Vail snow history

Vail averages 331cm of snowfall over a full season, measured from November to May across the last 10 winters. That is above average: more snow than 64% of 39 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median season brings 272cm.

Season to season the spread is wide. The best of the last 10 winters was 2018/19 with 423cm, and the leanest was 2025/26 with 257cm — a difference of 166cm between a good year and a poor one. The most recent complete season, 2025/26, delivered 257cm.

April is reliably the snowiest month, averaging 56cm and 12 days with fresh snow.

Snowfall totals flatter resorts that lose their snow quickly, so the more useful number is how deep the settled base actually gets. At Vail the snowpack peaks at an average of 110cm each season. That is above average, deeper than 74% of 39 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median peak of 83cm.

The base is deepest in March, averaging 93cm through the month and topping out around 107cm in a typical year.

Counting any day that delivers at least 15cm of new snow, Vail averages 1 powder days a season. That is below average, more powder days than 33% of 39 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median is 2 a season.

Powder days are not spread evenly. April averages 0.1 of them, which is the single strongest argument for timing a trip around the middle of the season rather than the edges.

A bluebird day means sunshine for at least 60% of daylight on the back of at least 10cm of snow in the previous 3 days — fresh snow and clear skies together, which is the combination people actually travel for. Vail averages 20 of them a season. That is well above average, more than 87% of 39 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median of 9.

April is the best month for it, averaging 3.7 bluebird days and 11.3 hours of sunshine a day.

Rain is the thing that ruins a ski week, and at mid-mountain height Vail sees an average of 5 days a season with at least 1mm of rain rather than snow. That is well below average: 0% of the 39 other resorts we have analysed the same way see fewer wet days, against a median of 32.

May carries the most of it, with 4.2 rain days and 11mm in an average year. Bear in mind these figures are for the middle of the mountain: the base area will be wetter and the top drier.

Vail typically holds at least 30cm of settled snow from around 5 December through to 29 May, which works out at roughly 177 days of skiable cover in an average year. 163 of those fall inside the November to May season. On season length that is well above average compared with the 39 other resorts we have analysed the same way.

In practice that means the snow is usually gone, or going, by 29 May. Anyone booking late in the season should be looking at the highest terrain here rather than the base, and anyone booking early should expect the upper mountain to open before the valley runs do.

If you want the deepest base, go in March. If you want the best chance of fresh snow, go in April. If you want fresh snow and sunshine together, April gives the most bluebird days. Those rarely fall in the same month, so it is worth deciding which one matters most to you before you book.