Kirkwood is known for steep expert terrain under Thimble Peak (9,805 ft), including the Cirque and the chutes of the Sisters. Pass access for 2026/27: Epic Pass, unlimited, unrestricted.
Key takeaways
- Kirkwood has 65 km of marked pistes, 931 hectares of skiable terrain, 610 m of vertical and 15 lifts.
- Epic Pass 2026/27: Unlimited, unrestricted.
- Our estimate: about 2 days to ski every marked run; plan 2 to 3 ski days.
Kirkwood at a glance
- Marked pistes
- 65km[1]
- Skiable area
- 931ha[2]
- Vertical drop
- 610m[2]
- Top elevation
- 2,987m[2]
- Base elevation
- 2,377m[2]
- Runs
- 86[2]
- Lifts
- 15[2]
- Season: December 4, 2026 to April 25, 2027[1],[3]
- Nearest major airport: Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO), about 88 minutes by road[4],[5]
Our take
- Time to ski every marked run: about 2 days, at the 35 km of piste a confident intermediate covers in a full day.
- How long to stay: 2 to 3 ski days, enough to cover most of the mountain without repeating yourself.
- Data for the trip: a United States eSIM covering about 5 days, the ski days plus a travel day either side. Lift apps, trail maps and avalanche bulletins all need it.
More resorts near Kirkwood
Frequently asked questions
Is Kirkwood on the Ikon Pass or the Epic Pass?+
How big is Kirkwood?+
How many days do you need to ski Kirkwood?+
When is the 2026/27 season at Kirkwood?+
What is the nearest airport to Kirkwood?+
Will my phone work at Kirkwood?+
Methodology
How we did this comparison
Mountain statistics come from each resort's own facts page where it publishes one, otherwise from Skiresort.info's trail-map data, and every figure links to its source. Pass access for the 2026/27 season comes only from ikonpass.com and epicpass.com, read on 26 October 2026; check the operator's page before you buy, because access and blackout dates can change.
Days to ski every marked run, how long to stay and how many days of data to buy are our own estimates, not resort figures. We assume a confident intermediate covers 35 km of marked piste in a full day, lifts included, and add a travel day either side for the eSIM. North American resorts publish skiable acreage rather than piste length, so where we rank them we rank by skiable area.
Sources & references
We verify carrier and regulator pricing directly from primary sources before publishing. Pricing is current as of the article's last update — always confirm rates on the carrier's site before you travel.
- Ski resort Kirkwood (skiresort.info) — Skiresort.info
- Mountain Information | Kirkwood Ski Resort — Vail Resorts
- Is Winter About to Show Off? Vail Resorts Announces 2026/27 Opening Dates (press release, 2026-08-18) — Vail Resorts
- Getting Here & Parking | Kirkwood — Vail Resorts
- Ski resort Kirkwood: arrival by plane (skiresort.info) — Skiresort.info
- Kirkwood Mountain Resort (Wikidata, coordinate location P625) — Wikidata
- Epic Pass 2026/27: Kirkwood — Epic Pass
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About the author
Lotsotravel Team
Edited by Cho Yin Yong and Mahmoud Halat
The Lotsotravel team writes guides and cost comparisons for international travelers. Carrier prices are read from each carrier's own page, eSIM prices come from our live catalogue, and posts list the sources they rely on and the date they were last updated.
Last updated: October 26, 2026