Kids Ski Free at Steamboat Until December 15. What Will Be Open for Them?

Last November, opening day at Steamboat Resort started with hundreds of people lined up at the Wild Blue Gondola before the 8:30 a.m. start. At the summit, 5 inches of machine-made snow covered Upper High Noon and Spike. Both are blue runs, and they were the only runs open. The base had 3 inches of snow in spots, and grass still showed across much of the mountain.

Keep that picture in mind when you read this winter's biggest change for local families. In an October 22 release published by Steamboat Radio, the resort announced that kids 12 and under ski free from November 21 through December 15, 2026, with no purchase required. That's 25 days of free lift tickets. They also fall in the stretch of the season when the mountain has the least to offer a child who is still learning to turn.

Why This Version Is the One Local Families Can Use

Steamboat has had a kids-ski-free program for years, but it was built for visitors. Under the season-long rules on the resort's kids-ski-free page, one child 12 or younger skis free for the same number of days as an adult's lift-ticket purchase of five days or more. That purchase has to be made before the season, and the offer doesn't apply to season passes or in-season purchases.

That leaves out the parent who already holds a pass and lives a few minutes from the gondola. The November and December window drops the purchase requirement entirely. Families can claim the ticket online or at the ticket office. Here's how it works:

1. Online, pick the designated $0 ticket for the date you want.
2. For more days, change the ticket date and add each day one at a time. Children's tickets are issued as single-day tickets, not as a multi-day product.
3. Bring proof of age, since the resort may ask for it. Ticket age is based on the ticket's start date.
4. Rentals and lessons during the window are discounted, not free.

The single-day format suits families who live here. You can claim a Saturday once the snow report looks good instead of committing to a block of days in advance.

The Terrain Question

For a child in the free window, how much the early season is worth comes down to what terrain is open, and the last two openings show how much that can change from one year to the next.

The change between those two seasons was deliberate. As Steamboat Pilot & Today reported, Christie Peak Express and its trails had been the first to open in earlier seasons. Opening Wild Blue first instead increased opening-day acreage by 47% over previous years, according to Vice President of Mountain Operations Corey Peterson. The same story quoted Resort Communications Director Maren Franciosi on how the mountain looked that day:

"It's amazing how different the base and peak look."

Starting at the summit gives an intermediate skier more room on day one. A 6-year-old on rental skis gets very little out of it. Last season, skiers downloaded on the gondola to get back to the base. Before opening, the Pilot reported that SnowSports School students would have a dedicated beginner learning area at the top of Wild Blue. That served kids in lessons. It didn't give a free-ticket family a green run of their own.

Beginner terrain came later in the season. On November 26, the Pilot listed the next snowmaking priorities as Lower High Noon, Tomahawk, Sundial, the base-area trails served by Christie Peak Express, and Greenhorn Ranch. By December 3, Tomahawk, Tomahawk Face and Sundial had opened off the South Peak chairlift. On a calendar like last year's, nearly half of a 25-day free window would pass before the terrain map grew beyond a two-run loop.

This fall hasn't been easy for snowmakers either. On October 23, Steamboat Pilot & Today reported that a warm week had slowed snowmaking across Colorado. OpenSnow meteorologist Joel Gratz called conditions "marginal," and Keystone pushed its first lift-ticket sales back from October 24 to October 31. The same Pilot story listed November 21 as Steamboat's projected opening date.

The Carpet May Matter More Than the Ticket

The Buckaroo Carpet sits on the snow near the Steamboat Gondola, next to the Creekside Locker Room. It's free to everyone, with no lift ticket required, from noon to 4 p.m. daily. First-time riders sign a waiver before their first trip up.

The youngest skiers get one more perk. Children 3 and under can borrow free skis or snowboards at Steamboat Sports in Steamboat Square. Pickup starts after 11 a.m., the equipment is for use on the carpet, and it has to be back at the shop by 4 p.m.

For a family a short walk or bus ride from the base, that's an afternoon on snow at no cost. You don't need a lift ticket, a rental reservation or a trip up the gondola. The release doesn't say when the carpet's season starts, and a carpet at the base needs snow at the base. Last November, the base had 3 inches in spots. So the two free offers depend on the same thing, which is snow at the base. If base-area terrain opens early, the carpet and the free ticket together give a young skier a real progression in December. If the base stays thin, the free ticket mostly helps kids who already ski blue runs.

A New Green Run Named for a Steamboat Original

The third piece of news is permanent and adds a new green run for later in the season. Barrows Bend, a new beginner route, connects Rendezvous Lodge to the Sunshine Express and South Peak lifts. It brings Steamboat's trail count to 184, though the resort notes it adds no skiable acreage.

The name honors Jim "Moose" Barrows. As Steamboat Pilot & Today recounted, his family moved to Steamboat in 1950. He joined the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club at age 5, competed for the U.S. at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, and later coached the U.S. men's downhill team. He died in June 2024 at 80. It fits that a club kid turned Olympian is now the name on a green run.

Both of the lifts Barrows Bend connects to played a part last season. Sunshine Express ran the opening-day loop, and South Peak served the first trails added in early December. The resort hasn't said when Barrows Bend will open this season. Watch for it in the terrain reports, because a beginner route on that side of the mountain would give a child on a free ticket more to ski than a summit loop of blues.

Opening Morning, for Families Who Plan to Be There

The resort's opening-day page lists Saturday, November 21, with festivities at 7:30 a.m. and lifts at 8:30. The first 100 people get a limited-edition Ohana T-shirt and Smartwool socks. Donuts, coffee and mimosas are free, and the Champagne Powder Snow Bell is part of the morning. Opening day is open to Ikon, Ikon Base and Steamboat pass holders, and the resort says the full schedule is still to come. November 21 is also the first day of the kids-free window, so a family can claim a child's $0 ticket ahead of time and be in line with everyone else.

When the resort posts its opening terrain, look for one thing first. If Christie Peak Express or Greenhorn Ranch is on the list, the free window is a good chance for a beginner. If the list is a summit loop like last year's, start at the Buckaroo Carpet and claim the free days once the lower mountain opens.

If you're planning a winter close to the gondola, or weighing which side of the mountain suits your family's skiing, The Zopf Team is glad to share what we've learned from years of early seasons here. Contact us anytime.