Most ski towns hand you one price list. Ellicottville hands you two, and they are built on opposite ideas. Holiday Valley sells access to everybody, every day, and slices it a dozen ways by hour and by night. HoliMont is a private club that is open to the public Monday through Friday, and open to members and invited guests on weekends, Christmas week, MLK Day, and Presidents Monday.
Plan your days around that access and the rest of the winter plans itself. Ski HoliMont on a Friday and Holiday Valley on a Saturday, or stop by the HoliMont office and ask about membership options if you want the weekends too. This guide lays out every option we could verify at both mountains, plus the tubing park down the road that most visitors forget to book until it is sold out.
About the numbers. Everything below was checked against the resorts' own pages on August 14, 2026. Both mountains have posted their 2026-27 season pass prices, and those are the figures we use. Neither has refreshed its single-day ticket sheet yet: HoliMont's day rate table is still labeled 2024-2025, and Holiday Valley's is undated but sits alongside promotions from last winter. We have flagged those where they appear. Treat day rates as a planning range and confirm at the window.
The rule that shapes everything
HoliMont is open to the public Monday through Friday only. Saturdays and Sundays are members and invited guests. So are Christmas week, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Presidents Monday, which catches people out, because those are exactly the Mondays a visitor assumes will be quiet and cheap.
Holiday Valley is fully public seven days a week, it lights the slopes at night, and it prices weekends higher than weekdays the way most resorts do.
Which means the honest way to think about buying here is not "which mountain is better." It is "which days of the week do I actually get to ski." If the answer includes Saturday, you are buying at Holiday Valley or you are buying a HoliMont membership. If the answer is Tuesday and Thursday, HoliMont suddenly becomes the best value skiing in Western New York. Our Holiday Valley vs HoliMont playbook covers the on-snow differences between them.
Holiday Valley: buying a single day
Holiday Valley sells by the block of hours rather than by the generic "day," which is unusual and worth understanding before you click. An 8-hour ticket starts its clock when you first scan it. An All Day ticket runs opening to close. There is a one-time $5 charge for the reusable RFID card, and if you hang onto the card you never pay it again.
| Ticket | Adult | Junior |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend / holiday, 8 hour | $110 | $85 |
| Weekend / holiday, all day | $115 | $91 |
| Saturday and Sunday, all day (both days) | $185 | $152 |
| Sunday, 4 hour | $101 | $77 |
| Weekday, 4 hour (non-holiday) | $85 | $67 |
| Weekday, 8 hour (non-holiday) | $93 | $75 |
| Weekday, all day (non-holiday) | $98 | $79 |
| 2-day weekday (non-holiday) | $152 | $109 |
| Night, 3:30 PM to close | $52 | $42 |
Holiday Valley's posted lift ticket rates as of August 2026, plus a one-time $5 RFID card fee. Multi-day tickets must be used on consecutive days.
The night ticket is the sleeper deal. Fifty-two dollars puts you on a lit mountain from 3:30 until 10 PM on a Friday, which is more skiing than most people get out of a $110 Saturday spent standing in a lift line.
Holiday Valley: the Classic pass
Classic is the unlimited season pass, and it comes in three shapes. The Day pass runs from opening to 4:30 PM. The Night pass runs 3:30 to 9 PM Monday through Wednesday and 3:30 to 10 PM Thursday through Sunday. The Combo pass is simply both, valid any time the lifts are turning.
| 2026-27 Classic Pass | Price |
|---|---|
| Combo (day and night) | $1,192 |
| Day | $1,113 |
| Night | $557 |
| Combo, age 25 and under | $850 |
Holiday Valley's posted 2026-27 Classic Pass rates.
Holiday Valley's own math is that eleven ski days pay off a Combo pass, and against a $115 weekend all-day ticket that checks out. A few structural details matter more than the headline number:
- Children 6 and under ski free when you buy your own pass.
- Grandparents can add grandkids up to age 18 to their pass, and the family maximum does not apply to them.
- Seniors 65 to 69 get 5 percent off a first-time Classic pass, rising to 25 percent for anyone who has held a Classic or Ultimate pass the previous five seasons. At 70 and over those become 10 percent and 50 percent.
- Fee-free installment plans close August 1, so for this winter that window has already shut.
The family version
The Classic Family Pass works on a declining scale. One person pays the single rate, each additional household member pays a lower rate, and the whole family stops paying once it hits the maximum. A family here means parents or guardians plus children under 18 at purchase, or full-time students up to 25, all in the same household.
| 2026-27 Classic Family | Combo | Day | Night |
|---|---|---|---|
| First member | $1,192 | $1,113 | $557 |
| Each additional member | $850 | $836 | $392 |
| Family maximum | $4,220 | $4,094 | $2,005 |
Holiday Valley's posted 2026-27 Classic Family Pass rates.
A family of five on Combo passes hits the $4,220 cap instead of paying $4,592, so the fifth pass costs $478 rather than $850, and a sixth would cost nothing. Larger families should do this arithmetic before assuming a pass is out of reach.
Holiday Valley: the Ultimate passes
This is the part of Holiday Valley's lineup that gets overlooked, and it is where the value hides. The Ultimate family is not unlimited skiing. Each one is a fixed bundle of days or nights, sold at a season-pass discount, and most of them come with eight group lessons folded in at no extra cost. If you have ever paid separately for a lesson, that alone can justify the pass.
| 2026-27 Ultimate Pass | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| White Pass | $321 | Nine 8-hour weekday or night tickets, plus a bonus day any time in March or April. Valid on MLK Day and Presidents Day. Restricted December 26 to January 1, when it drops to night use only. Includes 8 group lessons, ages 8 and up. |
| Sunday Pass, adult | $345 | Eight anytime 8-hour Sunday tickets, 8 lessons, and a free spring day in March or April. |
| Sunday Pass, junior (7-11) | $235 | Same structure at the junior rate. |
| Flex Pass | $237 | Eight nights starting at 3:30 PM, 8 lessons, and a bonus spring day. |
| Select Pass | $187-$240 | One night every week, all season, on a day you choose. Includes 8 lessons. |
Holiday Valley's posted 2026-27 Ultimate Pass rates. An unlimited ski or snowboard rental package is available with these passes for $135.
The Select Pass is priced by which night you commit to, and the spread tells you exactly when the mountain is busy. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are $187. Thursday is $201. Sunday is $204. Friday and Saturday are $240. Pick Tuesday and you are paying about $187 for a season of weekly night skiing, which is roughly three and a half single night tickets.
Worth knowing: night sessions at Holiday Valley start at 3:30 PM every day except Sunday, when they begin at 2:30 PM. On a December Sunday that is nearly a full afternoon of skiing on a night ticket.
Holiday Valley: college rates
Students get the cheapest real season pass in the valley, and most of them never find out.
The Ultimate College Pass starts at $269 and comes in two versions. The standard pass is valid Monday through Friday from 9 AM to close, and Saturday and Sunday from 3:30 to 10 PM. The night version is valid seven nights a week from 3:30 PM to close, which suits anyone with daytime classes. Bring a college ID and a transcript to pass pickup.
If a season pass is more than your winter warrants, students can show a current college ID and buy a $39 night lift ticket Sunday through Thursday. And Holiday Valley runs College Daze January 10 to 12, 2027, a lodging-and-lift package at the Inn at Holiday Valley aimed at students on winter break.
HoliMont: how the public gets on the hill
HoliMont bills itself as North America's largest private ski club, which sounds like a closed door and mostly is not. Monday through Friday anyone can walk up and buy a ticket for the full mountain, all 50-plus trails and 8 lifts, with rentals and ski school available the same as members get. Lifts run 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM on weekdays.
Two practical things follow from the club model. First, tickets do not sell out and do not need reserving, so you can decide over breakfast. Second, weekday crowds are genuinely thin, because the people who own the place are mostly at work.
The holiday trap. Christmas week, MLK Day and Presidents Monday are members-and-guests days at HoliMont even though they fall Monday through Friday. Those are also the weeks visitors are most likely to be in town. Check the calendar before you drive over.
Day tickets
| HoliMont ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Weekday adult | $100 |
| Weekday half day, after 1 PM | $90 |
| Weekday junior, ages 7 to 11 | $80 |
| Weekday half day junior | $75 |
| Weekday senior, 70 and over | $80 |
| Beginner area ticket | $40 |
| Toddler, 6 and under | Free |
| Group rate, 15 or more people | $75 |
HoliMont's most recently posted day rates. Their table is still labeled "2024-2025 Ticket Prices" as of August 2026, so confirm before you go. Weekend rates appear on the same sheet and apply to members bringing guests.
The weekday punch passes
This is HoliMont's answer to a season pass, and it is the single best-value product either mountain sells if your schedule cooperates. The Weekday Experience Passes are books of weekday visits with no fixed schedule, no blackout dates, and no membership required. Use them whenever, spread across the season.
| Weekday Experience Pass | Now | After Columbus Day | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-Day | $405 | $420 | $78 |
| 10-Day | $625 | $650 | $57.50 |
Prices step up on a published ladder. Both passes rose once on May 1 and rise again after Columbus Day, so buying before mid-October locks the lower rate.
At $57.50 a visit the 10-Day undercuts every single-day ticket in the county, including Holiday Valley's cheapest weekday 4-hour block. The 10-Day also allows transferable days in March, so late-season visits can be handed to a friend. Some listings for this pass have also bundled two lessons and two half-price tickets; that detail is not on the current product page, so ask when you buy.
Ride and Slide, and one oddity
The Ride and Slide pass is $1,050 and stitches the two seasons together: 15 weekday ski or ride visits, of which 5 are transferable to guests, plus a full bike park season pass. It is not valid December 23 through January 1. If you already know you are riding the bike park next summer, this is the version of a HoliMont pass that carries you year round. Our HoliMont Bike Park guide covers that side of the mountain.
And a genuinely obscure one: HoliMont sells an uphill skinning pass for $25 for the entire season, available only at the ticket office. If you tour, that is the cheapest lift-free winter in Ellicottville. Pair it with our winter fat-biking guide for the other human-powered option in town.
Membership, if the weekends matter
Weekend access at HoliMont means joining. A one-season Trial Membership is listed at $6,100 for families under 40 and $7,600 for families 40 and over, covering passes for the whole household, seven-day access with no blackout days, guest privileges, and half off seasonal Snowsports programs for the first winter. The trial fee is credited toward the initiation fee if you convert.
Full membership initiation is $27,500, dropping to $22,000 for ages 21 to 39 and $13,000 for 60 and over. That is a different order of decision from buying a ski pass, and HoliMont's membership team will walk you through it.
The Kissing Bridge connection
Skiers around Buffalo have been asking about this one, so here is what we could actually confirm. In December 2025 HoliMont and Kissing Bridge announced a partnership for the 2025-26 season: Kissing Bridge night season passholders got 25 percent off HoliMont weekday lift tickets on non-holiday days, and HoliMont weekday passholders and members got 25 percent off Kissing Bridge night passes.
The logic was neat. HoliMont has the midweek corduroy and no lights; Kissing Bridge has the night skiing and is 30 minutes closer to Buffalo. Each mountain filled a gap in the other's week.
As of mid-August 2026 neither resort has published a renewal for 2026-27, and the deal is not mentioned on HoliMont's current tickets, weekday pass, or local partners pages. It may well come back in December, as it did last year. We would not build a season's budget around it until one of them says so. Ask at the HoliMont ticket office, or watch our events calendar, and we will note it here when it is confirmed.
The tubing park, which is not part of any of this
Almost every visitor assumes tubing is something you do at the ski resort with the pass you already bought. It is neither. The Holiday Valley Tubing Company is a separate operation on the corner of Route 242 and Bryant Hill Road, about four miles from the ski area on the north side of the village, and tickets must be purchased in advance online. No lift ticket or season pass covers it.
What you get for that is 22 lanes, the longest running 900 feet with a 100-foot vertical drop, two surface tows so you never walk uphill, and a warming hut. Minimum height for the big hill is 42 inches, one rider per tube. Smaller children have a separate Li'l Tubers area at $15 for a two-hour session, bought on site rather than online, and it closes when the main park gets busy.
| Session | Price |
|---|---|
| Thursday, 4:30 to 9 PM | $25 |
| Friday, 4:30 to 9 PM | $40 |
| Saturday, 10 AM to 5:30 PM | $35 |
| Saturday, 5:30 to 9 PM | $40 |
| Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM | $35 |
| Li'l Tubers, 2 hours, under 42 inches | $15 |
Last posted tubing rates and session times. The 2026-27 calendar was not up as of August 2026; last season ran December 19 to March 15 with extended hours over Christmas week, Presidents week and March break.
Thursday at $25 is the value session and it is quiet. The $5 premium on Saturday evening buys the Starry Starry Lights display, an LED light show over the slope that starts at 5:30 PM Fridays and Saturdays. Worth flagging for anyone photosensitive: the display flashes and strobes, and a daytime session is the alternative.
One more thing to plan around. There are no weather refunds unless the park itself closes, so check the forecast before you buy rather than after. Our live conditions page pulls current weather and links both resort webcams.
And the mountain coaster
Holiday Valley's Mountain Coaster runs straight through the winter, which surprises people who file it under summer. It is 4,805 feet long, takes about six minutes, and you control your own speed. Rides are $14 single, $26 for two, $60 for five, and $100 for ten. It sits at the resort, unlike tubing, so it is an easy add to a ski day when someone in the group has had enough of the cold.
So which one do you buy
A last piece of local advice. Because the two mountains are minutes apart, the sharpest move here is not picking one, it is buying midweek at HoliMont and paying by the night at Holiday Valley. A 10-Day HoliMont pass plus a Holiday Valley Select night runs about $812 for the season, which is less than either mountain's unlimited pass and gets you both quiet weekday corduroy and skiing under the lights.
The catch, and it is a real one: that combination buys you exactly zero Saturdays. If your ski days are the ones your kids are off school, none of this arithmetic helps and you are back to a Classic pass. Once you know which pass you are buying, figure out where you are sleeping, because holiday weekends move lodging prices here more than lift tickets ever will.