Banff Sunshine Kicks Off Canadian Ski Season Early

The 2025/2026 Canadian ski season is officially underway, with Banff Sunshine Village in Banff National Park claiming the coveted title of the first resort in the nation to open its slopes.

Lifts started spinning early Sunday, November 2, surprising eager skiers and snowboarders who had initially expected to wait another week. The early launch is not only a win for powder enthusiasts but marks the earliest opening date in Banff Sunshine’s long history, thanks to phenomenal early-season snowfall and consistently cold temperatures.

The resort, which was originally scheduled to begin operations on November 8th, announced the acceleration on Saturday, beating out neighboring competitors like Lake Louise, which had targeted an opening later in the week.

"We are incredibly excited to open tomorrow, and to our organizational knowledge, this will be our earliest opening ever," said Kendra Scurfield, Vice President of Banff Sunshine, in an official statement. "The combination of heavy natural snow and ideal snowmaking conditions allowed our mountain operations team to work tirelessly to get the terrain ready sooner than anticipated. We at Sunshine are very excited to open tomorrow. We’ll be the first ski resort in Canada to open—and this will be our earliest opening ever, to our organizational knowledge.”

For opening day, guests enjoyed access to the iconic Sunshine Gondola and the Strawberry Express chairlift. Available runs included the Dell Valley, Rock Isle Road, Strawberry Surprise, and Strawberry Face, offering a taste of the deep Canadian Rockies powder. Early-season conditions were in effect, with staff reminding guests to ski and ride with care.

"Thanks to consistent early-season snowfall and a helping hand from Mother Nature, our mountain team has been hard at work getting the slopes ready for our first turns of the year. Beginning Sunday morning, guests can make their way up the gondola and enjoy skiing and riding off Strawberry Express — the first chair of the new season."

Banff Sunshine is known for having one of the longest non-glacial ski seasons in North America, typically running from early November through late May. With the season starting nearly a week ahead of schedule, the 2025/2026 winter is shaping up to be an exceptionally long and snowy one.