Ikon Pass Goes Off Sale December 11th. Should You Buy One?

We received a mailer telling us that the Ikon Pass is going off sale after the second Thursday of December.

We received an Ikon Pass mailer this week stating the last day to buy their 2025-26 passes is December 11, 2025. This is your last time to save big on destinations such as Mammoth, Palisades Tahoe, and Steamboat (full list below).

If you don’t buy one of these pre-season products, you may face higher prices to visit resorts that are affiliated with them. So should you buy? Let’s take a look.

The Ikon Pass allows for skiing or riding at many of the most compelling mountains across North America.

Source: Ikon Pass

What Is the Ikon Pass?

The Ikon Pass is a multi-mountain pass offered by Alterra, which is the owner of multiple mountains in the US and Canada. Along with the mountains owned by Alterra, the Ikon Pass offers days at many other mountains, including big hitters such as Jackson Hole, Alta, and Big Sky. There are a few different products, namely:

• Ikon Pass: This pass is $1,519 and allows unlimited skiing at 18 destinations, and up to 7 days at each of another 42 destinations. 

• Ikon Base Pass: This pass is $1,099 and allows unlimited skiing at 14 destinations, but generally has blackout days over the week after Christmas, MLK weekend, and President’s weekend. It also has up to 5 days of access at each of another 39 destinations. Certain resorts, including Aspen Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Deer Valley, Alta, and Snowbasin, are missing from this product.

• NOTE: The Ikon Base Plus Pass, which previously allowed the same access as the Ikon Base Pass but added 5 days each at the Aspen Snowmass resorts, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Deer Valley, Alta, and Snowbasin, is no longer available.

• Ikon Session Pass: This pass has two, three, and four day options, ranging from $349 to $569. This is basically a discounted early-bird day pass to 43 destinations, but there are blackout dates. Certain resorts on the full Ikon and Base Pass products are missing from the Session Pass.

If you want to know what mountains are on what passes, check out this chart.

If you don’t buy now:

Depending on the resort and number of days you plan to visit, missing the Ikon deadline could have major consequences. Day tickets at some of the resorts accessed by these passes are through the roof, with places like Steamboat and Deer Valley hitting $299 for walk-up tickets.

Is the Ikon Pass Worth It for Your Resort of Choice?

Unlike the competing Epic Pass, the Ikon Pass is not going to be a better value than lift tickets under every circumstance. However, if you have your heart set on visiting any of the following mountains between mid-December and late March, an Ikon product will save you money under essentially every circumstance, including weekdays, weekends, and holidays:

• Palisades Tahoe, CA

• Mammoth, CA

• Steamboat, CO

• Winter Park, CO

• Big Sky, MT (unless you want Lone Peak Tram access)

• Deer Valley, UT

• Snowbird, UT

Same goes for the following resorts, although they aren’t included on the Ikon Session or Base Passes. However, all of these resorts are also on the cheaper, two-day Mountain Collective Pass, and guests may be able get better deals through that product:

• Sun Valley, ID

• Aspen Snowmass, CO: which includes

  • Snowmass

  • Aspen Mountain (or Ajax)

  • Aspen Highlands

  • Buttermilk

• Jackson Hole, WY

• Alta, UT

• Snowbasin, UT

If you plan to visiting any of the following mountains between mid-December and late March, an Ikon Pass product will save you money under essentially every weekend or holiday:

• Sierra-at-Tahoe, CA

• Crystal, WA

• Mount Bachelor, OR

• Copper, CO

• Eldora, CO

• Arapahoe Basin, CO

• Taos, NM

• Stratton, VT

• Sugarbush, VT

• Killington, VT

• Big Sky, MT (if you want Lone Peak Tram access)

If you plan to visit any of the following mountains between mid-December and late March—and you don’t plan to visit multiple ski resorts this winter—regular lift tickets may be better deals than an Ikon or Mountain Collective Pass product, provided you buy them far enough in advance:

• June Mountain, CA

• Big Bear, CA

• Snow Valley, CA

• Alyeska, AK

• Summit at Snoqualmie, WA

  • Includes Alpental

• Schweitzer, ID

• Solitude, UT

• Brighton, UT

• Pico, VT

• Snowshoe, WV

• Sunday River, ME

• Sugarloaf, ME

• Loon, NH

• Camelback, PA

• Blue Mountain, PA

• Lake Louise, AB

• Banff Sunshine Village, AB

• Mount Norquay, AB

• Revelstoke, BC

• Cypress, BC

• Red Mountain, BC

• Panorama, BC

• Sun Peaks, BC

• Tremblant, QC

• Le Massif de Charlevoix, QC

• Blue Mountain, ON

If you’re not sold on these specific mountains, know that many of them are among the best in the United States and Canada. Although other mountains that are also within the upper echelon of the ski scene, including Vail, Park City, Whistler Blackcomb, and Breckenridge, are not on the Ikon Pass.

However, nearly every North American destination resort not on Ikon is actually on the competing Epic Pass, which goes off sale on December 4th.

If you want to go to just about any top ski area in North America, these deadlines are your last chance to do so for less than the exorbitant walk-up ticket price.

Final Thoughts

With the Ikon Pass deadline fast approaching, now is the time to make your move. An Ikon Pass often offers the best access and value to the resorts it’s affiliated with, even if you are the most casual vacationer on the planet. However, some resorts still offer fairly reasonable lift ticket prices if you decide to skip the top destinations.

Considering buying an Ikon Pass product? Check out our detailed comparison against each other and competing Epic, Mountain, Collective and Indy offerings. You can also check out this comparison in video form below.