Big Sky
Slope Breakdown
Big Sky at a glance
Big Sky is a ski resort in United States, part of the Big Sky Resort area. It offers 250 km of slopes served by 36 lifts, with skiing between 2,073 m and 3,403 m (1,330 m vertical). That makes it the 1st largest of the 19 ski resorts in United States listed on Intski. The season usually runs from December to April. Big Sky is an intermediate's mountain: roughly 60% of the slopes are red runs.
Top features of this resort
Snow forecast
About 15 cm of new snow at the top (3,403 m) in the next 3 days, 4 cm at the base.
New snow and temperature at the top station. Estimated by Intski from the MET Norway forecast, updated every few hours. Where it snows most this week
Email me when it snows
An alert when 15 cm or more is on the way at Big Sky, and a heads-up before it opens.
Getting there & lift pass
Nearest airport
Bozeman (BZN) — about 60 km from the resort, straight-line distance, allow more by road.
Lift pass
Adult day pass around 257 USD (2026/27 season). Big Sky Resort day pass, dynamic pricing, usually cheaper booked online in advance.
About €0.91 per km of piste the pass covers (250 km).
Compare lift pass prices at all resortsPrice source, checked 2026-09-14
Big Sky resort facts
Difficulty shares from skiresort.info, applied to the area total.
About Big Sky
Big Sky is not a town in the formal sense. It is an unincorporated community and census-designated place straddling Gallatin and Madison counties in south-western Montana, 45 miles (72 km) by road from Bozeman.
Resort Highlights
A resort community in south-western Montana
Big Sky is not a town in the formal sense. It is an unincorporated community and census-designated place straddling Gallatin and Madison counties in south-western Montana, 45 miles (72 km) by road from Bozeman. Its population was 3,591 at the 2020 census, up from 2,308 a decade earlier, and that growth tells its own story: tourism is the primary industry, and the community exists largely because of the mountain above it.
The mountain
Big Sky Resort lists 250 km of skiing served by 36 lifts, a very large amount of terrain for a single-resort area. The vertical is serious too. The base sits at 2,073 m and the summit at 3,403 m, a drop of 1,330 m. A top station above 3,400 m is exceptional by any measure, and it means the upper mountain holds snow well through a season that runs from December to April, even when spring softens the lower runs. The base itself, above 2,000 m, is higher than the summit of many resorts.
The lift system is listed as modern, which matters at this scale: 36 lifts covering 250 km means each installation serves a long stretch of terrain, so fast lifts make the difference between a mountain that feels vast and one that feels slow. Off-piste terrain is another listed strength, and the combination of a 3,400 m summit, 1,300 m of vertical and 250 km of marked skiing points to a mountain that rewards strong, adventurous skiers most of all.
No breakdown between easy, intermediate and expert pistes is supplied. An area this size will have room for every level, but groups with beginners should study the resort’s own trail map before booking, and everyone arriving from sea level should allow time to acclimatise to a base above 2,000 m.
The setting
Scenic views are a listed feature, and the name is not accidental: the high, open terrain gives long sightlines over the surrounding country of south-western Montana. As a community built on visitors, Big Sky has the lodging and services you would expect of a destination resort, though it remains a small place with a few thousand year-round residents.
Getting there
Bozeman airport is roughly 59 km away as the crow flies, and the town of Bozeman is 72 km by road, which makes for a short transfer. The resort’s official website covers lodging, lift tickets and mountain conditions.
Frequently asked questions about Big Sky
Not formally. Big Sky is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Gallatin and Madison counties, Montana, with a population of 3,591 at the 2020 census.
The town of Bozeman is 45 miles (72 km) by road to the north-east. Bozeman airport is roughly 59 km away as the crow flies.
1,330 m, from a base at 2,073 m to a summit at 3,403 m. Both figures are high, so the whole ski area sits at altitude.
Off-piste terrain is one of its listed features, and the 3,403 m summit, 1,330 m vertical and 250 km of skiing give strong skiers plenty of scope.
The community grew from 2,308 residents in 2010 to 3,591 in 2020. Tourism is the primary industry, and the resort drives that growth.
Big Sky has 250 km of marked slopes: 53 km easy (blue), 150 km intermediate (red), 47 km expert (black), served by 36 ski lifts.
The skiing in Big Sky ranges from 2,073 m at the base to 3,403 m at the top — a vertical drop of 1,330 m.
The ski season in Big Sky typically runs from December to April. Exact opening dates vary by year and snow conditions.
Big Sky is better suited to confident skiers — only around 21% of the slopes are rated easy.
Big Sky has 47 km of expert (black) slopes — about 19% of the total. It is also known for its off-piste terrain.
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