At the top of Hyde Park Road, the ski area drains into the Rio en Medio, a tributary of Pojoaque Creek that eventually reaches the Rio Grande. Ski Santa Fe draws its snowmaking water from that creek at one point just upstream of its pump house. From there the water feeds about 65.92 acres of permanent snowmaking coverage. This winter, those 66 acres decide whether the season starts on time.
Ski Santa Fe has set November 26, 2026, Thanksgiving Day, as a tentative opening, with the season scheduled to run through April 4, 2027. The ski area has proposed a larger snowmaking system, and it was in the news through September. None of it will be built in time for this season.
The Season That Ran on Machine Snow
Last winter set the baseline. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the mountain opened on Saturday, November 29, 2025, with an 18-inch base after about 12 inches of fresh snow. About 17 percent of the lower-mountain terrain was expected to open that day.
The season never recovered from that slow start. Over the 2025–26 winter the ski area received 75 inches of snow, less than half its 220-inch average. It closed on March 22, two weeks before the planned April 5 finish, according to the New Mexican's report on the early closure. That was the second spring in a row the mountain closed early. The 2024–25 season also ended a week ahead of schedule. Ski Santa Fe spokesperson Eric Thompson told the paper that snowmaking had "certainly carried us through the season to this point."
That system is still the one in place, and it will carry this season too.
Sixty-Six Acres and One Creek
In August 2026 the Santa Fe National Forest released a preliminary environmental assessment. It is the clearest public description of what the mountain has now and what it wants to add. Existing storage is one 5-million-gallon tank and two 500,000-gallon tanks. Ski Santa Fe and the Forest Service hold snowmaking water rights for up to 69.72 acre-feet of annual diversion, about 22.7 million gallons, and 16.39 acre-feet of annual consumptive use. The assessment also says the ski area does not pull water directly from the Rio en Medio during acequia irrigation season, because irrigation season and snowmaking season don't overlap.
The proposal keeps that water right as it is and changes where the water can go.
| Today | Proposed | |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent snowmaking coverage | About 65.92 acres | Extended up the mountain to the top terminal of Chair 7 |
| Water storage | One 5-million-gallon tank, two 500,000-gallon tanks | Adds a tank of about 4.6 million gallons at the bottom of Alpine and Lobo |
| New pipe | None | Up to 4,170 feet, following Alpine, Raven, Sunset and Sunrise |
| New equipment | None | Four fixed snowmaking guns, six hydrants, six electrical pedestals |
| Diversion point and water right | Just upstream of the pump house | Unchanged |
The plan also calls for up to one acre of grading and tree removal for the new tank. The main proposal adds up to four acres of grading along the Sunrise run. A third alternative, developed after internal scoping and Tribal consultation, would drop the Sunrise grading. Ski Santa Fe General Manager Ben Abruzzo told the New Mexican the new tank would also hold more stored water in case of wildfire.
Why the Top of the Mountain Waits on the Sky
Abruzzo explained what the new pipe would change on the mountain. In the New Mexican's coverage of the proposal, he said the new snowmaking lines are planned to reach the Millennium Lift:
"For the first time, we'll be able to provide a reliable, good, skiable product off of the top of that lift, which in challenging snow years, has been a pretty tough."
"For the first time" means that terrain has no snowmaking today. In a dry year like last winter, the top of Millennium gets only what falls from the sky.
Mountain manager Jack Dant described the job of the current system in the same article. "What snowmaking allows us to do is open the mountain by Thanksgiving and have quality skiing from the top of our chairlift down to the base area," he said. He added that the ski area had "really leaned into it" over the last 10 years as one of the southernmost ski areas in the United States. The Thanksgiving target depends on that system. Terrain beyond its reach depends on storms.
The early outlook gives some reason for hope. Ski Santa Fe's winter forecast post, published August 25, 2026, said the outlook favored above-normal snowfall for 2026–27, while temperatures were evenly split between above and below normal. That is a forecast, and it says nothing either way about whether the winter will run colder than normal.
The Upgrade Runs on a Federal Clock
The Forest Service project page for the Ski Santa Fe Snowmaking Modernization Project lists a NEPA start date of August 31, 2026, and an estimated decision date of August 2027. The public comment period on the preliminary assessment ran through September and has closed. The Forest Service's online reading room shows comments from individuals dated September 4 through 28, plus a letter from the New Mexico Environment Department dated September 23.
Approval wouldn't mean quick construction either. POWDER reported that the ski area estimated the work would likely take two years if approved. Abruzzo told the New Mexican the project would cost "several" million dollars and that it was being re-quoted because steel prices had changed.
Put together, that means at least this winter and the next will run on today's 66 acres. Neighbors who followed the debate in September will hear about the decision late next summer, not before the lifts start this fall.
Hyde Park Road From Thanksgiving to New Year's
Wherever the snow ends up, the early season on NM 475 has a routine of its own. A few details have changed for this winter.
- The bus adds Friday trips. NCRTD's Route 255 Mountain Trail is fare-free and runs year-round. It starts in South Capitol, passes through downtown, and climbs Hyde Park Road to Ski Santa Fe, Ten Thousand Waves and the forest trailheads. Ski service typically runs November through April. Starting Saturday, November 7, 2026, Fridays switch to the weekend pattern of six trips up and six down between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. NCRTD notes that popular trips can fill, and drivers may not be able to board everyone.
- The base lot fills early. Ski Santa Fe's parking page says the base lot is free and overflow parking opens on busy weekends and holidays. It suggests arriving before 9 a.m., recommends all-wheel or four-wheel drive with winter tires, and says chains may be required in heavy snow. The ski area points drivers to NMRoads for current conditions.
- The mountain stays open through the holidays. The ski area lists daily operation, including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. On-mountain food comes from La Casa Café, Totemoff's Bar & Grill and the Terrace Grill.
- Hyde Memorial State Park stays open. The park runs year-round. Its winter activities include cross-country skiing, sledding and snowshoeing. Its three yurts are available all year, with propane heaters and no electricity, and must be reserved at least 24 hours ahead through New Mexico State Parks.
- Black Canyon is closed for the season. The Forest Service lists the campground's use season as May 1 through October 15.
The road work, at least, is behind the neighborhood. NMDOT reported its NM 475 rehabilitation project complete in June 2025, as we covered in Hyde Park Road Gets Its Autumn Back. The mountain's snowmaking is the piece still waiting. The November 26 opening date will depend on the existing 66 acres of snowmaking, and the upper terrain on Millennium will depend on natural snowfall.
Mary and Reagan follow the mountain from season to season, and they know how a winter like this one affects life along the road. If you own a home in Hyde Park and want to talk about how the ski calendar and Forest Service decisions affect your property, Reagan Nickelson & Mary Guzman would be glad to talk it through. Contact Us.
