“I think there’s a long-held skier’s mentality that part of skiing is roughing it,” Nick Dawson, my Big Sky Mountain Sports School instructor, told me as we sat down for a four-course lunch at Everett’s 8800, a fine-dining restaurant in a beautiful wooden cabin on Montana’s Andesite Mountain.

Having very much appreciated the resort’s new heated bubble chair lifts, among other improvements brought about by a $150-million investment over the past decade, I was wondering if the mountain’s big revamp had at all stifled its wild spirit.

“Some people had this initial pushback of, ‘Oh, look at this investment and how they’re making it fancy.’ But the skiing doesn’t change. There’s nothing wrong with being a little more comfortable, a little warmer, when you’re getting yourself into the gnarliest terrain in North America.” 

Since the Big Sky 2025 vision was announced in 2016, advancements have included updating 12 lifts, welcoming luxury hotel Montage Big Sky, renovating the Summit Hotel, and opening the Lone Peak Tram, which brings advanced skiers and pedestrians to the highest scenic overlook in Montana, with views of three states and two national parks on a clear day. In summer 2025, One&Only Moonlight Basin—the brand’s first U.S. resort—will add to the five-star hospitality scene in a big way; its restaurant, The Landing, is already deep into a successful 2024-2025 après season.

“One of the cool things about Big Sky is that we’ve always had an amazing mountain… but now it’s so much more efficient to ski around it,” Stacie Harris, vice president of communications at Boyne Resorts, Big Sky’s parent company, told Travel + Leisure. “The mountain experience is incomparable to anything else in North America, and now we have the lifts to service it and the amenities around it to really bring Big Sky into that realm of world-class resorts.”

While Big Sky is technically the third-largest ski resort in terms of acreage in the U.S., some claim it has the most skiable acreage, though there’s no standard form of measurement across resorts to back such a claim. What is almost guaranteed, however, is that you won’t struggle with crowded slopes: Big Sky offers more than one acre of terrain per skier. “On average, on any given day, you have much more elbow room than you do at any major destination resort in the U.S.,” Harris said.

As a skier or snowboarder, the possibilities that lie within that acreage feel endless. While runs are as advanced as triple black, 50% of the terrain is beginner and intermediate. “Even if you’re looking to ski just groomed greens and blues, you could ski Big Sky for three or four days straight and never see the same run,” Harris said. “But if you want to challenge yourself, there’s always a step up.” 

It was after making it down my first-ever ungroomed black diamond run that Dawson introduced me to his version of geologist Rainer Newberry’s Fun Scale: “There are two types of fun,” he told me as I stood beside him at the bottom of the slope, looking back up and only shaking a little. “Type one is fun in the moment, and type two is fun to look back on when it’s done.” 

That fresh powder black may have been type-two fun for a skier of my skill level, but I experienced plenty of type-one fun across the more than 2,000 acres of greens, blues, and double blues—and if I’m honest, I’d attribute some of that to sitting in a cozy cocoon of a chair lift between them.

Never needing to worry about crowds or the threat of a collision, even on a snowy week in February, didn’t hurt either. “You might have a run to yourself and be looking around like, ‘Is this run open?’ Yes it is, you’re just the only one on it,” Harris said. “That is true luxury.”

When to Go

The 2024-2025 ski season at Big Sky Resort kicked off on November 27 and is planned to run through April 21. The busiest times, according to Dawson, are typically the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, plus the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Presidents Day holiday weekends in January and February.

As for the best time to come, both Dawson and Harris agreed to let us in on a local secret. “I love April,” Harris said. “There’s just such a fun spirit to skiing in the spring, the snowpack is great because you’ve had all season to build up a base, and most of the mountain is open.”

She added that the April après scene is as festive as it gets, with DJs on the mountain most weekends, and it’s a cheaper time to visit, with better value on lodging and lift tickets. For the first time since the pandemic, the resort is even bringing back its local favorite Pond Skim event on April 26 to celebrate closing weekend.

Where to Stay 

Montage Big Sky

Montage brought a new level of luxury to Big Sky when it opened its impressive ski-in, ski-out resort in December 2021 with the Spanish Peaks as its backdrop. Its 10,000-square-foot spa, indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs, and multiple dining and après-ski options, from cozy Italian restaurant Cortina to the slopeside Backcast, draw the best of Montana’s ski crowd, whether they’re spending an evening listening to live music or staying in one of its 139 spacious alpine-style rooms and suites or 39 residences. A favorite for families, the resort has Montage’s signature Paintbox kids club, a bowling alley, and a dedicated team at Compass Sports to help get young skiers and snowboarders outfitted and ready to hit the slopes. 

Lone Mountain Ranch

A 10-minute drive (with on-demand shuttle service) to the base of Mountain Village, Lone Mountain Ranch offers all-inclusive packages and access to Nordic trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. It’s made up of 25 private cabins with one to six bedrooms and serves charming details around every corner, like a mug of steaming hot coffee waiting on guests’ porch in the morning and a resident squirrel who often hangs out in the restaurant at breakfast time. The setting is perfectly rustic, but the swanky speakeasy-style Auric Room private members’ club and Trapper’s Den cigar lounge, along with Horn & Cantle’s farm-to-table menu and its famous horse-drawn sleigh ride dinners, make it one of the hottest keys in town. 

The Summit Hotel

At the base of Mountain Village, The Summit Hotel is a more casual option that’s ideal for a group of friends who wants to be in the center of it all—it’s just steps from the après-ski scene (think: live DJs in the Plaza and local craft beer at Montana Jack), but the best spot after a long, cold day on the slopes is the hotel’s expansive hot tub, sipping a glass of wine in a swimsuit and beanie while snowflakes fall around you. Options range from double rooms to suites with kitchens and fireplaces to five-bedroom penthouses. Peaks Chophouse and Wine Lounge opened in 2022, one year after the hotel’s most recent renovation, and the only thing that draws more guests than the wine list is the view.

Where to Eat

The Landing 

Guests’ first chance to experience the hotly anticipated One&Only Moonlight Basin property, The Landing opened this season in the One&Only Sky Lodge and is connected to the Madison Base by its own gondola. The Montana-sourced, modern Alpine-American menu includes massive chicken schnitzel, hearty potato cakes, fresh salads, handmade pasta, and yes, beer served out of a boot, all with 360-degree views of the mountain.

Cortina 

Inside Montage Big Sky, Cortina is an Italian chophouse that serves northern-leaning Italian dishes with Montana in mind (think bison bolognese and grilled local trout in brown butter). Montana is known for its ranchers, and carnivores will also find bison ribeye and venison loin on the wood-fired grill. But sometimes, nothing warms you up better than a bowl of pasta or a plate of eggplant parmigiana.

Horn & Cantle

The restaurant at Lone Mountain Ranch is what Montana dreams are made of, from the cozy fireside cabin setting to the menu full of local plates to share, including elk meatballs, bison short ribs, and serious steaks, all from nearby purveyors. Guests can dine here three times a day with the all-inclusive package, but due to its picturesque setting and culinary reputation, it’s a popular spot many travel into for dinner as well. Reservations open a month in advance. 

Everett’s 8800

The 8800 stands for 8,800 feet of elevation, and this cabin’s perch on Andesite Mountain, just off the Ramcharger 8 lift, makes it a standout destination for lunch, dinner, or to share an après ski seafood tower while taking in a DJ set. This season is your last chance to try executive chef Nathan Bramlett’s four- and six-course tasting menus, served at lunch and dinner (until next year, when the menu returns to a la carte style), but you’ll still be able to enjoy the warming chili and bolognese, both made with bison, wagyu, and pork; steelhead trout in a grappa-infused butter sauce; and the popular wagyu burger on a pretzel bun. Reservations are required, and lift access is included with dinner reservations. 

Where to Après Ski

Backcast 

You can ski right into Backcast at Montage Big Sky, and there is no better place to refuel than a bar and grill with bison yakitori cooked over an open wood fire, steaming hot bowls of tonkotsu and garlic chicken ramen, and crispy fries seasoned Japanese-style. Add a cocktail, sake, or Japanese beer on tap, and end with fresh-baked cookies. You might even catch live music if you can look up from your feast.

Montana Jack

A casual but lively bar with more than 30 beers on tap, including Montana-brewed IPAs, Montana Jack is a staple at The Exchange complex in Mountain Village. Grab a seat at the bar if you can and peruse the burger menu (there are six options, all offered with local Angus beef, bison, grilled chicken, or a vegan Beyond patty) and listen to live music or chat with fellow shredders about the latest snowfall report.

Alpenglow

A centerpiece at Montage Big Sky, Alpenglow serves up live music, inventive cocktails, a roaring fire, and mountain views from a seat at the bar. The all-day menu includes caviar, charcuterie, a sausage sampler, Bavarian-style meatballs, and more. Order a Lightning, a hot cocktail made with brandy, rum, creme de cacao, and brown sugar coffee, and you’ll be buzzing until you strap your boots up again the next morning.

Off-mountain Activities 

Snowmobiling

The only way to see Yellowstone National Park’s most famous sites, including Old Faithful, is by snowmobile or snowcoach in winter. While staying at Montage Big Sky, our guide picked us up and drove us to West Yellowstone for an epic day with Yellowstone Vacations that took us on a geothermal greatest hits tour past bison, bald eagles, and more. 

Dog Sledding

There’s something magical about being pulled through the snow by a team of enthusiastic huskies, and Big Sky has multiple dog sled tours to choose from. Spirit of the North runs right from Moonlight Basin and past Lone Mountain and the Spanish Peaks. Dog lovers will learn how to mush and get some furry cuddles in, too.

Enchanted Forest

Next to Everett’s 8800 off the Ramcharger 8 lift, the Enchanted Forest is the perfect family-friendly pre-dinner outing, with over 10,000 lights turned into immersive displays on a kilometer-long walk through the forest. At the end, wintry explorers are rewarded with an outdoor fireplace and s’mores.

Sleigh Ride Dinner

One of Big Sky’s most iconic outings, Sleigh Ride Dinner guests will be picked up by horse-drawn sleigh at Lone Mountain Ranch and transported back in time to a cabin in the mountains where they’ll eat prime rib and drink moonshine and wine by candlelight while a cowboy croons. Seatings are hosted daily at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. 

How to Ride 

Tickets

Big Sky Resort is on Ikon Pass, but starting this season, lift tickets bought directly through Big Sky Resort include access to the Lone Peak Tram. Day tickets range from $210 to $272 in March and are up to 44% off for as low as $56 in April. Other than visiting toward the end of the season, the best ways to save are by visiting on weekdays and buying multi-day tickets. Hotel reservations at Big Sky Resort also come with a 10% discount on tickets. Eager skiers and snowboarders can buy one hour of early access for $45 per day.

Rentals 

Big Sky Sports Rentals’ two slopeside options for ski and snowboard rentals and demos are at Mountain Village and Madison Base, and overnight ski valet service is included. You can book online in advance to save up to 25%. Guests at the Summit Hotel, Huntley Lodge, Shoshone Condominium Hotel, and Village Center can opt to have their rentals delivered to them and get fitted at their hotels without an extra charge. Guests of Montage Big Sky can rent gear on-site at Compass Sports and even enjoy “Boots and Bubbles” daily, where a fitting comes with a glass of Champagne.

Skiing and Snowboarding Info

Montage Big Sky has 5,850 skiable acres, making it the third-largest ski resort by acreage in the U.S. There are 40 ski lifts, including the tram, 12 of them recently renovated. The Madison 8 chair lift, completed in 2024, is the world’s longest eight-person chair lift, and Big Sky is the only ski resort in North America with three bubble lifts and two eight-person lifts. There are 320 named runs, about half of them serving beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders—but that doesn’t mean there aren’t extreme options for thrill-seekers. 

“There’s just nowhere else like it where you can ski this beautiful, three-mile green run, or you can stand above a 500-foot cliff and ski a tight, narrow chute,” Dawson said. “We have a product specifically for people who are seeking out that triple black, high alpine, thrill-seeking stuff; it is a bucket-list thing. We have people who seek out that guide with the goal of saying I want to get into the Big Couloir.”

Big Couloir is a 1,400-foot drop with a 50-degree pitch, and checking in with ski patrol, bringing avalanche gear, and skiing with a partner is required. 

Programming

“My number one piece of advice for anyone coming to Big Sky for the first time is to ski with a guide, even for just one day, and get the lay of the land because there is so much terrain and so many little pockets in the mountain,” Harris told T+L. “It’s great to just learn and get your bearings on day one with someone who knows the mountain.”

Big Sky has more than 400 instructors, the vast majority of whom teach skiing and snowboarding to children, though there are plenty of instructors for adults to book as well. (Just be sure to book ahead around holiday weekends).

Group, private, and multi-day lessons are available for all skill levels, as are season-long developmental programs. About 20 guides are trained to take adventurers on special access terrain.