About Us
SnoCal is a free, independent guide to skiing and riding in California — all 28 lift-served ski areas in one place, built by California natives who actually drive these roads. And we make our own snow characters, on shirts and hoodies, because the mountains should be fun.
What we’ve built
Everything here is free, and none of it requires an account. We started with a handful of resort pages and it turned into a proper directory.
California ski resort map
All 28 ski areas mapped, with vertical, acreage, lifts and pass on every pin. Base-area coordinates checked against published elevations, not dropped by eye.
Live snow forecast
National Weather Service snowfall for every resort — 24 hour, 3 day and 7 day — pulled live, not typed in by hand.
Opening and closing dates
When each resort opens and closes, with confirmed dates separated from targets so you know what you can rely on.
Ski pass comparison
Ikon, Epic, Cali Pass, Indy, Mountain Collective and the Powder Alliance, compared by the drive you actually make.
Where to stay
Lodging guides for thirteen resorts, written per mountain rather than copy-pasted between them.
Gear guides
What you actually need in the car — starting with snow chains and what California’s chain control levels really mean.
Also: Resort comparisonWeekend picksChain control explainedBest snow chains
How we put it together
We name our sources
Resort statistics come from each resort’s own site, cross-checked against Ski California. Snow forecasts come straight from the National Weather Service. Chain control rules come from Caltrans. Where sources disagree, we say so on the page rather than quietly picking one.
We say when we don’t know
Most California resorts have not announced 2026-27 opening dates yet, and none has announced a closing date. Our pages say that plainly instead of guessing. Several sites publish projected dates that contradict the resorts’ own announcements — we don’t use them, and a wrong date sends someone on a four-hour drive to a closed mountain.
We tell you what we earn on
Some lodging and gear links pay us a commission at no cost to you. No ski pass operator runs an affiliate program, so we earn nothing on passes and have no reason to push one over another. We’re not paid by any resort, and we’re not affiliated with any of them.
We date the figures
Prices and conditions go stale. Pages carry the date they were checked so you can judge how much to trust them.
The characters
The other half of this. We loved the rad style of surf and skate in the 80s and 90s and wanted to bring some of that feel to the snow. With the help of some amazing artists — the talented late Steve Nazar (R.I.P.) and knarley Kurono — we built a crew of original characters.
They live on shirts, hoodies, beanies, stickers and flags, alongside resort-specific and California-specific designs built around the mountains you love. Meet the whole crew or browse everything.
Support your loCAL mountain.
Sno*Cal is not affiliated in any way with any of the California ski resorts that may be depicted in or referenced by its products and guides. Resort names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Conditions, prices and dates change — always confirm with the resort and Caltrans before you travel.