Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park says there are no major terrain changes this winter. Assistant General Manager Jodi Kayler told the Inlander that the focus is on refining the overall experience. What changed for 2026–27 is the clock. The new pass, the expanded kids' program, the added lessons and the discount nights all fall on weekdays or after 3 p.m. For households in Mead, Wandermere, Colbert and Five Mile, the nearest ski hill now works best on a Wednesday evening.
What's new, day by day
Here is the 2026–27 additions list, sorted by day of the week. Apart from the Flex pass, which also covers weekday daytime skiing, every new item falls between Wednesday and Saturday, after the workday or school day ends.
| Day | What runs | What's new this season |
|---|---|---|
| Monday–Friday | Flex Limited Pass valid days and nights | The Flex pass itself is new |
| Wednesday | Night skiing until 9 p.m. | Wild Wednesdays: $5 youth night tickets with a paying adult |
| Thursday | Night skiing until 9 p.m. | College Night, every Thursday from Jan. 7, $29 tickets |
| Friday | Night skiing until 9 p.m., Club Shred 5–8 p.m. | EZ Ski 1·2·3 evening sessions, 3:30–5:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | Night skiing until 9 p.m. | Club Shred adds Saturday nights; EZ Ski evening sessions; Flex pass valid after 3 p.m. |
Club Shred is the clearest example. The $49 program for ages 4 to 12 has run on Friday nights from 5 to 8 p.m., combining a lesson, dinner and time with mentor ski buddies. This season it adds Saturday nights. "It's a lesson, it's dinner, but it's also this fun club that happens every week where kids make friends," Kayler told the Inlander.
The beginner program moved the same way. EZ Ski 1·2·3 is a three-lesson package that Kayler calls the magic formula for getting comfortable on skis or a snowboard. According to Out There Outdoors, it has added Friday and Saturday sessions from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., so families have more scheduling options. A parent can now start a lesson in the late afternoon instead of committing a whole Saturday morning to it.
The discount nights fill out the midweek. On Wednesdays, a youth night ticket costs $5 with a paying adult. Starting Jan. 7, College Night runs every Thursday, with $29 tickets for anyone holding a valid college or active military ID.
Twelve-hour days are what make the evenings work
None of this would work without the mountain's existing night operation. Mt. Spokane runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, from mid-December to mid-March. The resort calls these "the region's only 12-hour ski days." Its 2026–27 operating calendar lists Dec. 16 as the first night-skiing date.
Night tickets cover 3 to 9 p.m. on select lifts and terrain, and a full-day ticket always includes the night hours. Out There Outdoors describes the mountain as the region's only nonprofit ski area: more than 1,700 acres, 53 runs, six chairlifts, a handle-tow terrain park lift, a magic carpet and a 400-foot tubing hill.
The night-skiing window is fixed at four nights a week, and every new program sits inside it. Wild Wednesdays, College Night Thursdays and Club Shred Fridays and Saturdays each take one of those nights, so every lit night now has its own program.
The Flex pass skips the weekend days
The pricing follows the same logic. The new 2026–27 Flex Limited Pass costs $449 at the fall price, which ends Nov. 10, and $599 after that. It covers Monday through Friday, days and nights, plus Saturday nights after 3 p.m. An adult All Access pass for ages 18 to 59 costs $699 at the fall price and $899 in winter, with no blackout dates.
At fall pricing, the gap is $250. After Nov. 10 it grows to $300. For that difference, a Flex holder gives up:
- Saturday and Sunday daytime skiing until March 13, 2027, when the Flex pass becomes valid on weekends
- The holiday stretch from Dec. 20 through Jan. 1
- Martin Luther King Day and Presidents' Day
So the Flex pass covers almost all of the hours this season's new programs use. A parent who drives up on Friday for Club Shred, comes back on a Wednesday with a teenager, and fits in a Saturday evening session is skiing entirely on Flex hours. The pass falls short for households whose skiing happens on weekend days, over winter break, or on the two holiday Mondays. Kayler described the range of options to the Inlander: "We have everything from daily lift tickets to season passes."
Some ages are free. Skiers and snowboarders 6 and younger, and those 80 and older, ski free at Mt. Spokane. On a pass, children 6 and under pay only a $35 processing fee.
Why a weeknight plan suits the north side
A weeknight trip depends on the drive, and North Spokane has the shortest one. Washington State Parks puts the park 15 miles east of US Highway 2, at the end of State Road 206. From the Mead and Wandermere side of town, you leave work on Highway 2 and turn up Mount Spokane Park Drive.
Parking adds no extra step for downhill skiers. On its state park access page, the resort says a Sno-Park permit is required everywhere within Mount Spokane State Park except the alpine ski area parking lot while the ski area is in normal operation. The State Parks brochure says alpine-area parking is included with a lift ticket. Plan for winter road conditions, though. State Parks advises winter drivers to be prepared with good traction tires and tire chains.
If someone in the car is headed to the cross-country trails, the rules are different. Washington State Parks' winter schedule lists Sno-Park permits at Mount Spokane from Dec. 1 through March 31. Its Sno-Park permit page names the park as one of the sites that also require a special groomed trail permit. If you don't hold a seasonal permit, the resort says you can buy a one-day permit at the "Virtual Ranger" at the park entrance. State Parks lists Selkirk Lodge as open Nov. 1 through March 31. The Spokane Nordic calendar includes Winterfest on Jan. 17, the Langlauf on Jan. 31 and the Spokane Loppet on Feb. 28, 2027.
Since night skiing ends at 9 p.m., dinner usually happens on the way up. Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar has a Wandermere location at 401 E. Farwell Road, close to where the Highway 2 drive starts. It also serves weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., which works for a Saturday when lessons start at 3:30. Check the restaurant's posted hours before you go.
The November dates that decide the price
The season's costs are mostly set this month, before any lift opens.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.: Explore All Four: Meet Your Mountains, with all four regional ski and snowboard mountains in the River Park Square Atrium downtown.
- Sunday, Nov. 8, noon–4 p.m.: The Elevation Celebration at Lodge 2, where pass holders can pick up their passes. The event includes music, prizes, food specials and Mt. Spokane merchandise.
- Tuesday, Nov. 10: The last day of fall pricing. The Flex pass goes from $449 to $599 and the adult All Access pass from $699 to $899.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: The targeted opening day for 2026–27, weather and snow conditions permitting.
- Wednesday, Dec. 16: The first scheduled night of skiing, which is also when the 12-hour days begin.
- Thursday, Jan. 7: The first College Night.
Looking further out, Ladies Day returns on Friday, Feb. 12, and registration is already open.
The Flex pass's holiday blackout ends Jan. 1, and night skiing runs through mid-March. From early January to March 13, that leaves about ten weeks when every new program runs and the cheaper pass covers all of them, except on Martin Luther King Day and Presidents' Day.
The north side's access to Mount Spokane is part of what our team at The Collection shares with clients who are weighing a home near Mead, Wandermere or Colbert. If you want to know what that access looks like from a specific street, or what it adds to your home's value, request a complimentary consultation and home valuation.
