Why You Should Book Your Winter Ski Vacation ASAP

While you’re probably in back-to-school mode, you should add another thing to your to-do list this week: booking your winter ski vacation. Labor Day weekend and the week following are typically the last days major ski mountains offer discounted season passes.

When to Book Your Winter Ski Vacation for the 2017/2018 Season

Multi-mountain season ski passes are a great way to save if you’re planning on taking more than one winter ski vacation or live in (or near) a major ski area. Here are large-mountain package deals and their expiration dates for the 2017-2018 ski season:

• Epic Pass: Covers mountains like Stowe, Vail, Whistler Backcomb, Park City and Beaver Creek. Lowest price ends September 4.
• M.A.X. Pass: Gives you five days at each of the 44 mountains on the pass, including Okemo, Sunday River, Killington, and Loon. No end date, but this is advertised as a limited-availability rate.
• Mountain Collective: Gives you two days at each mountain included on the pass, including Aspen Snowmass, Banff Sunshine, Mammoth Mountain, and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The limited time sale is active at the moment, but will close once all available passes have been purchased.
• Winter Park Resort’s Rocky Mountain Super Pass: Allows for unlimited access to Winter Park Resort, Copper Mountain, Eldora Mountain Resort, plus restricted access to other resorts (including international mountains) like Steamboat, Nekoma (Japan), Mt. Ruapehu (New Zealand), and more. Lowest price ends September 12.
• Peak Pass: Includes access to Mount Snow, Wildcat, and five other Northeast mountains. Lowest price ends October 18.
• Tahoe Super Pass: Includes Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley mountains. Lowest price ends September 5.

And if attractive ski pass prices aren’t enough to convince you to book your winter ski vacation now, a survey by Bankrate reports that close to half of U.S. travelers will have booked their November and December travel (airline tickets and lodging) by the end of September. So dust off the ski poles, because winter is most definitely coming.

More from SmarterTravel:

• 10 Stylish Apres-Ski Clothes to Wear Off the Slopes
• Where to Ski Near Boston
• The 30 Ski Trip Essentials You Need for a Winter Vacation Rental