This winter your ski day will cost less and run more smoothly if more people ride in your car. Ogden Canyon is down to one lane for about a quarter mile, with flaggers by day, until spring. Snowbasin and Powder Mountain both give the best parking to cars with three or more people. Both also give their passholders free bus rides. All three Ogden Valley resorts have built their family deals around kids. Taken together, the 2026-27 season charges the most to a solo driver heading up the canyon at peak hours, and it gives the most back to a carload that includes children.
The canyon changes first
The season's first change hits the road before any lift opens. Ogden City's Ogden Canyon pipeline project set a one-lane closure on SR-39 for a stretch of about a quarter mile between The Oaks Restaurant and the Ogden Canyon Water Treatment Plant. Work could begin as early as Monday, Oct. 26, and the lane is expected to reopen in April 2027. The city calls the start date tentative because crews are waiting on pipe deliveries. The confirmed date goes up on the project page once the pipe arrives, so check there before you head up this weekend.
Traffic will take turns 24 hours a day. Flaggers will run the work zone during the day and a temporary signal will take over at night. The city expects delays of 5 to 10 minutes, mostly at peak travel times. Crews will also be working on the Pineview Reservoir crossing this winter, and the city asks drivers to plan for possible delays anywhere in the canyon. The project replaces a 36-inch line that loses about 1 million gallons of drinking water a day to leaks.
Ten minutes is not much on its own. But a powder morning is a peak travel time by definition, and the delay comes on top of the parking deadlines below. A car that shows up later than planned can miss a cutoff that matters.
Trappers Loop, the other road into the valley, is quieter for now. UDOT says its SR-167 fiber project is paused for winter and will pick up again in summer. If you ski Powder Mountain, also know that UDOT can close Powder Mountain Road, SR-158, for avalanche control. Seven slide paths cross the road, and closures can last from about an hour to several hours.
The openings arrive in a staggered order
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| As early as Oct. 26, tentative | SR-39 one-lane closure begins in Ogden Canyon |
| Nov. 27 target | Snowbasin aims to open, conditions permitting |
| December, no day set | Nordic Valley opens |
| Dec. 11 | Powder Mountain opens |
| April 2027 | SR-39 lane expected to reopen |
Snowbasin is targeting the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27. Brand marketing manager Brooks Roe told the Standard-Examiner that the resort will "always open earlier if the conditions allow." He added that it does not want to open with only Bear Hollow running. Nordic Valley's hours page says only "See you in December for Winter 2026/27!!" Powder Mountain set Dec. 11, as the Standard-Examiner reported in September.
This means every opening falls inside the canyon closure window, and the lane is expected back in April 2027. If you drive SR-39, every trip this season goes through the one-lane zone.
Parking goes to the cars with three or more people
Snowbasin keeps its parking free with no reservations. Its getting-here page also promises "expanded carpool priority access" this winter. Here's how it works. On weekends and holidays, Earl's Lots A through E are held until 11 a.m. for cars carrying three or more people. After that, any vehicle can park there while spaces last. On weekdays, Earl's Lot A stays carpool-only. Last winter, Snowbasin added 124 stalls to Canyon Rim, and the lots are served by guest shuttles.
Powder Mountain puts a price on the same rule. Its season pass page lists $12 parking on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays for 2026-27. Parking is free on weekdays, after 1 p.m., and for any car carrying three or more people.
Both resorts count heads the same way. At Snowbasin, a third rider gets you into Earl's Lots on a Saturday morning. At Powder Mountain, a third rider saves you $12 every weekend day you park. A solo driver who loses ten minutes to the canyon flagger and then pulls into Snowbasin at 10:55 on a Saturday gets nothing from either rule.
The bus is free with your pass
There's another way to skip both the flagger and the parking lot. Snowbasin passholders get a free UTA bus pass for the 2026-27 winter. Powder Mountain says its 2026-27 season pass or lift ticket includes free UTA Ski Bus rides. UTA's Ski Service page says IKON and Visit Salt Lake Super Passes also cover Ski Bus rides. Anyone else pays the standard fare of $5 one way, or $2 for qualified reduced-fare riders.
UTA hasn't posted its 2026-27 Ski Bus dates or stops yet. It says seasonal service usually starts in late November or early December and runs until late March or April, depending on the resort. Watch that page for this season's schedule before you plan a bus day.
Kids ride free, but each resort sets a different age
The parking rules reward a full car, and the pass deals reward a car with children in it. Each resort draws its age line in a different place:
- Nordic Valley: Kids 12 and under ski free with no parent purchase required. General manager's July message describes it as "no strings attached."
- Powder Mountain, season passes: Every adult, senior or military season pass comes with two free passes for kids 12 and under, according to marketing manager Elizabeth Gillette in the Standard-Examiner.
- Powder Mountain, daily tickets: Kids Ski Free now covers ages 6 and under every day. The cutoff used to be age 4.
- Powder Mountain, new skiers: Powder Pathways costs $799 and covers three group lessons. After the lessons, it adds rentals for the season and a season pass.
Nordic Valley pairs its kids' policy with flat adult pricing. The resort says 2026-27 passes are still priced at 2023 levels. Adult passes are $499 for Power Pass Core, $799 for Power Pass Select and $1,149 for the full Power Pass. Nearly every pass now comes on an RFID card and includes six buddy tickets at 50% off the online rate. Those buddy tickets are one more way a pass pays off when you bring people along.
Snowbasin's family change this year is a building. The Meadow Pavilion was finished this summer, and Roe told the Standard-Examiner it will house the ski school kids' lunch area. Before, he said, the kids "really had nowhere to go, especially on busy, busy days." Other guests can use the space to spread out for lunch and warm up. The rest of Snowbasin's summer work was snowmaking repairs, lift fixes and widening a couple of trails by Bear Hollow.
What changed on the mountains
If your car includes advanced skiers, Powder Mountain made the biggest change. The new DMI Lift opens up more than 1,000 acres and 2,200 vertical feet in the Wolf Creek Canyon zone. Until now, that terrain was only reachable on a guided backcountry tour. The new Sundown Express high-speed quad replaces the old fixed-grip Sundown chair, adding uphill capacity for both day and night skiing. Powder Mountain expects both lifts to run in 2026-27. The new 15,000-square-foot Sundown Lodge is planned for the 2027-28 season.
Nordic Valley is getting smaller for now. It is taking down the Crockett chair. Most of Crockett's terrain can still be reached from the Apollo and Bridger lifts, but the Gardens area and the tubing hill are not coming back. The resort plans to sell the old Crockett chairs to the community and says details are coming. Its current operations page lists lift hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Planning a Saturday in January
Here's how the rules add up on a typical weekend day. Leave Ogden early enough to absorb a 5 to 10 minute wait at the SR-39 work zone. Bring at least two passengers. At Snowbasin, that gets you into Earl's Lots before the 11 a.m. cutoff. At Powder Mountain, it gets you free parking instead of a $12 charge. If your passengers are 12 or younger, they may also ski free, depending on the resort and the pass you hold. And if everyone in the car has a Snowbasin or Powder Mountain pass, the UTA Ski Bus saves you the drive once this season's schedule is posted.
Florencia Barrera's team keeps track of the details that shape everyday life in Ogden, from canyon road work to Saturday-morning parking cutoffs. If this winter has you wondering what your Ogden Valley-adjacent home is worth, Florencia Barrera can walk you through it in English or Spanish. Start with your instant home valuation.
