California Ski Black Friday 2026
Sale terms below were read directly from each retailer’s own site on November 7, 2026. California opening dates were verified November 6 and 7, 2026. Every row carries the date it was checked, and we re-read them as sales open.
Every November the same pages appear: “best Black Friday ski deals,” published weeks before a single retailer has announced anything, listing discounts that do not exist yet. This is not one of those.
Below is what is confirmed on sale right now, read off each retailer’s own site, with the date it ends. Below that is what has not been announced, said plainly rather than guessed at. And because this is a California site, there is one more thing worth knowing: for skiers here, Black Friday is late.
Black Friday 2026 is Friday, November 27. Cyber Monday is Monday, November 30. But the window that matters for California is earlier: REI’s Holiday Sale runs November 13–23 and ends four days before Black Friday, and eight of the eleven California resorts with a published date open on or before November 27. Mammoth has been open since November 5. If you are waiting for Black Friday to buy chains, goggles or base layers, you will most likely have already made your first drive to the mountain without them. As of November 7, no major ski retailer has announced its Black Friday dates.
Stocking-sized, and actually used
The things that get worn in a lift line or pulled out of the back seat while you wait for the road to open.
Sno Cal™ Snow Beanie
Big Bear CA Flag Beanie
Lake Tahoe Sherpa Blanket
Truckee CA Grizzly BlanketThe dates that actually matter
Two calendars collide this month: the retail one and the California season. Putting them side by side is the whole point of this page — the sales are easy to find, but whether they land before or after you actually need the gear is the part nobody writes down.
| Date | Day | What happens | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 9 | Monday | Backcountry’s extra 20% off clearance ends | Confirmed |
| November 13 | Friday | REI Holiday Sale starts | Confirmed |
| November 16 | Monday | Backcountry’s 20% off full-price items ends | Confirmed |
| November 20 | Friday | Heavenly and Northstar target opening day | Target |
| November 21 | Saturday | China Peak and Mountain High target opening day | Target |
| November 23 | Monday | REI Holiday Sale ends — four days before Black Friday | Confirmed |
| November 25 | Wednesday | Palisades Tahoe opening day | Confirmed |
| November 26 | Thursday | Thanksgiving | Fixed |
| November 27 | Friday | Black Friday. Sugar Bowl target opening day; Boreal reported | Mixed |
| November 28 | Saturday | Small Business Saturday | Fixed |
| November 30 | Monday | Cyber Monday | Fixed |
| December 4 | Friday | Kirkwood target opening day | Target |
| December 11 | Friday | Homewood target opening day | Target |
| December 19 | Saturday | June Mountain opening day | Confirmed |
Confirmed means the retailer or the resort states it on its own site. Target means the operator announced it and says it can move. Reported means media only. Opening dates come from our California ski resort opening dates tracker, which carries the source for all 28 ski areas.
Why Black Friday is late if you ski in California
Black Friday is built around a December gifting calendar. The California season does not wait for it.
Mammoth Mountain opened November 5, eight days ahead of its own plan, after an early-November storm. Heavenly and Northstar are targeting November 20. China Peak and Mountain High are targeting November 21. Palisades Tahoe has confirmed November 25. By the time the Black Friday emails arrive on November 27, most of the people reading them have already driven to the mountain at least once.
That matters for one category above all others. Chain control is posted on the road, not at the resort, and it can be posted before a resort opens and on a day with no snow falling. The gear you most want to already own in November is the gear that keeps the drive legal and the first day comfortable — chains, goggles, gloves, a base layer. Those are also the cheapest things on the list, which is exactly why waiting three weeks to save fifteen dollars on them is a bad trade.
Treat November 13–23 as the real buying window for anything you need in order to drive and ski comfortably, and treat Black Friday and Cyber Monday as the window for gifts and for hard goods you will not use until December or January.
What is actually on sale right now
Read directly from each retailer’s own site on November 7, 2026. Terms and exclusions are set by the retailer and change without notice — check the offer on their page before you count on it.
| Retailer | Offer, in their words | Ends | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|
| REI | Holiday Sale, November 13–23. Member coupon: 20% off one full-price item plus an extra 20% off one REI Outlet item. | November 23 | November 7 |
| Backcountry | 20% off full-price items. Exclusions apply. | November 16 | November 7 |
| Backcountry | Extra 20% off clearance. | November 9 | November 7 |
| evo | Kids’ ski and snowboard outerwear up to 50% off; ski and snowboard package deals; 20% off kids’ seasonal rentals booked online. | No end date stated | November 7 |
What has not been announced
As of November 7, 2026, none of the following has published Black Friday or Cyber Monday dates:
- Amazon — no ski and snowboard Black Friday window announced.
- evo — no Black Friday dates announced. What is running is listed above.
- Backcountry — no Black Friday dates announced. Its own Black Friday landing page is still serving last season’s end-of-sale message, “Just missed it, check back next year for more deals and offers!”, which is a good reminder that a retailer’s own page can be as stale as anyone else’s.
- REI — the Holiday Sale dates are published; a separate Black Friday promotion is not.
Every other page you will find today listing “Black Friday ski deals” for 2026 is predicting from last year. We would rather tell you what is confirmed, date it, and come back when the rest lands.
REI’s own Opt Outside page states the closure as standing policy: “Every Black Friday, REI Co-op will always close its doors to get outside.” The page names no date for 2026, and REI’s ten-year announcement of the policy is dated October 30, 2025, so treat the specific day as policy rather than a 2026 confirmation. Either way, the planning point stands: shop REI before the Holiday Sale ends on November 23.
What is worth buying on Black Friday, and what is not
Worth it
- Goggles — last season’s lens tints and frame colors get discounted hard, and the optics do not change year to year. A spare low-light lens is the single most useful thing most California skiers do not own.
- Gloves and mittens — a consumable. Buy the second pair while they are cheap.
- Base layers and ski socks — the clearest discounts of the weekend, and the thing most first-timers get wrong.
- Helmets — only last year’s model, and only if it has never been in a crash. Fit still has to be checked in person.
- Boot dryers and hand warmers — cheap, genuinely useful in a damp Tahoe condo, and the discount is usually real.
- Tire chains — see below. This is the California one.
Not worth it
- Ski and snowboard boots. Fit decides whether you enjoy the day; price does not. Buy these in a shop, from a bootfitter, at whatever they cost.
- This season’s skis and boards. November discounts on current-model hard goods are shallow. The real markdowns land in March, and if you are not in a hurry that is the better trade.
- Season passes. The fall deadlines have already passed — Cali Pass’s extended savings ended November 3, and the Ikon and Epic autumn price steps are behind us. See our California ski pass comparison for where each one stands now.
The California-specific buy
Chains are the one piece of gear where buying late has a consequence beyond paying more. You cannot buy them at a chain control checkpoint — chain installers are independent businesses and are not permitted to sell or rent chains. In a control area you must be carrying them even if your vehicle is exempt from fitting them.
The level you are most likely to meet is R2, which exempts only four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels. An AWD crossover on all-season tires is not exempt. Our guide to the best snow chains for California covers which set fits which car, and California chain control, explained covers R1, R2 and R3 and how enforcement works.
Chains are sized to the number printed on your tire sidewall, so the links below are searches scoped to each model rather than a single listing — one listing sends most people to a size that will not fit.
- Security Chain Super Z6 — the low-clearance cable set that fits most California passenger cars.
- Peerless Auto-Trac — self-tightening, easier to fit in the dark.
- A folding shovel and a headlamp — both on Caltrans’ own recommended winter equipment list, both cheap enough that the 24-hour discount window actually works.
Frequently asked questions
When is Black Friday 2026?
Black Friday 2026 is Friday, November 27. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, Small Business Saturday is November 28, and Cyber Monday is Monday, November 30.
Are ski deals better on Black Friday or later in the season?
It depends on the category. Accessories — goggles, gloves, base layers, socks, boot dryers — are genuinely cheapest around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Skis, snowboards and boots are not; the deepest markdowns on hard goods land in March, when shops clear the season. If you need it to ski this month, buy it now; if you can wait until spring, wait.
Is REI open on Black Friday?
REI’s own Opt Outside page states as standing policy that it closes its stores every Black Friday. The page names no date for 2026, so treat it as policy rather than a 2026 confirmation. REI’s Holiday Sale runs November 13–23, which ends four days before Black Friday, so that is the window to use.
Should I buy ski boots on Black Friday?
No. Boot fit decides whether you enjoy a day on the mountain, and fit cannot be discounted. Buy boots in a shop from a bootfitter. The money you save online is the money you will spend having them fixed.
Do I need chains if I drive an AWD car?
Often, yes. California’s most common restriction is R2, which exempts only four-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles with snow-tread tires on all four wheels — an AWD vehicle on all-season tires is not exempt. And in any chain control area you must be carrying chains even when your vehicle is exempt from fitting them. You cannot buy them at the checkpoint.
Have the 2026-27 season pass deadlines passed?
The autumn ones have. Cali Pass’s extended 26/27 savings ended November 3, 2026, and the Ikon and Epic autumn price steps are behind us. Passes are generally not a Black Friday category — the discounts run in spring and early autumn, not in late November.
Sources read on November 7, 2026: REI’s Holiday Sale and Opt Outside pages, Backcountry’s sale and Black Friday campaign pages, and evo’s sale pages. California opening dates come from each operator’s own site, verified November 6 and 7, 2026, and are tracked in full on our opening dates page. Retailer terms change without notice; we re-read these as sales open and date every row above.