7 resorts help skiers displaced by Utah wildfire

Seven ski resorts across the American West are stepping up to help season passholders at Eagle Point Resort in Utah, which will remain closed for the entire 2026-27 winter season following extensive damage from this summer’s Cottonwood Fire.

Eagle Point announced that the seven participating mountains will honor reciprocal access for its passholders this winter, allowing skiers and snowboarders to visit other resorts while their home mountain undergoes repairs.

The participating ski areas include Kelly Canyon Resort and Soldier Mountain, both in Idaho. Others are Cherry Peak Resort, Utah; Diamond Peak Ski Resort, Nevada; Great Divide Ski Area, Montana; Loveland Ski Area, Colorado; and Red River Ski & Summer Area, New Mexico.

Eagle Point confirmed that it has already emailed reciprocal access details to passholders, including how to take advantage of the offers.

Ski Industry Rallies Around Eagle Point

The support extends well beyond reciprocal lift tickets. Eagle Point says ski resorts, industry partners and mountain communities have contributed to recovery efforts, connected displaced employees with job opportunities, sent lift engineers to assess damaged infrastructure and shared lessons learned from their own disaster recovery experiences.

Eagle Point owner Shane Gadbaw expressed his gratitude for the assistance:

The cooperation comes at a critical time for Eagle Point, which announced in August that it would remain closed for the entire 2026-27 ski season.

Eagle Point Faces a Long Road to Recovery

The Cottonwood Fire swept through the Tushar Mountains near Beaver, Utah, in June, causing extensive damage to Eagle Point Resort and the surrounding community.

According to the resort’s damage assessment, the fire affected about 300 of its 600 skiable acres, damaged four of its five chairlifts. It destroyed both Canyonside Lodge and the Tushar Ridge Warming Station. The fire also left 145 families without homes or condominiums in the Eagle Point community.

The recovery became even more complicated when subsequent flash flooding severely damaged State Route 153, the primary paved road connecting Beaver to the resort.

Despite the setbacks, Eagle Point is targeting a November 2027 reopening. Crews have completed debris removal at the destroyed Canyonside Lodge site, while engineering assessments and repair planning continue on the damaged lifts.

The resort has also established BeaverTUF, a nonprofit supporting long-term wildfire recovery, forest restoration and watershed rehabilitation throughout Beaver County.

While Eagle Point works toward reopening, its season passholders will have opportunities to explore other mountains thanks to the generosity of neighboring ski areas.