A new ski season is taking shape in the US, and with forecasters at NOAA pointing to a strong El Niño pattern for 2026-27, the case for booking winter accommodation early is stronger than usual. Condé Nast Traveler has rounded up 11 standout ski homes across the country — from glass-walled chalets to design-led A-frames — that make the après-ski as compelling as the terrain.

The through-line in the selection is that a great ski trip is only partly about the mountain. The rentals worth booking share a handful of practical luxuries: a hot tub for post-run recovery, an in-unit washer and dryer for refreshing base layers, a real fireplace or firepit, and a proper kitchen, since a day on the slopes builds an appetite best solved at home rather than in a queue.

The geography spans the whole map. Out West and in the Rockies, the lineup sits near heavyweights on the two big season passes — think Vail, Breckenridge and Park City on the Epic Pass, and Jackson Hole, Big Sky, Aspen Snowmass, Steamboat, Taos and Utah's Alta and Snowbird on the Ikon Pass. California's Mammoth and Palisades Tahoe feature too, along with smaller gems like Sun Valley in Idaho. Back East, New England staples including Stowe in Vermont, Killington, Sugarbush and Stratton, plus Sugarloaf and Sunday River in Maine, get their share of the spotlight, proving you don't need a transcontinental flight for a proper snow weekend.

As for the snow itself, the El Niño outlook is a mixed bag worth understanding before you book. NOAA expects wetter-than-average conditions across the southern US — California, the Southwest, the Southeast — and along the East Coast, which could mean extra snow at higher-elevation resorts when temperatures cooperate. But the same forecast calls for warmer-than-average weather across much of the West and the northern states, and seasonal outlooks predict precipitation, not snow totals. The smart play is to book flexible dates and watch shorter-range forecasts rather than betting everything on a long-range powder promise.

One more planning note: if you ski on a pass, check which tier you've bought. Both Epic and Ikon limit access on lower tiers, with blackout dates and restrictions that vary by resort — worth reading the fine print before you commit to a rental a two-hour drive from your backup mountain.

Who is this for? Groups and families doing the maths on a week in the mountains, where a whole house with a kitchen and laundry often beats a hotel room on both comfort and cost. It also suits anyone chasing an El Niño season on a budget — pairing a southern or East Coast resort with a well-equipped rental could be this winter's savviest call.

Story via Condé Nast Traveler.