Epic Pass Buyer’s Guide: A Breakdown of How to Hack the Full, Local, and Day Pass Products
By Steven Reale
Epic Passes for the 2023-2024 season are now on sale, and the roster of resort offerings, as well as the dizzying array of pass options, have not changed much since last year. If you are considering an Epic Pass product for next year, it can be overwhelming to sort through the options, with so many variations of day and season passes that it’s difficult to count. But given how assorted these options are, there are some little-known opportunities to save you money on your 2023-24 Epic Pass purchase through rather unorthodox pass tier hacks. Below, you’ll find our comprehensive guide on selecting the right Epic Pass product, or combination of passes, to save you the most money without sacrificing quality.
Epic Pass Background
Epic Passes can be divided into two main categories: season-long and day passes, but even within each category, there are numerous options available, including which resorts are included, how many days the pass offers at each, and whether there are holiday blackouts.
In addition, there are discounts available for seniors, those with adaptive skiing needs, and those actively serving in the military as well as for veterans.
As we’ve mentioned before, the more flexible you can be with your plans, the more you stand to save. Therefore, if you can avoid holidays for your mountain getaway you will not only save money on your pass, but you will also avoid crowded holiday lift lines.
Unlimited Epic Pass
The top-of-the-line Epic Pass costs $909 for adults, and includes unlimited access—including on holidays—to every Vail-owned resort, 7 days access at Telluride, and numerous international skiing options. Most skiers and riders will not benefit from this tier. Who will? Well, this is the only pass to offer unlimited access to Vail, Beaver Creek, or Whistler Blackcomb; those local to these mountains will probably want this pass. Otherwise, skiers and riders who plan on shredding extensively through the season while spending more than 10 combined days at Vail, Beaver Creek, or Whistler Blackcomb; those who plan to visit those and other top Epic resorts on holidays; or those who want to squeeze a Telluride visit into extensive skiing/riding plans for the season might benefit from this pass.
Epic Local Pass
Most skiers and riders will not fall into the previous category, and the Epic Local Pass, at $676 for adults, will prove to be a great option for many. Vail Resorts has spent several decades acquiring ski resorts in nearly every mountain region across the United States and a few beyond. Those living near a Vail-owned resort who also plan to visit to one or more of Vail’s flagship resorts may find the Epic Local pass to be the most economical option. On this pass, season-long access to most of Vail’s roster of resorts is available, but: holiday access is unavailable at their top tier of destination resorts; visits to Vail, Beaver Creek, and Whistler Blackcomb are limited to 10 days total; Telluride is unavailable; and the roster of international resorts is considerably thinner.
Regional Passes
For skiers and riders who won’t be traveling, Vail also offers a variety of regional passes offering access to various subsets of their resort holdings, in varieties that include midweek, full-week, non-holiday, and holiday access. For example, Tahoe locals who do not plan on traveling to the Rockies might consider the Tahoe Value pass, which, at $489, represents a $187 savings over the Epic Local pass. But Tahoe locals who do plan on traveling to the Rockies may be well served by the Tahoe Local Pass, which offers 5 non-peak days at top Vail resorts for $575, offering a $101 savings from the Epic Local pass.
Day Passes
Skiers and riders who do not expect to chalk up enough mountain days to warrant a season-long pass can also purchase day passes, which come in a multitude of varieties. Depending on your plans, day passes can be a low key way to upgrade your experience without splurging for a season-long pass. Be honest with yourself: if you are unlikely to ski or ride enough days to make the Epic, Epic Local or a regional pass worthwhile, going the day pass route is probably your best bet.
There are three tiers of day passes offering different levels of resort access, and each of these tiers comes in varieties either offering or blacking out holiday access. Each of these passes can then be purchased in units of 1 to 7 days, where the per-day price decreases as the number of days increase. It is not immediately obvious, but according to a Vail customer service representative, you can actually purchase two of the same day pass if you need more than 7 days, although the system will require two separate transactions. If this would be a useful route for you, we encourage you to reach out to Vail customer service yourself to confirm. If you do buy more than one day pass, the decreasing per-day pricing structure means you’ll get the best deal buying one 7-day pass, and putting the rest of your needed days on the other. In addition, if you’re planning to visit multiple resorts on different day pass tiers, you’ll sometimes save money by splitting your passes by the number of days you intend to spend in each tier.
Hacking the Epic Pass
Here is where things really start to get interesting. The conventional wisdom is that the break-even point for those considering day passes vs. season length passes is 7 days, meaning that anyone planning to ski or ride 7 or more days at Vail-owned resorts during the 2023-2024 season will be best served by a season pass. However, this is not universally true: depending on the resort(s) you wish to visit, purchasing multiple day passes can cost less than an associated season pass. Similarly, if you can be precise about your skiing plans, and you only plan on spending one or two days at a destination resort, you can strategically cobble together regional passes and day passes and save overall.
It is worth pointing out that the Michigan and Ohio resorts each have their own regional passes, but the Northeast Value and Northeast Midweek passes also grant access to them. Skiers and riders local to these resorts have an even wider array of available pass options.
Pass Breakdown Tables
The possibilities for combining regional passes and day passes are nearly endless, but in the tables that follow, we offer guidance for how to make this work. For simplicity, the scenarios in the table assume that no holiday access is required, but adjusting any individual scenario to accommodate holidays is not too complicated. Please write us at admin@peakrankings.com for additional assistance in planning your vacation getaway.
Tier 1 Rockies and West Coast resorts
**The Summit Value Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Breckenridge.
Tier 2 Rockies resorts
*By purchasing two individual Epic Day Pass products if >7 days desired.
†Full list of Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 mountains is listed in the appendix.
Tahoe and Washington State resorts
*By purchasing two individual Epic Day Pass products if >7 days desired.
**The Tahoe Value Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Heavenly, and the non-Saturday Season Pass product for Kirkwood and Northstar. The Tahoe Local Pass is considered the 7-day Season Pass product for Kirkwood and Northstar. The Stevens Pass Select Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Stevens Pass.
†Full list of Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 mountains is listed in the appendix.
Vermont and New York State resorts
*By purchasing two individual Epic Day Pass products if >7 days desired.
**The Northeast Midweek Pass is considered the weekday-only Season Pass product for Vail’s Vermont and New York State mountains. The Northeast Value Pass is considered the 7-day Season Pass product for these resorts. Only 10 days at Stowe are available on both passes.
†Full list of Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 mountains is listed in the appendix.
Mid-Atlantic and New Hampshire resorts
*By purchasing two individual Epic Day Pass products if >7 days desired.
**The Northeast Midweek Pass is considered the weekday-only Season Pass product for Vail’s Mid-Atlantic and New Hampshire mountains. The Northeast Value Pass is considered the 7-day Season Pass product for these resorts.
†Full list of Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 mountains is listed in the appendix.
Ohio and Michigan resorts
*By purchasing two individual Epic Day Pass products if >7 days desired.
**The Ohio Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Vail’s Ohio mountains. The Mt. Brighton Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Mt. Brighton.
†Full list of Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 mountains is listed in the appendix.
Midwest Region resorts (except Ohio and Michigan)
*By purchasing two individual Epic Day Pass products if >7 days desired.
**The Paoli Peaks Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Paoli Peaks. The Snow Creek Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Snow Creek. The Hidden Valley Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Hidden Valley, MO. The Wilmot Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Wilmot. The Afton Alps Pass is considered the Season Pass product for Afton Alps.
†Full list of Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 mountains is listed in the appendix.
Final Thoughts
In acquiring smaller mountains across the United States, Vail Resorts has aimed to steer locals to buy higher-tier passes—with the idea being that they can ski and ride destination resorts on the Epic Pass while getting their local access “for free.” While this can absolutely work in favor for the right skier or rider, it is not always the best strategy. Similarly, while 7 days of skiing or riding makes a good baseline breakeven point for considering day passes against season long passes, careful planning can stretch that breakeven point considerably further out.
How did we do? If you have other tips for stretching value out of the Epic Pass, we’d love to see them in the comments below.
For more information on resorts on the Epic Pass, see our Epic Pass mountain reviews as well as our Colorado, Tahoe, Utah, Vermont, and Washington rankings.
Appendix
Tier 1
Rockies
Vail
Beaver Creek
Breckenridge
Park City
Canada
Whistler Blackcomb
Switzerland
Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis
Tier 2
Rockies
Keystone
Crested Butte
West
Heavenly
Northstar
Kirkwood
Stevens Pass
Northeast
Stowe
Okemo
Mount Snow
Hunter Mountain
Tier 3
Northeast
Mount Sunapee
Attitash
Wildcat Mountain
Crotched Mountain
Mid-Atlantic
Liberty Mountain
Roundtop Mountain
Whitetail
Jack Frost
Big Boulder
Seven Springs
Laurel Mountain
Hidden Valley, PA
Midwest
Mt. Brighton
Afton Alps
Wilmot
Alpine Valley, OH
Boston Mills
Brandywine
Mad River Mountain
Hidden Valley, MO
Snow Creek
Paoli Peaks