Skiing’s expensive. It’s a truism, we know.

But when you’re single with fewer bills to pay, navigating the financial side of skiing is doable. You save up all summer for a pass that, once the ski season starts, you use as much as humanly possible. Gear discounts become your best friend, as do bagged lunches rather than overpriced chicken tenders.

Adding kids changes that freewheeling equation. They need gear, tickets, and lessons—none of which come cheap.

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So, in the spirit of helping more families figure out how to make skiing work on a budget, we’ve compiled a list of six affordable (and sometimes free!) ski pass and lift ticket programs for kids.

Colorado Ski Passport

This winter, Colorado Ski Country USA’s (CSCUSA) Ski Passport expanded and is now available to kids in kindergarten through sixth grade.

The pass includes four days of skiing each at CSCUSA’s 19 member resorts for a total of 76 potential days. The kindergarten through second-grade version costs $67. For fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, the pass costs $72.

For when the kids get older, CSCUSA has the $207 Gems Teen Pass.

The Ski Passport and Gems Teen Pass are, of course, meant for youngsters. But in buying one, a parent unlocks access to the Gems Parent Pass for $337.

Like the Teen Pass, it includes lesser—but still good—mountain access with two days of skiing each at places like Arapahoe Basin, Eldora, and Purgatory.

None of these products has the unlimited flexibility of an Epic Pass or Ikon Pass, but they’re markedly cheaper and provide a season’s worth of ski days for kids.

Plus, the spread of mountains across Colorado that they provide access to could encourage some new family road trip ideas.

To learn more, click here.

Epic SchoolKids

For kids 12 and under, Vail Resorts’ popular Epic Pass is almost half off. That’s a solid deal—the Epic Pass is one of the most expansive pass programs in skiing, after all—but it isn’t the biggest youth discount offered by Vail Resorts.

Instead, if saving money (read: spending no money) while getting your kids into skiing is your goal, the Epic SchoolKids program is your best bet.

The free ticket bundle includes limited access to several ski resorts broken up by region. Children enrolled in kindergarten through 5th grade are eligible. If they’ve never skied before, they also qualify for one free lesson and rental package.

These are the participating ski resorts and regions:

• Colorado: All five of the mountains owned by Vail Resorts in Colorado—Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Crested Butte—are included with a SchoolKids ticket bundle. Kids can ski four days at each resort, with restricted peak dates.
• Utah: In Utah, the Epic SchoolKids bundle includes five free days at Park City Mountain.
• British Columbia: In British Columbia, the Epic SchoolKids bundle includes five free days at Whistler Blackcomb.
• To learn more, click here.

Utah Ski Passport

Similar to CSCUSA’s pass program for kids, the Ski Passport sold by Ski Utah is meant to help encourage youth participation in skiing.

It’s available to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders and costs $69. The Utah Ski Passport includes three days of skiing each at all 15 of the state’s major resorts, for a total of 45 days.

Kids don’t need to be Utah residents for their parents to buy them a Utah Ski Passport, making it a great option for out-of-staters looking to save some cash during their next winter vacation.

In addition to Ski Passport, Ski Utah sells the $849 Yeti Pass, which is for adults and includes one day of skiing at each of the state’s resorts.

To learn more, click here.

Vermont Ski Passport

Vermont’s Ski Passport is available to all fifth graders (no Vermont residency required), costs $35, and covers 20 alpine ski resorts—plus 24 cross-country skiing areas. At each alpine resort, Vermont Ski Passport holders get three days of skiing.

Vermont classics like Mad River Glen, Jay Peak, and Killington all participate in the Vermont Ski Passport program.

Funds from the program go to good causes, too. In the past, Ski Passport proceeds have supported organizations like Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports, which helps people with disabilities enjoy outdoor sports.

To learn more, click here.

Power Kids Pass

The Power Kids Pass, which is available to children 12 and under, makes skiing at 11 ski areas completely free. It’s a youth-focused alternative to the Power Pass, the multi-resort pass created by the resort group Mountain Capital Partners (MCP).

MCP’s footprint is largely in the American Southwest, so the Power Kids Pass covers mostly lower-profile resorts like Purgatory, Colorado; Lee Canyon, Nevada; and Brian Head, Utah.

But thanks to MCP’s recent venture into the South American market, the Power Kids Pass also offers unlimited access to two Chilean ski resorts: Valle Nevado and La Parva. Both are located in Chile’s Tres Valles region, which is east of Santiago and home to numerous mountains and ski lifts.

To learn more, click here.

Learn To Turn Pass

New for the 2025-2026 ski season, the Learn To Turn pass isn’t technically meant for kids and doesn’t include a youth discount. However, at $189, the unique bundle is still affordable.

Offered by the independent ski area focused Indy Pass, the Learn To Turn Pass includes three days of skiing, rentals, and lessons at participating mountains. Those days can be redeemed at one single mountain or a mix of resorts.

The complete Indy Pass now spans hundreds of ski areas from Japan to Europe. The Learn To Turn Pass’ footprint is much smaller, only covering about 30 ski areas in North America. It’s set to expand in the coming seasons, though.

One benefit of the Indy Pass and the accompanying Learn To Turn Pass is that they mostly focus on smaller, lesser-known ski areas (there are some exceptions to this rule).

These places may not have the most vertical or the steepest terrain, but they usually provide a more laid-back atmosphere. That’s perfect for kids and learners still working on their ski technique.

To learn more, click here.