8 Crazy Affordable Ski Hostels in the U.S. and Canada
A ski weekend doesn't have to involve spending hundreds of dollars a night on a fancy slopeside resort. These hostels offer cozy accommodations close to some of North America's best skiing.
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It’s not all that often that your accommodation is the cheapest part of your ski weekend. But if you’ve never considered hostels to be an option, you’ve been overspending: boutique bunkhouses are multiplying in the United States, and they often offer many of the same amenities you’d find in a nice hotel at a fraction of the price.
These hostels in prime ski areas in the U.S. and Canada are all under $100 a night. That’s cheap enough to justify taking a vacation day to ski for a third day. Or call in sick—we won’t tell anyone.
Loge Camps
Mount Shasta, California
Loge Camps is a small chain that buys old hotels and motels and renovates them into hipper spaces. Its Mount Shasta location, about 15 minutes from the slopes, offers traditional bunk-style hostel rooms as well as private, dog-friendly options (from $50). Expect to find a chill vibe here, where you might even make a few new friends at the brand-new café and bar and fire pit, to the sound of occasional live music. Come spring, the property will also introduce a few campsites. Cross-country skis and snowshoes will be available for rent on-site starting this month (from $15).
Park City Hostel
Park City, Utah
Stay minutes away from Park City’s ski resorts for a tenth—or less—of the cost of staying at a local on-mountain resort. The Park City Hostel (from $33) is close to free public transportation that runs to all of the nearby ski areas, and it also runs its own trips to Snowbasin once a week. There are bunk rooms, private rooms for couples and families, a spacious common room and kitchen with a fireplace and pool table, and plenty of areas to store your gear.
Homestyle Hostel Vermont
Ludlow, Vermont
The Homestyle Hostel is just a mile from Okemo Mountain Resort, and you’ll find amenities here you’re likely not used to from a hostel. All guests get complementary breakfast and can take a free shuttle from the property to the mountain. In addition to traditional bunk rooms, it also offers a variety of private accommodations for couples, families, and larger groups (from $55). Rooms are outfitted with white-noise machines to defend against snorers, and there’s an on-site restaurant, open on the weekends, so you can eat close to home after a long day of shredding.
The SnowMansion
Arroyo Seco, New Mexico
The SnowMansion, in the artsy village of Arroyo Seco, has rooms varying from bunks for single travelers to private rooms for up to ten people (from $38). It’s about 20 minutes from both Taos Ski Village and the town of Taos—well worth an afternoon of exploration for its art galleries, incredible food, and historic homes. The hostel offers a particularly good deal for skiers who need to travel with pets: for an extra $30 a day, you can leave your pet at the hostel while you’re skiing, and the staff will walk them and make sure they have fresh water.
Vail Bunkhouse
Minturn, Colorado
The Vail Bunkhouse is between Vail and Beaver Creek, about ten minutes from each resort, in a small town with a lot of character and plenty of walkable dining options. Unlike a traditional bunk room, where privacy is at a minimum (if it exists at all), the beds here are a bit more podlike, with a wall that covers about two-thirds of the bed and a curtain to close it off entirely (from $52). This provides a bit of insulation from snorers and makes for a super-cozy place to snuggle up with a book or journal. The property also offers a six-bunk room that can be rented in its entirety for a group of friends or family and a four-bunk room that converts into two bunks and a king-size bed. Guests receive a 20 percent discount on rentals from Ski Butlers, which are brought right to the hostel.
Bivvi Hostel
Breckenridge, Colorado
The Bivvi is about as posh as it gets for a hostel. When you walk in and see the bright-blue antler chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling and the massive stone fireplace, you might wonder at first whether you’ve wandered into the wrong place. But you haven’t—for a fraction of the cost of other Breckenridge hotels, and just a ten-minute walk to downtown, you can snag a supercomfy twin bunk here, free homemade breakfasts, and access to the hot tub (from $70). If you want to get fancy, the hostel also offers private rooms, including one with its own tub.
Whistler Pangea Pod
Whistler, British Columbia
This hostel offers 88 spacious one- and two-person pods in eight separate rooms, including one for women only (from $43). Pods have full-size beds—so two adults can share one—and lockable luggage storage. There’s also space to keep skis and bikes in the so-called Toy Box. Pangea Pod has a rooftop patio to enjoy the view, and an on-site restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cocktails.
The Hostel
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
The Hostel undeniably boasts the best location on this list and a screaming deal at that—it’s right in Teton Village, about a one-minute walk to the gondola at Jackson Hole. Both private rooms and bunks are available, as well as an array of amusements to help you get to know your fellow skiers, like Ping-Pong, pool, shuffleboard, and foosball tables (from $32). The property also has an area to wax your skis and accommodates pets in private rooms for an extra $10 a night.