Holidays · November 26, 2026
Thanksgiving in Aspen
The 2026–27 ski season opens on Thanksgiving Day. What that means for dinner, the slopes and getting here the day before.
The 2026–27 ski season opens on Thanksgiving Day. What that means for dinner, the slopes and getting here the day before.
Aspen Snowmass lists the 2026–27 season as November 26, 2026 to April 18, 2027, so Thanksgiving Day is opening day. That makes Thanksgiving week the first big arrival of the winter: early-season skiing, Thanksgiving dinners already taking reservations, and a busy airport from the Wednesday.
Facts below are from Aspen Snowmass, Atlantic Aviation and restaurants' live reservation listings, checked September 28, 2026. Individual mountains' opening dates are announced later in the autumn.
Paul Montiel · Aspen · Updated September 2026
Opening day depends on snow and snowmaking. Plan the trip around the family and the meal, and treat skiing as a bonus rather than the whole point.
Hotel Thanksgiving dinners are already taking reservations. For a family, a chef at the residence, or a stocked kitchen with the turkey sorted, is often the better Thursday.
Wednesday is the heavy travel day. If you're driving from Denver, leave early; if you're flying, have a plan if an Aspen flight diverts to Eagle.
Opening week is quieter than Christmas for lessons, but kids' first days of the season go better with rentals fitted at the house and a private instructor booked in advance.
The 2026–27 season is scheduled to start on November 26, 2026, Thanksgiving Day. Aspen Snowmass announces each mountain's opening dates separately, so check which mountains open first.
As of late September 2026, Element 47 at The Little Nell and Prospect at Hotel Jerome were already taking Thanksgiving reservations. Many families also have a private chef cook at the house.
Yes: it is the first big arrival of the winter. Atlantic Aviation expects extra ramp congestion from November 25 to 29, and the Wednesday is the heaviest travel day.
No. It closes for the winter in November, so from Denver the route is I-70 through Glenwood Springs.
We plan the week around the meal: a chef for Thursday or a kitchen stocked for your own, the car from Denver timed before the Wednesday rush, and rentals fitted for opening day.
Dinner at the house, menu agreed in advance.
The kitchen stocked to your list before you land.
Winter-equipped vehicle and driver for the four-hour drive, re-timed as roads change.
Fitted at the residence, not in a shop queue.
A private lesson matched to the skier and the mountain.
Heat, lights, beds and the first evening sorted before you walk in.
Aspen Snowmass: 2026–27 season passes · Atlantic Aviation ASE · Resy: Aspen — checked September 28, 2026.
Tell us who's coming and how you'd like Thursday to go. We'll secure the dinner or the chef, the car and the rentals.
Plan Thanksgiving