Skiing with kids gets expensive fast. Gear gets outgrown every season, and after you've spent a small fortune on boots and jackets, lift tickets for the whole family can push a trip out of reach. The good news: a surprising number of US resorts let kids 12 and under ride the lifts for nothing — and a few sweeten the deal further.
The Power Pass is the standout here. Most mountains on it use demand-based pricing, with adult lift tickets starting at $9 this season, and kids ski unlimited with no blackout dates. That covers Purgatory in Colorado, Arizona Snowbowl — where clear days offer views all the way to the Grand Canyon and a new gondola adds to the fun — Willamette Pass in Oregon, and Brian Head in Utah, a southern, budget-friendly alternative to Utah's pricier powder hubs.
Some resorts have their own long-standing offers. June Mountain, Mammoth's self-styled family mountain, has let kids 12 and under ski free since at least 2013, and there's a bonus Kids Ski Free Week at Mammoth itself, running 5–11 December 2026. Keystone in Colorado ties its deal to lodging: book two or more nights directly with the resort and kids ski free, no blackout dates — easy to do now that the new Kindred Resort hotel has opened with strong ski-in access and kid-focused amenities.
Steamboat goes further than most. Kids 12 and under get free lift tickets and free rentals, matching the number of days a paying adult buys — as long as that adult books a qualifying five-day-or-more ticket or rental. Or skip the fine print entirely in the early season, 21 November to 15 December 2026, when kids ski free with no purchase conditions. Powder Mountain, meanwhile, throws in up to two free youth season passes for every adult season pass holder, kids six and under always ski free, and the resort is opening more than 1,000 new acres this winter for a 6,000-acre total.
Smaller hills are in on it too. Giants Ridge in Minnesota gives under-12s free skiing all winter with no blackout dates, and everyone night-skis free on Thursdays under its Night Lights programme. Willamette Pass suits parents who want serious skiing — it claims one of the steepest runs around and averages 430 inches of snow — while the kids ride free.
Even if your favourite mountain isn't listed, two wider programmes can help. Epic SchoolKids offers several free ski days at select resorts in Colorado, Utah and Washington State, while state ski passport schemes in Colorado, Utah, New York, Idaho, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine give kids cheap access to multiple areas. For families, the maths is simple: pick one of these resorts and you could knock hundreds off a week's trip — often the difference between going and not going.
