Ski Santa Fe lists Thursday, November 26, 2026, Thanksgiving Day, as its tentative opening for the 2026–27 season and April 4, 2027, as its tentative last day. For anyone who lives along Hyde Park Road, that date looks like the start of winter. It mostly marks the start of the part of the mountain that makes its own snow.
The terrain served by the Millennium Triple Chair is a different matter. Last season it opened seven weeks after the rest of the mountain, and the resort's own general manager has described skiing off the top of that lift as a tough proposition in dry years. The fix he wants is a snowmaking line running to the Millennium Lift. The Forest Service doesn't expect to decide on it until August 2027, after this season is over.
Last winter, in three dates
The 2025–26 season shows how the two kinds of terrain separate. Ski Santa Fe announced on November 24, 2025, that it would open Saturday, November 29. A warm fall and late natural snow had pushed the date back, and the resort expected an 18-inch base after 12 inches of new snow plus snowmaking, with 17 percent of lower-mountain terrain open.
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 29, 2025 | Season opens on lower-mountain terrain, 17 percent open | Ski Santa Fe |
| Jan. 16, 2026 | Millennium Triple Chair opens after crews finish snowmaking on Sunset | Ski Santa Fe |
| Mar. 22, 2026 | Final day, two weeks before the planned April 5 close | Ski Santa Fe |
Millennium waited until January 16. The resort's announcement credited the opening to finished snowmaking on Sunset and listed the runs the lift would serve: Sunrise, Sunset, Sunset Trail, Highline, Highline Glade, Coyote, Richard's Run, Columbine, Sunrise Glade and Big Rocks Glade. With Millennium running, all seven lifts were expected to operate for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, with 83 of 89 runs open.
That full-mountain stretch didn't last long. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the resort received 75 inches of snow for the season, against an average of 220, and cited warm temperatures, poor snowpack and no precipitation in the forecast as the reasons for closing early. The season lasted 113 days from opening to the last chair. The Millennium terrain was open for the final 65 of them.
What the snow guns already reach
Opening by Thanksgiving is something the resort plans for, and snowmaking is what makes the plan work. Ski Santa Fe mountain manager Jack Dant explained the logic to the Santa Fe New Mexican:
"What snowmaking allows us to do is open the mountain by Thanksgiving and have quality skiing from the top of our chairlift down to the base area."
He told the paper that over the last 10 years the resort has relied on snowmaking more heavily, as one of the southernmost ski areas in the country, to keep a regular snowpack on its flagship runs. The current system doesn't extend to Millennium. In the same article, general manager Ben Abruzzo said the proposed distribution lines would run to the Millennium Lift, and that "for the first time, we'll be able to provide a reliable, good, skiable product off of the top of that lift, which in challenging snow years, has been a pretty tough" one.
That's why last season had two openings. The Thanksgiving-week opening depends on machine-made snow, and the Millennium opening still depends on what falls from the sky.
The proposal that would close the gap
Santa Fe National Forest is reviewing the plan as the Ski Santa Fe Snowmaking Modernization Project. According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the preliminary environmental assessment describes these pieces:
- A new 4.6-million-gallon water tank at the bottom of the Alpine and Lobo runs
- Up to 4,170 feet of new snowmaking pipe, upgrading and extending the system up the mountain
- Up to four acres of grading along Sunrise to fit the new infrastructure, improve skier flow and correct the run's double fall line
- Up to one acre of grading and tree removal for the tank
The assessment also analyzed a third alternative, developed after internal scoping and Tribal consultation. It would drop the roughly four acres of grading along Sunrise. Sunrise is the first run on the list Millennium serves, so the run being reshaped and the lift waiting on snow are both on the same part of the mountain.
On water, Abruzzo told the paper the ski area isn't asking for more than its existing allotment. The report puts Ski Santa Fe's and the Forest Service's snowmaking rights at up to 69.72 acre-feet a year of diversion, about 22.7 million gallons. He also said the larger tank would store more water for use in a wildfire, and that the project would cost "several" million dollars.
The timeline is why none of this affects the 2026–27 season. The Forest Service project page lists the status as "Pre NEPA," with a NEPA start date of August 31, 2026, and an estimated decision in August 2027. Even with approval, this winter's Millennium opening depends on natural snow, as it did last year.
The project's legal notice prefers electronic comments through the "Comment/Object on Project" link on the Forest Service project page. It also accepts mail or hand delivery to the Española Ranger District, 18537 US 84/285, Suite B, Española, NM 87532, or to the Santa Fe National Forest Supervisor's Office, 11 Forest Lane, Santa Fe, NM 87508. Abruzzo told the New Mexican he encourages people to comment and "speak their mind."
Fridays on the 255 now match the weekend
If the season opens in stages, the trips up the road come in stages too. One change to that routine has already happened. Starting Saturday, November 7, the Blue Bus's fare-free Route 255 Mountain Trail runs on Fridays with the same six round trips as Saturday and Sunday. Monday through Thursday is unchanged. The NCRTD route page lists Hyde Memorial State Park and Ski Santa Fe among the major stops, and the new brochure includes a stop at NM-475 and Ten Thousand Waves Way.
| Arrives Ski Santa Fe | Leaves Ski Santa Fe | |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, Saturday, Sunday | 9:00, 10:00, 11:30, 12:30, 4:30, 4:45 | 9:10, 10:10, 11:45, 12:45, 4:30, 5:00 |
| Monday through Thursday | 9:00, 12:30, 4:30 | 9:10, 12:40, 4:30 |
The weekend eastbound trips leave South Capitol Station at 8:00, 9:00, 10:30, 11:30, 3:30 and 3:45. The NCRTD warns that seating is limited and drivers may not be able to board everyone at peak times. During the ski season, riders get a token when they board an eastbound bus. Ski Santa Fe honors it as a $5 discount on lift tickets, ski school, the gift shop and limited food service, alcohol excluded. Ski Santa Fe's parking page describes free base-area parking, with overflow parking on busy weekends and holidays.
Pricing a season that opens in two parts
How the mountain opens also shapes the math on passes. In November, the 2026–27 Platinum Pass, with no blackout days, is $969 for adults. The Gold Pass, which has blackout dates, is $879. For anyone who expects to ski mostly once the full mountain is open, the lighter products are worth a look. The OnePass for ages 6 to 71 is $299 in November. The Peak Plus Pass is $89 and takes $35 off an age-appropriate all-day, all-mountain ticket. Adult day tickets are $110 on weekdays and $132 on weekends and holidays.
Ski New Mexico's 2026–27 True Pass, which included two adult day tickets at Ski Santa Fe, is sold out. For holders, the Ski Santa Fe blackout dates are December 26, 2026, through January 3, 2027; January 16–17, 2027; and February 13–14, 2027. The January dates fall on the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, one year after the weekend Millennium first opened last season.
Living along Hyde Park Road puts both Ski Santa Fe openings within a short drive this winter, the Thanksgiving opening on machine-made snow and the Millennium opening whenever natural snow allows. If you're thinking about how close to the mountain you want your winters to start, Ayden Gramm knows this corridor season by season and would be glad to talk it through with you. Schedule a Consultation.
