Montana’s Small Ski Hills: Bear Paw Ski Bowl, Turner, Showdown and More

Last updated: November 4, 2026

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Montana has a string of small, local ski hills, and several of them are volunteer-run or open only some days of the week. The one that leads this page is Bear Paw Ski Bowl, 29 miles south of Havre on the Rocky Boy Reservation. Its website is undated. It last posted a $25 adult ticket, weekend skiing “after the new year” when there is enough snow, and cash only at the hill, but it does not say whether those details apply to 2026-27 (Bear Paw Ski Bowl). Call the hill at (406) 265-8404 before you go (Bear Paw Ski Bowl, Contact).

This page covers eight hills whose own websites were live for the coming winter when we checked on November 4, 2026: Bear Paw Ski Bowl, Turner Mountain, Showdown, Great Divide, Discovery, Blacktail Mountain, Lost Trail and Montana Snowbowl. Seven of them name the 2026-27 season (in ticket prices, season passes, calendars or an opening date). Bear Paw’s site is undated: it lists hours and prices “after the new year” without naming the year, so we treat them as unconfirmed for 2026-27. Everything below is as the hill itself posted it that day. Small hills change their schedules with snow, so check the hill’s own page or call before you drive.

General travel information only, not driving, safety or financial advice. Prices, dates and days of operation are as posted on each hill’s website on Nov. 4, 2026, and can change. Where a hill had not yet posted 2026-27 dates or day-ticket prices, the table says so rather than guessing.

At a glance: eight small and local hills

Checked Nov. 4, 2026. “Not posted” means we did not find it on the hill’s own website pages that day. Acres, vertical feet and pass lists for the larger hills are in our resort comparison.

Bear Paw Ski Bowl (near Havre)

Bear Paw Ski Bowl sits in the Bears Paw Mountains on the Rocky Boy Reservation, 29 miles south of Havre (Bear Paw Ski Bowl). The hill calls itself the “Last Best Ski Hill” and says it is “managed and operated by an all-volunteer group of local skiers” (Bear Paw Ski Bowl, About). SKI Magazine reports that the land is Chippewa Cree and that the nonprofit Snow Dance Ski Association operates the hill in partnership with the tribe; tribal members are hired as lift operators and volunteers do most of the rest (SKI Magazine).

What its undated website last posted (checked Nov. 4, 2026). None of this is confirmed for 2026-27. Call (406) 265-8404 before you go.

• Days and hours (last posted): Saturdays and Sundays, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m., “after the new year (and snow permitting).” The site does not give a 2026-27 opening date or a closing date.
• Lift tickets (last posted): adults $25; youth 9-18 $20; college students with ID $20; Chippewa Cree tribal members $15; rope tow only $10; kids 8 and under ski free with a paying adult; ages over 80 free. The site says: “CASH ONLY AT THE SKI HILL!” (Bear Paw Ski Bowl).
• Lifts and runs: SKI Magazine counts 24 runs, and Only In Your State describes a double chairlift and a rope tow (SKI Magazine; Only In Your State). SKI also says there is no snowmaking, so the hill opens only when the snow is deep enough, usually mid-January, and stays open through March.
• Rentals (last posted): The hill says rental gear is available from its shop, Bear Paw Winter Sports, 417 1st Street in Havre, (406) 390-6178. The shop lists Fridays 6-8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays 8:00-9:30 a.m. and 5-6 p.m., with the 5-6 p.m. slot marked “returns only” (Bear Paw Ski Bowl, Rentals).
• Contact: (406) 265-8404 (Bear Paw Ski Bowl, Contact); 66 Saddle Butte Drive, Havre (Visit Montana). The site links a Facebook page (facebook.com/skibearpaw). We could not load it without a login, so we could not read any current posts there; check it for day-of status.

Getting there. From Havre, Visit Montana says to take 5th Avenue South: “Where the highway ends the slopes begin.” Havre has an Amtrak Empire Builder station (Visit Montana). Havre is about 122 road miles north of Great Falls International Airport (GTF) on US 87 by our routing estimate, so a fly-in trip means a rental car for the Great Falls to Havre leg and the 29 miles beyond it: you can compare rental cars at Great Falls airport (GTF). The hill’s site does not mention a shuttle or public transit, so plan on your own vehicle and winter driving conditions (MDT 511 for road status).

Where to stay and what else to do. Havre is the base. Our Havre things-to-do guide covers Havre Beneath the Streets, the museum, Beaver Creek Park and where to look for motels. A note on spelling: the range is “Bears Paw Mountains” in the federal names database, while the ski area uses its own name, “Bear Paw Ski Bowl”; we explain the naming on the Havre page.

Northwest Montana: Turner Mountain and Blacktail Mountain

Turner Mountain (Libby)

Turner is 22 miles north of Libby and describes itself as a “volunteer-run ski area” with the tagline “Steep. Deep. & Cheap.” (Turner Mountain). Visit Montana’s listing puts it on Montana 567 (Pipe Creek Road) and says the ski area has operated each winter since 1960, “mostly run by volunteers” (Visit Montana data listing).

• Days and hours: Open Fridays through Sundays, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. last chair. No 2026-27 opening date was posted on the home page, which carried the note “please be patient while we update our website.”
• Mountain: one double chairlift, 22 named runs, 3,842-foot base, 5,952-foot summit, 2,110 feet of vertical, and an average of 200 inches of snow. The site says fewer than half the runs are groomed.
• 2026-27 tickets: adult (19+) $50; teen (13-18) $40; junior (7-12) $35; seniors (62+) $45; college students and active military $45 (ID required); children 0-6 free. Tickets are sold at the Turner Grill in the lodge. Adult season pass $600; five-day passes ($200 adult) are sold only until Dec. 24, at the Ski Swap and at Libby Sports Center (Turner tickets).
• Getting there: Visit Montana says Libby has Amtrak service and that commercial flights serve Glacier Park International (FCA) and Spokane (Visit Montana). To drive from FCA, compare rental cars at Glacier Park International (FCA).

Blacktail Mountain (Lakeside)

Blacktail is at 13990 Blacktail Road in Lakeside, above Flathead Lake. Its directions: turn west at Blacktail Grocery in Lakeside and follow Blacktail Road 14 miles to the mountaintop (Blacktail Mountain). It opened in December 1998 and lists more than 1,000 acres of National Forest, 1,440 feet of vertical, a 6,780-foot top elevation, three chairlifts (two doubles and a triple) plus a surface carpet, and 100% natural snow (Blacktail, The Mountain).

For 2026-27 the site says, “Opening is weather and conditions dependent,” and that season passes are on sale. The 2026/27 adult (25-69) pass was $499 on Nov. 4, with lower prices for young adults, teens, children and seniors, and the site warns that prices rise as discount levels sell out (Blacktail, Season Passes). We did not find posted day-ticket prices or days of operation on the pages we could read; lift tickets are bought through an online account. The site notes that the cross-country trails on the same road are not part of the ski area and are maintained by the North Shore Nordic Club.

Central Montana: Showdown and Great Divide

Showdown (Neihart, off US 89)

Showdown is at 2850 US Highway 89 in Neihart. The mountain page lists it at 67 miles from Great Falls, 108 from Helena, 111 from Bozeman and 175 from Billings (Showdown, Lodge and Mountain Info). The site describes it as “Montana’s oldest & only woman-owned ski area.”

• Season: “Anticipated opening day is December 11th” (Showdown). The events calendar lists daily operation from Dec. 18, 2026 to Jan. 3, 2027, except Christmas Day, then Wednesday through Sunday plus Monday holidays from Jan. 6 through April 4, 2027. Lifts run 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; the site notes that dates and times are subject to change.
• 2026-27 lift tickets (not sold online; buy at a ticket window): adult 18-69 $75; adult half day $65; military adult $50; college and seniors 70+ $65; junior (11 through high school) $50; kids 6-10 $40; kids 5 and under free (ticket required); beginner chair only $40 (Showdown tickets).
• Nearby lodging: Showdown’s site links The Edith Hotel, 808 3rd Ave SW in White Sulphur Springs. Booking and rates are on the hotel’s own page.
• Getting there: from Great Falls, compare rental cars at Great Falls airport (GTF).

Great Divide (Marysville)

Great Divide is at 7385 Belmont Drive in Marysville, about 30 minutes from Helena. Directions: I-15 Exit 200 about 8 miles north of Helena, west on Lincoln Road (MT 279) for 9 miles, then Marysville Road for about 6 miles to Marysville and 1.5 miles past town. The hill says Lewis and Clark County and the State plow the road, that plowing can be delayed in big storms, and that visitors should carry tire chains and check 511 (Great Divide, Directions). The hill dates itself to 1941 (Great Divide).

The planned 2026-27 calendar (weather dependent) from the hill’s hours page:

Source: Great Divide hours. The site says that published hours do not mean every lift or trail is open and to check its Current Conditions page before leaving.

2026-27 full-day tickets: adult (18-69) $65; college $50; students grades 6-12 $48; military $48; children grades 1-5 $30; seniors 70+ $30; kindergarten and under free with a ticketed adult. Friday night tickets (4-9 p.m.) are $15 (Great Divide tickets). Our Helena town page covers the nearby city.

Southwest and Missoula: Discovery, Lost Trail and Montana Snowbowl

Discovery (Philipsburg)

Discovery lists 2,200 patrolled acres, 2,388 feet of vertical, an 8,158-foot summit and eight lifts (five triples, two doubles and one surface lift) (Discovery, The Mountain). Its hours section gives the winter season as “Early Dec Weather Permitting – April 4,” with lifts at 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Discovery). Its online store lists a 2026-2027 season pass. Discovery says buying daily tickets online gets its best pricing, that season passes are sold only online, that children 0-5 ski free with a paying adult, and that it operates under a special use permit with the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest (Discovery, Tickets and Passes). The store’s prices load only in a browser app, and the price page we could read was labeled for a past season, so we are not quoting a ticket price. We did not find posted days of operation. Butte and Missoula are the larger towns nearby; see our Butte town page.

Lost Trail (Sula)

Lost Trail sits at 7,000 feet on the Montana-Idaho border on US 93: 90 miles south of Missoula and 46 miles north of Salmon, Idaho, about 1 hour 45 minutes from Missoula (Lost Trail, How to Get Here). It has five double chairlifts, three rope tows and more than 60 trails, and welcomes visitors “from Thursday to Sunday, as well as on significant holidays” (Lost Trail, About).

For 2026-27, Lost Trail’s pass page says season passes cover “the 26/27 season,” and lists adult (13-64) passes at $700 from Oct. 1, 2026, child (6-12) at $400 and senior (65+) at $600, plus a one-time $5 RFID card. Buddy-pass benefits begin Jan. 8, 2027 (Lost Trail season passes). Its hours pages still read “Closed for the Season,” and its day-ticket page was still labeled for the 2025-26 season, so we did not find 2026-27 opening dates or day-ticket prices. Lost Trail uses RFID cards for tickets and asks you to set up an account at home first (Lost Trail day tickets). The nearest base we cover is Missoula; compare rental cars at Missoula airport (MSO) or browse hotels in Missoula on Expedia. For the area around the hill, see our Hamilton town page.

Montana Snowbowl (Missoula)

Snowbowl is at 1700 Snow Bowl Road, “just 20 minutes north of downtown.” From I-90 take exit 101 and go north on Grant Creek Road about 4 miles, turn left on Snowbowl Road and go about 5 more miles (Montana Snowbowl). Its 2026/27 season-pass page lists an adult pass at $897 from Nov. 1, 2026 (a weekday adult pass at $591, student and senior at $817 and a child pass at $355) (Snowbowl season passes). Its hours and lift-ticket pages still showed the 2025-26 season when we checked, so we did not find 2026-27 dates or day-ticket prices. Snowbowl is on the Indy Pass list in our comparison.

A hill we left out, and why

• Maverick Mountain (near Polaris/Dillon): The Sand Creek Fire burned the ski area in August 2026 and destroyed its only chairlift. KBZK reports there will be no skiers on Maverick this year, with the owner focused on 2027, and NBC Montana reports it is “highly unlikely” the hill opens this winter, with a possible reopening in 2027-28 if fundraising succeeds (KBZK; NBC Montana). The ski area’s own homepage (checked Nov. 4) still shows a March 15, 2026 snow report and “Thanks for a great season!”

Tips for skiing a small hill

• Call or check the hill’s page the day you go. Turner posts weekend-only days (Friday through Sunday) and Bear Paw last posted weekends only, so neither should be expected open on a midweek day, and several hills here say outright that opening depends on snow.
• Bring cash to Bear Paw. Its undated site says “CASH ONLY AT THE SKI HILL!”; confirm by phone. Other hills use online accounts or RFID cards (Lost Trail, Discovery); set them up before you leave cell service.
• Check road conditions before you drive. The last miles to many of these hills are mountain roads. MDT 511 lists Montana road conditions, and Great Divide tells visitors to carry chains.
• Check each hill’s rules for tickets bought ahead. Some hills sell day tickets only at the window (Showdown, Bear Paw); others sell online (Discovery).

Plan a bigger trip

If you want one of Montana’s large resorts, or a multi-day plan with flights and non-ski days, see the Montana ski trip planner. To compare acres, vertical and pass access across the big mountains, see Montana ski resorts compared. For a soak after skiing, see Montana hot springs in winter. More towns: Montana towns.

Frequently asked questions

Which small Montana ski hills are open on weekends only?

Bear Paw Ski Bowl’s undated website last posted Saturdays and Sundays after the new year; that is not confirmed for 2026-27, so call (406) 265-8404 before you go (Bear Paw Ski Bowl). Turner Mountain posts Fridays through Sundays (Turner Mountain). Lost Trail welcomes visitors Thursday to Sunday plus significant holidays (Lost Trail).

Which hill posts the lowest adult lift ticket?

Among the adult day-ticket prices we found posted, Bear Paw Ski Bowl’s undated website last posted the lowest, $25 (not confirmed for 2026-27; call (406) 265-8404), followed by Turner Mountain at $50, Great Divide at $65 and Showdown at $75. The other four hills had not posted a readable 2026-27 day price (Bear Paw Ski Bowl; Turner; Great Divide; Showdown).

Do these hills have rentals?

Bear Paw’s rentals come from Bear Paw Winter Sports in Havre (Bear Paw Ski Bowl). Turner lists rentals in the lodge’s lower level (Turner tickets). Other hills list rentals on their own sites.

Can I take the train to Bear Paw Ski Bowl?

Havre has an Amtrak Empire Builder station, and Visit Montana says Havre is accessible by Amtrak. The ski hill is 29 miles south of town, and its site does not mention a shuttle (Visit Montana).

Is Maverick Mountain open this winter?

No, according to news reports; the fire destroyed the only chairlift (KBZK).

Sources

• https://www.bearpawskibowl.org/
• https://www.bearpawskibowl.org/about-us
• https://www.bearpawskibowl.org/rental-information
• https://www.bearpawskibowl.org/contact
• https://visitmt.com/listing/bear-paw-ski-bowl-9648
• https://www.skimag.com/culture/bear-paw-ski-bowl-montana/
• https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/montana/tribal-run-ski-area-mt
• https://www.skiturner.com/
• https://www.skiturner.com/tickets–passes.html
• https://data.visitmt.com/data/site/5473
• https://blacktailmountain.com/
• https://blacktailmountain.com/the-mountain
• https://blacktailmountain.com/season-passes/
• https://www.showdownmontana.com/
• https://www.showdownmontana.com/lift-tickets
• https://www.showdownmontana.com/lodge-mountain-info
• https://www.showdownmontana.com/events/open-wed-sun-monday-holidays-1
• https://www.skigd.com/
• https://www.skigd.com/hours-of-operations
• https://www.skigd.com/lift-tickets
• https://www.skigd.com/directions-parking
• https://www.skidiscovery.com/
• https://www.skidiscovery.com/the-mountain/
• https://www.skidiscovery.com/tickets-passes/
• https://losttrail.com/about-lost-trail/
• https://losttrail.com/how-to-get-here/
• https://losttrail.com/early-bird-season-pass-sale/
• https://losttrail.com/day-tickets/
• https://losttrail.com/hours/
• https://montanasnowbowl.com/sbblog/season-passes-2/
• https://montanasnowbowl.com/sbblog/contact-us/
• https://montanasnowbowl.com/sbblog/hours/
• https://montanasnowbowl.com/sbblog/lift-tickets/
• https://www.kbzk.com/news/the-wildfire-is-out-but-maverick-mountains-spirit-still-burns-strong
• https://nbcmontana.com/weather/wildfires/community-comes-together-to-rebuild-after-fire-impacts-maverick-mountain
• https://www.skimaverick.com/
• https://www.511mt.net/
• All source pages fetched Nov. 4, 2026

Cole Bennett edits MontanaHelp, a research-driven guide to moving to and living in Montana. Articles cite official and public sources and are updated as rules and data change. AI tools help research and draft them; a person runs the editorial process and spot-checks one article per batch before it’s published.

AI tools helped research and draft this article. A person runs MontanaHelp’s editorial process and spot-checks one article per batch before it’s published.

This guide is general travel information, not professional advice. Hours, schedules, ticket prices and road conditions change; confirm with each hill before you travel.