Montana’s Best-Kept Skiing Secrets

Wondering where to find sky-high peaks without sky-high prices or buzz-killing crowds? At Lost Trail Powder Mountain and Showdown Montana ski areas in Montana, you’ll pay less and get more. More friendly faces, beloved traditions, and down-home good vibes, for starters. But you’ll also get more time on the snow instead of in the lift line. If you feel like maybe you’ve forgotten what skiing is all about, a trip to these under-the-radar gems is in order.

Both of these ski areas have been in family hands for more than 50 years—both operations have women owners or co-owners—and they’ve each been running since the 1930s. Just don’t be fooled by the low-key atmosphere and affordable rates: There’s nothing small about the skiing here. The Bitterroot Mountains on the Idaho border (home to Lost Trail) and the Little Belt Mountains in Central Montana (Showdown) are far from foothills. As Scott Grasser, co-owner of Lost Trail with his sister, Judy, likes to clarify, “We’re small for Montana.”

That’s why Grasser, whose father bought the resort in 1967 and ran it for decades, refers to Lost Trail as a “medium family-owned mountain.” He’s right—it’s the kind of “small” mountain plenty of people around the country would kill to have in their backyards, with 1,800 vertical feet. Showdown boasts a similar vert of 1,400 feet.

Great snow is a hallmark of both resorts. Neither relies on artificial snowmaking, preferring instead to take what Mother Nature gives them—a very healthy annual snowfall of roughly 300 inches. The closest Showdown comes to snowmaking is snow farming (pushing snow up from the parking lot to build a base).

Both mountains also benefit from weekend-centered schedules. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and (depending on the time of year) Mondays, the lifts sit idle while the trails gather snow until Thursday morning. Thursdays are a special time at these Montana gems. A Thursday spent skiing that fresh snow at Showdown will run you just $35. At Lost Trail, meanwhile, you get to be part of Powder Thursdays, a time-honored tradition.

Powder panic is a foreign concept in these parts, as is the idea of hoarding the goods. In fact, Grasser says it’s not uncommon for locals to show visitors their secret snow stashes. That’s unheard of at a mega-resort, but it’s just good old-fashioned friendliness at these ski areas, because once you get here, you’re part of the community.

Showdown has seen that community grow in recent years, ever since owner Avery Patrick began sharing the story of Montana’s oldest and only fully women-owned resort on social media (@Averyfrommontana). It’s hardly surprising that her story gained traction. The daily adventures of the mom of two on her family mountain (co-owned with her mother) are pretty darn wholesome. The pleasant surprise came when those digital views turned into real-life visits. And the review from many of those new folks skiing Showdown for the first time? “That it feels like coming home,” Patrick says with pride. “I don’t know if you hear that at a lot of ski areas.”

Lost Trail’s old-school, “return to your roots” vibe gets a boost from the exclusive use of two-person chairlifts, as free from restraint bars as they are from pretension. Then there’s the majority-volunteer ski patrol (including its furry new member, Skadi) that’s as much a family as it is a group of coworkers. Many serve for decades, teaching their kids to ski on the same runs they learned on.

These kinds of touches go beyond simply enhancing your ski experience—they define it. Of course, all this wouldn’t matter if the actual skiing was no good. But it’s better than good—it’s excellent, with endless powder stashes and top-to-bottom terrain for everyone.

Both mountains have beginner or intermediate runs off of their summit lifts, allowing all skiers to take in the views of the surrounding peaks. Lost Trail has a 1.8-mile intermediate run (Oreo) from its highest lift, and Showdown has everything from green to black stemming from its 8,200-foot summit, including the intermediate King’s Ridge, Patrick’s favorite run.

Grasser says his favorite spot at Lost Trail is the North Face below Chair One. Despite the prime location just outside the lodge, he says fresh lines are still there at the end of a powder day. The same can also be said of the White House, Lost Trail’s experts-only area, with chutes, bowls, tree runs, and an 18-minute chair ride to keep it all from getting chewed up too fast.

Great snow and great terrain at humble, community-oriented ski areas—it’s not common, but it’s the kind of skiing that’s still alive and well in Montana. In Patrick’s words, “We’re happy to be in our neck of the woods doing our thing.”

You don’t find Montana. Montana finds you. It’s not about checking off stops or taking the scenic route. It’s knowing the distant mountain you saw yesterday can look different tomorrow and stay unchanged for years to come. It’s silences that buzz, rivers that rise, and stories that stick with you.