorts reported 4.36 million skier visits, a 4.7% increase over the previous year and an 11% increase over the ten-year average. The stat, according to Ski Vermont, also marked the best ski visitation in the state since the 2014-15 season.



Vermont's ski resorts had a strong start with early snowfall, ending winter with an average season total of 194 inches, a modest decrease from the previous season but 6% above the ten-year average.



They also stayed open for skiing for 118 days on average, up from the ten-year average of 111 days.

The trade group noted that Vermont is the East's top state and the fourth-largest nationwide in skier visits.



"Vermont is known for exceptional snow and its authentic community," said Ski Vermont president Molly Mahar in a news release.



"Ski areas are committed to providing an unforgettable experience for visitors, and worldclass snowmaking and ski programming are an important part of that," she continued. "Ultimately it comes down to showcasing all that Vermont ski areas provide visitors. It's an experience that brings people back and these numbers bear that out."

The strong visitation in Vermont shows how dramatically a given winter can differ from coast-to-coast.



Colorado Ski Country USA's round-up of the 2025-26 season looked nothing like Ski Vermont's, with skier visits falling more than 20% below both the five-year and ten-year averages. In Colorado, CSCUSA noted, every month of the season saw below-average snowfall, taking the last 20 years into account.



Vail Resorts recently announced that its pass sales for the 2026-27 season dipped about 10% compared to the previous spring selling period following what the company called "one of the worst snowfall years in history in the western U.S."



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