Mountain High: Resort Guide and Where to Stay
Last verified 26 August 2026 against Mountain High Resort, Caltrans and contemporaneous news reporting.
Mountain High is the ski area Los Angeles actually uses. Ninety minutes from downtown, three separate mountains, night skiing you can’t get anywhere else in Southern California, and a snowmaking system that matters more than the weather does.
It is also a place where two specific things catch people out: the road you’d expect to drive is closed for most of the season, and parking is not free.
290 acres, 1,600 feet of vertical, 14 lifts across East, West and North. Average snowfall is only 117 inches — but 80% of the resort has snowmaking, which is the actual reason it has a season. West Resort runs night skiing, the only place in SoCal that does. Parking is $20 a car, $10 after 4pm. Route via I-15 and Highway 138, not Angeles Crest — SR-2 west of Wrightwood closes from around mid-December to mid-May. All lodging is in Wrightwood, three miles away.
Three mountains, and what each is for
| Area | Elevation | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| East | 6,600–8,200 ft | The longest trails in the region on the Mountain High Express high-speed quad. Olympic Bowl is billed as SoCal’s longest and steepest bump run. Has its own separate 20-acre beginner area on a dedicated quad. |
| West | 7,000–8,000 ft | The most popular. Terrain-park and snowboard focus, “The Reef” glade, the Bullwheel Grill. Opens first in Southern California thanks to elevation plus snowmaking. This is where night skiing happens. |
| North | 7,200–7,800 ft | 70 acres of lower-level terrain — but North has no snowmaking installed, and in recent seasons has operated primarily as a snow play area rather than lift-served skiing. |
That North Resort detail is worth sitting with. In a thin year, Mountain High is quietly a two-mountain resort, because the one without snowmaking is the one that doesn’t open. Snow play is branded Yeti’s Snow Play.
Resort-wide: 290 skiable acres, 1,600 feet of vertical rise, and 14 lifts — two high-speed quads, two quads, two triples, five doubles and three carpets.
Snowmaking is the whole story
An average of 117 inches a season is thin by ski-area standards. What makes Mountain High work is that 80% of the resort has snowmaking, and the elevation band sits high enough to use it. East reportedly has full coverage. The resort has also cut diesel use in its snowmaking to around 1% of what it was a decade ago.
Practically: don’t judge whether to go by whether it’s snowed. Check what’s open.
Which road? Not the one you think
The resort’s own routing: I-10, the 60 or the 210 east → I-15 north → exit Highway 138 west → left onto Highway 2. The resort is three miles past the town of Wrightwood. About 90 minutes from downtown LA.
Note also that SR-2 bans trucks of three or more axles between La Cañada Flintridge and Big Pines. And read our chain control guide — SoCal mountain roads take chain control just like the Sierra, and the resort can’t guarantee you’ll find chains on the way up.
Parking is paid — plan for it
Unlike most California ski areas, Mountain High charges for parking: $20 per car per day, the same at all resorts, with a $10 evening rate from 4pm to 9pm and $40 for RVs and trailers. There is one free option — the lower lot at West, for skiers and snowboarders.
You cannot pay in advance; there are no reservations, and it’s paid on site. The resort handles several thousand cars a day and says plainly that delays should be expected and that arriving early pays dividends. RVs are urged to arrive by 6:30am.
Where to stay: Wrightwood
There is no on-mountain lodging. Every property the resort lists is in Wrightwood, typically about three miles or ten minutes away. Given the 90-minute drive from LA, most visitors day-trip — but staying over turns a scramble into a weekend, and gets you first tracks without a 5am alarm.
Wrightwood town
A small mountain town with inns, motels and a substantial cabin-rental stock — Canyon Creek Inn, Cedar Lodge Motel and Grand Pine Cabins among the named properties, plus a long list of private chalets and lodges. Group facilities exist too, including the Big Pines Ski Club and YMCA Camp E.L.K.
Down the hill — Phelan, Hesperia, Victorville
The resort doesn’t list properties here, so treat this as our suggestion rather than theirs: if Wrightwood is full or priced up on a holiday weekend, the high-desert towns along the I-15 and SR-138 corridor are the overflow, at chain-motel rates. You’re driving up SR-138 each morning either way.
The Bridge Fire
The 2024 Bridge Fire burned through the resort. Its structures survived and it opened for its centennial season. Worth knowing if you’re reading older coverage or looking at a landscape that seems more open than you expected.
For the drive up
Sno Cal™ Snow Beanie
Goldie the Grizzly
Snow Chains Guide
Beanies & HatsFrequently asked questions
Is parking free at Mountain High?
No. Parking is $20 per car per day at all three resorts, with a $10 evening rate from 4pm to 9pm and $40 for RVs and trailers. The lower lot at West Resort is free for skiers and snowboarders. Parking cannot be paid for in advance and there are no reservations.
Does Mountain High have night skiing?
Yes, at West Resort during peak season, and it is the only Southern California resort offering it. The resort's own sources differ on whether it runs nightly or Wednesday to Sunday, so check the hours calendar before planning an evening around it. Evening parking is $10 from 4pm.
Which road do you take to Mountain High?
Not Angeles Crest. SR-2 closes seasonally west of Wrightwood between Islip Saddle and Vincent Gap, generally mid-December to mid-May. The resort's routing is I-10, the 60 or the 210 east to I-15 north, exit Highway 138 west, then left onto Highway 2. The resort is three miles past Wrightwood.
How far is Mountain High from Los Angeles?
The resort states about 90 minutes from downtown Los Angeles and describes itself as Southern California's closest winter resort.
Is there lodging at Mountain High?
No on-mountain lodging. All the properties the resort lists are in Wrightwood, about three miles or ten minutes away, including inns, motels and a large stock of cabin rentals.
How much snow does Mountain High get?
An average of 117 inches a year, which is modest. The season is driven by snowmaking, which covers about 80% of the resort. North Resort has no snowmaking and in recent seasons has run primarily as a snow play area.
Mountain High is one of 28 lift-served ski areas in California. See how it compares on the California ski resort map.
Mountain High season dates
Mountain High has not announced a 2026-27 opening date. Heavily snowmade, it is usually among the first in Southern California to open, typically between mid-November and early December, and closes in late March.
No California resort has announced a closing date for 2026-27 — those are set in February and March once the snowpack is known. See opening dates for all 28 California resorts →
Eating and drinking at Mountain High
Not a restaurant roundup — Google Maps does that better. This is the practical stuff: what is open before dawn, what is actually in the lodge, and where to go when everywhere is full.
Early coffee. Village Grind at 6020 Park Drive in Wrightwood opens at 6am, every day — one of the best answers on this whole list. It is in the middle of the village, five minutes from the West resort, and it runs until 6pm as a wine bar, so it works at both ends of the day.
On the mountain. Mountain High is three separate resorts and West has most of the food: Big Pines Base Lodge, The Fix coffee shop inside it, Bullwheel Bar & Grill for a sit-down pub meal, and the Foggy Goggle slopeside. North and East are thinner.
Powder day. Mountain High’s problem is not wait times, it is parking and lift lines — it is the closest ski area to Los Angeles and it fills. The move is to eat in Wrightwood before or after rather than at the base; the village is five minutes away.
Last supermarket. Worth verifying before you rely on it — Wrightwood’s supermarket situation is unclear at the moment, with conflicting signals about whether the main store is still trading. Assume you should provision down the hill.
Worth knowing. Three separate base areas with separate parking. Highway 2 closes in winter both east and west of Wrightwood — access is via Highway 138 and Lone Pine Canyon Road, not the scenic route your GPS will suggest.
Planning the rest of it:
Terrain, snowmaking, parking, routing and lodging details verified against Mountain High Resort’s published 2025–26 information plus Caltrans and news reporting, as of August 2026. 2026–27 dates and pricing had not been published at time of writing — we update this page when they are.