Beech Mountain Resort's season pass page lists Adult and Junior Unlimited passes at $525 through Saturday, October 31, calling it the lowest price of the year. The resort says all season pass prices go up November 1, with "no extensions, no exceptions." Every pass also carries a $2 media fee. Most residents will treat that as a deadline they have to beat. Before buying, though, count the Mondays you'll actually ski. For a resident whose season is mostly weeknights, the resort's county-residency pricing comes in well under the unlimited pass. That makes the deadline matter mainly to people who plan to ski weekends and holidays.
The Monday number
The resort's weekly specials page lists a Monday Locals Night at $26 per person. It's open to residents of Avery, Ashe, Watauga, Mitchell, Carter, Washington, and Johnson counties. You need proof of residency, and the limit is one ticket per person. Specials aren't valid during the holiday period, which the same page lists as December 21, 2026 through January 1, 2027.
The resort projects a Saturday, November 21, 2026 opening, with early-season hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Thursday, December 3. Night skiing begins with the regular season. Lifts run 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday from December 4 through December 20, and again from January 2 through March 7, 2027. Late season starts March 8 and runs to the March 20, 2027 closing day, with lifts open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
That leaves 11 Mondays with night hours outside the holiday period: December 7 and 14, every Monday in January from the 4th through the 25th, every Monday in February, and March 1. At $26 each, skiing all 11 costs $286. That's $239 less than the October unlimited pass, and it assumes you don't miss a single one.
Here is how the math looks for a single adult who lives in one of the seven eligible counties, using the prices on the resort's pages as of October 2026:
| How you ski | What it costs | Source of the price |
|---|---|---|
| Every eligible regular-season Monday on Locals Night, all 11 | $286 | $26 Locals Night ticket |
| Weekday Season Pass, adult | $450 | Season pass page |
| Adult Unlimited Season Pass, bought by October 31 | $525 | October price |
| Adult Unlimited Season Pass, bought November 1 or later | Higher than $525 | Resort states prices increase |
The unlimited pass starts to beat Locals Night once you add weekends, holiday days, or more than one weeknight. Twenty Locals Night tickets cost $520, just under the October pass price. Eleven Mondays can't get you to that point, so the extra days have to come from somewhere else.
Where the rest of the week fits
The rest of the resort's weeknight pricing follows the same pattern as the Monday deal. The specials page lists a $26 ticket on each of the other three weeknights. Tuesday is Student Night, open to any student with proof of enrollment such as a student ID. Wednesday is Men's Night and Thursday is Ladies' Night, and both require a valid photo ID. Each is limited to one ticket per person.
So a resident who skis two weeknights instead of one has a different math problem. Two $26 nights a week come to $52, which passes the $525 pass price in the eleventh week. If your household skis two or more weeknights for most of the season, the October deadline becomes worth paying attention to.
Households with a weeknight beginner can look at the weeknight group lesson. It's $20 per person, runs Monday through Thursday, and is built for first-timers ages 8 and older. Registration opens at 5 p.m. in the Ski and Ride School, and the lesson starts at 6 p.m.
Two more residency-based prices are aimed at local families and schools. The School Daze ticket costs $22 on K–12 snow days. It's limited to students and teachers from the same seven counties, and they need proof such as a school ID, a report card, a letter from the school, or a parent's driver's license. The season pass page also lists a $285 Local Student & Faculty Weekday Pass for named area schools and colleges. The standard weekday passes are $450 for adults and $350 for juniors, seniors, military, and students.
Taken together, the specials page sets aside one weeknight for county residents, one snow-day ticket for local schools, and a discounted weekday pass for local students and faculty. The page itself says the specialty ticket nights "are designed to provide affordable opportunities for our community." Weekends and the holiday period are the only parts of the season where none of these discounts apply. Those are the parts the October unlimited pass covers.
Holidays are where the pass pays off
From December 21 through January 1, the resort runs 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Christmas Eve hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Christmas Day hours are 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. That's 12 straight days of long hours, and Locals Night isn't available on any of them.
Other businesses on and near the mountain treat the same stretch as their busy season. Fred's General Mercantile, which rents skis and snowboards and lists seasonal shop hours of 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., charges holiday rental rates from December 21, 2026 through January 1, 2027. At Sugar Mountain's skating rink, holiday rates run December 17, 2026 through January 1, 2027. Skating there costs $30 on weekdays and $40 on weekends and holidays.
If your household will be on the slopes over the holidays, especially with family visiting, the $525 pass covers days that no Monday ticket can.
What doesn't need a lift ticket at all
Some of the opening-season calendar has nothing to do with the pass question. The Beech Mountain Brewing Co. taproom is two stories with a fireplace, and the resort says no lift ticket is required. The Beech Mountain Visitor Center describes the Taproom & Grill as an après-ski spot. During ski season it has live music on Fridays, plus trivia, Beer Bingo, and karaoke.
Tubing is priced separately from skiing. Sessions last 90 minutes and cost $45 on weekdays and $53 on weekends, plus a $2 media fee, and tickets are sold online only. Weekday sessions start at noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., with a 6 p.m. night session. Fridays, weekends, and holidays add a 10 a.m. session and an 8 p.m. night session.
The 5,506′ Skybar at the summit is a different case. It has a full bar and Mexican food from Claudia y Los 4 Mariachis, but you get there by chairlift, and you have to ski or snowboard back down. If summit drinks are part of your winter routine, you'll need a lift ticket for them.
Getting there on a busy day
The Visitor Center lists an overflow parking lot at 400 Beech Mountain Parkway, next to Brick Oven Pizzeria. When that lot is in use, a free shuttle runs between it and the resort. On weekends and holidays, the busy days the pass is built for, that lot and shuttle are part of the trip.
The Town is also planning work around winter traffic. Its FY 2026–27 budget lists paving the gravel lot next to Brick Oven. It also lists a 3,500-ton Cherry Gap Salt Facility, along with stormwater upgrades for public parking areas. An earlier budget entry gives ski-resort traffic delays as one reason to add salt storage below the resort entrance. These are budgeted projects, and the budget doesn't give a construction schedule.
The run-up, date by date
The pass deadline comes first on the calendar, and the rest of the run-up follows:
- Saturday, October 31. Last day for the $525 Adult and Junior Unlimited price listed on the season pass page.
- Sunday, November 1. All season pass prices increase.
- Saturday, November 14. The Early Access Preseason Rail Jam presented by Recess runs noon to 4 p.m. Competitors pay $20, and spectators get in free.
- Saturday, November 21. Projected opening day, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting.
- Saturday, November 28. The Holiday Market & Parade of Wreaths runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Buckeye Recreation Center, with free admission.
- Friday, December 4. Regular-season hours begin, with lifts open until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
- Monday, December 7. First of the 11 eligible Mondays that make up the $286 Locals Night total.
If your winter is mostly Monday nights, $286 covers every eligible Monday. If it includes weekends, the holiday stretch, or a second weeknight for most of the season, the $525 October price usually costs less. The season pass page doesn't print a year next to its October offer, so confirm the price at checkout before October 31.
If you're weighing a second home on Beech Mountain and want to talk through how ski season shapes life on the mountain, Robin Lineberger Stykes can help. Schedule a consultation before opening day.
