THE STATE OF SUMMER OPERATIONS
Analysis of a fall survey on summer operations at North American ski areas offers insights on activities and programming, profitability, and growth goals.
BY SARAH BORODAEFF
tions have myriad benefits, too: roughly 92% of respondents agreed or strong- ly agreed that summer offerings attract new user groups; more than 95% agreed or strongly agreed that summer business improves hiring and staff retention.
lation has not spent much time on a lift and many may not have been to the top of a mountain,” said Humber. “A ride on a lift to the top of the mountain is often the simplest and most obvious experience a ski area can offer.” Mountain biking. Cross-country mountain biking and lift-served moun- tain biking, 55% and 52%, respectively, followed by disc golf (39%) round out the top five offerings. Mountain biking, in both its forms, is another activity that uti- lizes winter infrastructure, either with lift or trail systems. These can both be capital- and operational expense-intensive activi- ties to launch and operate. Those that do it well, in the right mar- ketplace, are finding lift-served mountain biking to be a huge boon to their summer business. “Lift-served mountain biking has been growing at 30-40% per year,” shared a Northeast respondent. Others report that it is not the draw they initially thought it could be. “Lift-served mountain biking is, at best, a break-even, particular- ly when capital costs are considered,” said a Rocky Mountain respondent. A notable share of mountain resorts have installed adventure activities, such as zip lines (34%), alpine coasters (29%), and ropes courses (21%), as well as climbing walls (24%) and playgrounds (23%) for their younger guests. “The “LIFT-SERVED MOUNTAIN BIKING HAS BEEN GROWING AT 30-40% PER YEAR.”
Summer in the mountains has evolved from “off-season” to “on” as North American mountain re- sorts have added summer activities to create year-round operations and diversify revenue sources. Many are utilizing existing winter infrastruc- ture to do so: 68% offer scenic chair- lift rides and about 52% have lift- served mountain biking, according to a summer operations survey of North American ski area operators conduct- ed by SAM in fall 2024. More ski areas plan to use their lifts for summer in the next two years, with 18% of respondents planning to add lift-served mountain biking and 10% adding scenic rides. And summer opera-
“LIFT-SERVED MOUNTAIN BIKING IS, AT BEST, BREAK-EVEN.”
Many ski areas are capitalizing on new participation trends and an increased desire to get outdoors. Others have had more challenges in creating a green-season draw. SAM asked the mountain resort community to share data and anecdotal observations about their summer opera- tions experience. Sixty-two resorts in the U.S. and Canada offered their insights into what’s happening in summer and where we’re going next. Here, we share data, analysis, and individual responses from the results of the online survey, with additional insights from Claire Humber, principal at resort planning firm SE Group. Any ambiguities or errors are our own. ACTIVITIES What activities do winter resorts offer in summer? Hiking (76%) and scenic lift rides (68%) were the most common among our sample. “If only a small percentage of the overall population participate in snow- sports, it follows that much of the popu-
Respondent Regions
6%
6%
32%
8%
10%
11%
16%
11%
Southeast Western Canada Eastern Canada Southwest
Northeast Rockies Midwest Pacific Northwest
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