Best places to ski in December 2026
The best places to ski in December, ranked by how often it snows: White Pass (snow on about 16 of 31 days), Mt. Baker (snow on about 16 of 31 days), and Stevens Pass (snow on about 15 of 31 days). That's from 10 seasons of daily weather history, counting days with an inch or more of new snow.
"Snow days" = days with 1 inch or more of new snow at mid-mountain, averaged over 10 seasons. A measure of how often it snows, not how deep.
The 25 snowiest resorts in December
North America, ranked by how many December days get new snow in a typical season.
| # | Resort | Where | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White Pass | Washington | 16 |
| 2 | Mt. Baker | Washington | 16 |
| 3 | Stevens Pass | Washington | 15 |
| 4 | Summit at Snoqualmie | Washington | 15 |
| 5 | Crystal Mountain | Washington | 15 |
| 6 | Whistler Blackcomb | British Columbia | 14 |
| 7 | Timberline | Oregon | 14 |
| 8 | Mt. Hood Meadows | Oregon | 14 |
| 9 | Grouse Mountain | British Columbia | 14 |
| 10 | Mt. Bachelor | Oregon | 13 |
| 11 | Mount Washington Alpine Resort | British Columbia | 13 |
| 12 | Mount Seymour | British Columbia | 12 |
| 13 | Lookout Pass | Idaho | 12 |
| 14 | Alyeska | Alaska | 11 |
| 15 | Revelstoke | British Columbia | 11 |
| 16 | Hoodoo | Oregon | 11 |
| 17 | Brundage | Idaho | 11 |
| 18 | Schweitzer | Idaho | 11 |
| 19 | Silver Mountain | Idaho | 11 |
| 20 | Tamarack | Idaho | 11 |
| 21 | Grand Targhee | Wyoming | 10 |
| 22 | Cypress Mountain | British Columbia | 10 |
| 23 | Jackson Hole | Wyoming | 10 |
| 24 | Whitewater | British Columbia | 9 |
| 25 | Mission Ridge | Washington | 9 |
Best in each state and province in December
- Colorado: Steamboat8 days
- Utah: Solitude8 days
- California: Boreal9 days
- Wyoming: Grand Targhee10 days
- Montana: Montana Snowbowl8 days
- Idaho: Lookout Pass12 days
- Washington: White Pass16 days
- Oregon: Timberline14 days
- Vermont: Bolton Valley5 days
- New Hampshire: Cannon Mountain5 days
- Maine: Sugarloaf4 days
- New York: Holiday Valley5 days
- British Columbia: Whistler Blackcomb14 days
- Alberta: Castle Mountain6 days
- Quebec: Mont-Sainte-Anne6 days
Opening in December 2026
Scheduled opening days. Resorts move them with the weather, so check before you go. Full list: ski resort opening dates.
- KirkwoodDec 4
- Mt. BachelorDec 4
- Stevens PassDec 4
- FernieDec 4
- PanoramaDec 4
- Deer ValleyDec 5
- RevelstokeDec 5
- Le Massif de CharlevoixDec 5
- Powder MountainDec 11
- Red MountainDec 12
How December compares
Share of days with new snow, averaged across 179 North American resorts.
- November13%
- December18%
- January19%
- February20%
- March17%
- April11%
Plan a December trip to Whistler Blackcomb
Or compare: condos and houses on Vrbo · hotels on Expedia
December skiing questions
Where is the best place to ski in December?
The best places to ski in December, ranked by how often it snows: White Pass (snow on about 16 of 31 days), Mt. Baker (snow on about 16 of 31 days), and Stevens Pass (snow on about 15 of 31 days). That's from 10 seasons of daily weather history, counting days with an inch or more of new snow.
Where is the best skiing in Colorado in December?
Steamboat. In a typical December it gets an inch or more of new snow on about 26% of days, roughly 8 days, the most of any Colorado resort Snow Way tracks.
Where is the best skiing in Utah in December?
Solitude. In a typical December it gets an inch or more of new snow on about 26% of days, roughly 8 days, the most of any Utah resort Snow Way tracks.
Where is the best skiing in California in December?
Boreal. In a typical December it gets an inch or more of new snow on about 28% of days, roughly 9 days, the most of any California resort Snow Way tracks.
Where is the best skiing in Canada in December?
Whistler Blackcomb. In a typical December it gets an inch or more of new snow on about 45% of days, roughly 14 days, the most of any Canadian resort Snow Way tracks.
Where is the best East Coast skiing in December?
Cannon Mountain, New Hampshire, with new snow on about 5 of 31 days in a typical December, the most in the Northeast.
Is December a good month to ski?
Across 179 North American resorts, December averages new snow on 18% of days, 3rd of the six main ski months (February is snowiest at 20%).
How we count: Open-Meteo historical weather (ERA5-based), July 2015 to June 2025, mid-mountain elevation; a fresh-snow day is 1 inch or more of modeled snowfall. Weather models undercount mountain snow, so real snow days are likely more frequent; use this to compare resorts and months. Each resort's page shows its own month-by-month odds.
More: Snowiest ski resorts · Where is it snowing? · Getting to the resorts
Cite this data
Free to use with a link back. Suggested citation:
Snow Way, "Best places to ski in December 2026," November 8, 2026, https://snowway.app/best-places-to-ski-in-december
Licensed CC BY 4.0. Journalists: reach Justin through the about page.