An Under-the-Radar Montana Ski Resort Was Just Named the Best Value in the U.S.
The vacation rental marketplace HomeToGo has revealed a list of what it says are the ski resorts with the best value throughout the U.S., and a lesser-known mountain in Montana took top marks.
The ranking, according to HomeToGo, was created by reviewing the median nightly cost per person for vacation accommodation (based on HomeToGo cost data presumably from its listings), the cost of a lift ticket, and the skiable terrain in acres at the ski resorts surveyed. The company didn’t include ski areas that are smaller than 300 acres.
So who came out on top? Red Lodge Mountain, Montana.
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Located just outside the town of Red Lodge, the ski resort boasts a sizable terrain footprint of 1,635 acres, eight lifts, and 250 inches of average annual snowfall. At last check, none of the ski resort’s lift tickets, which change in price depending on the time of year, cost more than $80.
Notably, this year’s list from HomeToGo looks different than a similar one shared by the company last season.
That list, which ranked the “most affordable” resorts, didn’t include size as a factor under consideration. Gore Mountain, New York, was the 2024 winner, followed by Mount Baker, Whitefish, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Ski Santa Fe.
This is HomeToGo’s complete 2025 list of ski resorts with the best value.
- Red Lodge, Montana
- Mount Spokane, Washington
- Bridger Bowl, Montana
- Whitefish, Montana
- Brundage Mountain, Idaho
- Purgatory Resort, Colorado
- Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho
- Mt. Bachelor, Oregon
- Wolf Creek, Colorado
- Sunrise Park Resort, Arizona
Photo: Noah Clayton/Getty Images
Which Ski Resorts Did HomeToGo Miss?
As HomeToGo is a vacation rentals marketplace, its list naturally considers the cost of overnight stays, which impacts how this ranking looks. They would, of course, have found different winners if day tickets were the only criterion.
Take Magic Mountain, Vermont, as an example. On January 10, the date HomeToGo used to determine ticket prices, tickets to Magic Mountain cost $85. That’s less than the tickets sold at several of the mountains in the 2025-26 top ten for value.
The prevalence of season passes is another confounding factor. During the 2024-25 season, 49% of visits to ski resorts in the U.S. were made by people with season passes, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Standard day tickets only accounted for 32% of visits, with the balance made up by frequency products, off-duty employees, complimentary products, and more.
In short, frequent skiers don’t seem to be buying day tickets very often. Instead, they’re using multi-mountain passes like the Indy, Ikon, Mountain Collective, or Epic passes, which means the price of a day ticket may not be something most skiers even consider, particularly if they’re planning a vacation.
How, then, do you make an even more precise ranking of ski resorts with the best value? It wouldn't be easy. Size and the cost of overnight stays matter, but every skier has individual tastes. I might love the atmosphere at Crystal Mountain, Washington—you might prefer Deer Valley, Utah. Every resort has something to offer, including traits that are hard to assess with a calculator.
What isn't foggy, though, is that Red Lodge remains an affordable place to ski with plenty of terrain to boot.