Summer Skiing Returning To Banff Sunshine After Massive Snow Year

Summer skiing is returning to Banff Sunshine Village this June after one of the snowiest winters in the resort’s nearly century-long history, with the mountain planning a 16-day reopening between June 20 and July 5.

The resort announced the extended summer operation after receiving more than 990 centimetres of snowfall this winter, leaving nearly eight feet of settled snowpack on the mountain as of May 6.

“This winter at Sunshine Village has been somewhat of a snow lover’s fairytale,” said Kendra Scurfield, vice-president of marketing, brand and communications for Banff Sunshine Village.

“Our season started early, we opened on November 2nd thanks to a surplus of snow,” Scurfield said.

She said December became the fifth snowiest month in the resort’s 98-year history, with more than two metres of snowfall during the month. March, traditionally Sunshine’s snowiest month, delivered another 200 centimetres of snow.

“As the season set up, our team began thinking about summer skiing,” Scurfield said.

The planned reopening is significantly longer than Sunshine’s six-day summer ski operation in 2022, when a deep snowpack allowed the resort to reopen for skiing and snowboarding on short notice. Before that, Scurfield said, Sunshine had not offered summer skiing since the early 1990s.

The resort says their Strawberry Express chair is confirmed to open for the summer operation, while additional terrain and lifts remain under evaluation.

“Exact details of the terrain that will be open will be confirmed closer to the date,” Scurfield said.

The resort said its on-mountain accommodations at Sunshine Mountain Lodge will reopen during the summer ski period, along with Trappers restaurant, while entertainment programming is planned throughout the 16-day operation.

Scurfield said all guests holding 2026-27 season passes will be able to ski during the summer reopening at no additional cost.

The announcement comes as Banff Sunshine Village enters the final weeks of its regular winter season ahead of its annual Slush Cup event on May 18, a long-running end-of-season tradition where skiers and snowboarders attempt to skim across a large pond near the base area.

“Sunshine’s Slush Cup is the longest-running pond skim in North America,” Scurfield said, adding the tradition dates back to 1928, when two friends dared each other to ski down a waterfall.

Following Slush Cup weekend, the resort will close for approximately one month to complete maintenance work before reopening June 20.

“So yes, this Canada Day you’ll be able to ski in your cut-off jean shorts,” Scurfield said.