EPIC Pass or IKON Pass: Which Pass Should You Choose?

If you’re thinking about diving into the world of season passes for your ski or snowboard trips, you’ve probably seen the big names: the Epic Pass and the Ikon Pass. If you are planning to visit a resort in North America this winter, you need to take a look at the Epic and Ikon passes. Which one gives you the best value and fits your style of holiday? That’s what we’re digging into today.

What are the Epic and Ikon Passes?

There are really only two main players in the multi-resort season pass arena, Epic and Ikon. The Epic Pass was created by Vail Resorts to gives access to a wide range of Vail owned resorts plus partner resorts across North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. The Ikon Pass by Alterra Mountain Company offers a mix of unlimited-access resorts and lots of “up-to X days” access at top resorts worldwide. Ideal if you like variety and hitting those bucket-list mountains.

How Much are the Epic and Ikon Passes?

Prices vary for Epic and Ikon passes. The earlier you buy, the cheaper deal you will get. The price also depends on the type of pass you purchase. The full pass gives unlimited access without restrictions on dates. Whereas the Epic Local Pass and the Ikon Base Pass give restricted access, but provide a great value opportunity for those who want explore multiple resorts.

When Should I Buy the Epic and Ikon Passes?

The most important thing to note is that both the Epic and Ikon passes have cut off dates. After this time, you cannot buy these passes at all - and your only option is to buy day tickets which can be excessively expensive. For example; a day ticket bought at the window for Whistler Blackcomb was circa $300 CAD in the 2024/25 ski season.

Where Can I Use the Epic and Ikon Passes?

Here is a list of destinations where you can use each pass. Some resorts are owned resorts, and others are partner resorts so the number of days access you get varies. With a full pass, usually you will get unlimited access at owned resorts, and a limited number of days access at partner resorts. For example; with the full IKON pass, you get unlimited acess at 18 ski resorts including Mammoth, Pasilades Tahoe, and Winter Park, and up to 7 days each at 52 other resorts. With the full EPIC pass, you get unlimited access to 42 ski areas including Vail, Breckenridge, Park City, and Whistler Blackcomb, 7 total days at any of the RCR (resorts of the Canadian Rockies) resorts, 5 days each at Hakuba and Rusutsu, plus limited access to partner resorts in Europe.

	EPIC Pass	IKON Pass
Canada	Whistler Blackcomb, Fernie, Kicking Horse, Nakiska	Cypress Mountain, Red Mountain, Ski Big 3, Panorama, Revelstoke, Sun Peaks, Tremblant, Le Massif De Charlevoix, Blue Mountain
Europe	Solden, Ski Arlberg, Saalbach/Zell Am See-Kaprun, Mayrhofen/Hintertux, (Austria), Three Valleys (France), Crans Montana, Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis, Verbier 4 Vallees (Switzerland), Skirama Dolomiti (Italy)	Grand Valira (Andorra), Kitsbugel & Ishgl (Austria) Chamonix (France), Dolomiti Superski & Valle D'Aosta (Italy), Zermatt & St Moritz (Switzerland)
Oceana	Mount Hotham, Falls Creek, Perisher (Australia)	Thredbo & Mt Buller (Australia), Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Mt Hutt (New Zealand)
Asia	Hakuba Valley (Japan), Rusutu (Japan)	Niseko, Arai, Shiga Kogen, MT. T, Myoko Suginohara, Appi, Furano, Nekoma, Zao Onsen (Japan), Yunding (China), Mona Yongpyong (South Korea)
South America	n/a	Valle Nevado (Chile)
USA	Park City (UT), Beaver Creek (CO), Vail (CO), Keystone (CO), Breckenridge (CO), Crested Butte (CO), Telluride (CO), Stevens Pass (WA), North Star (CA), Heavenly (CA/NV), Kirkwood (CA), Hunter (NY), Stowe (VT), Okemo (VT), Mount Snow (VT), Wildcat (NH), Attitash (NH), Mount Sunapee (NH), Crotched (NH), Jack Frost Big Boulder (PA), Roundtop (PA), Laurel (PA), Liberty (PA), Whitetail (PA), Hidden Valley (PA), Seven Springs (PA), Afton Alps (MN), Wilmot (WI), Mt Brighton (MI), Alpine Valley (OH), Boston Mills (OH), Mad River (OH), Swno Creek (MO), Hidden Valley (MO),	Palisades Tahoe (CA), Sierra-at-Tahoe (CA), Mammoth (CA), June (CA), Big Bear (CA), Snow Valley (CA), Sun Valley (ID), Alyeska (AK), Crystal (WA), Snowqualmie (WA), Mt Bachelor (OR), Schweitzer (ID), Aspen (CO), Steamboat (CO), Winter Park (CO), Copper Mountain (CO), Arapahoe Basin (CO), Eldora (CO), Jackson Hole (WY), Big Sky (MT), Taos Ski Valley (NM), Deer Valley (UT), Solitude (UT), Brighton (UT), Alta (UT), Snowbird (UT), Snowbasin (UT), The Highlands (MI), Boyne, Stratton (VT), Sugar Bush (VT), Killington-Pico (VT), Snowshoe (WV), Sunday River (ME), Sugarloaf (ME), Loon Mountain (NH), Camelback (PA), Blue Mountain Resort (PA)

Pros and Cons - How to Choose...

There are four main factors to take into account when deciding whether the IKON pass or EPIC pass are right for you.

1. Are you restricted on dates you can ski or snowboard or are you happy to miss peak dates?

If you need to ski or snowboard around thanksgiving, Christmas, Martin Luther King day or Presidents Day, you may need an unlimited pass.

2. Do you intend to spend a lot of time at one of the resorts with unlimited access?

If you live near one of the included resorts or plan to spend more than a week there, in most cases, it makes financial sense to buy a pass with unlimited access to that resort. For example; if that resort happens to be a world leading ski area such as Whistler Blackcomb, you would need to get the unlimited Epic Pass. However, if you live in New York for example, and want to visit your local mountains regularly with no plans (or limited plans) to travel further afield, the Epic Local Pass will suffice.

3. Do you want to travel around and experience lots of resorts?

   
   

If you want to visit lots of ski areas this winter, consider the places you would most like to visit and choose your pass accordingly. We really like the Ikon Base Pass for this. With 5 days access to each of 50 resorts, it gives you plenty of options to explore Western Canada and Europe particularly.

4. Do you just want to visit one ski resort for a small number of days?

If you only plan on visiting one ski resort this winter for a short break or one week holiday, your best options are to compare the lift pass prices on that resorts website against the Epic or Ikon passes to work out which offers the best price. Epic offer passes for 1-7 days, while Ikon offer a "session pass" for 2, 3, or 4 days. Note that it is important to book early to get the best deal, especially for peak dates and popular resorts.

The table below covers a broad summary of the main Epic and Ikon passes.

Ski Pass Type	Date restrictions	Access	Price (at 30 October 2025 -price varies depending on purchase date)
Unlimited IKON Pass	No blackout dates apart from on the 7 bonus destinations	Unlimited access to 18 resorts, 7 days each at 52 other ski areas, plus 2 days each at 7 bonus destinations	$1,519 USD +Tax
Unlimited Epic Pass	No blackout dates	Unlimited access to 42 ski resorts, 7 days total at RCR resorts, 5 days each at specified Japanese resorts. Limited access to European partner resorts.	$1,121 USD + Tax
IKON Base Pass	Excludes: Dec. 27 – 31, 2025 Jan. 17 – 18, 2026 Feb. 14 – 15, 2026 July 5 – 20, 2025 July 4 – 19, 2026	Unlimited access to 14 resorts, 5 days each at 50 other ski areas.	$1.099 USD + Tax
Epic Local Pass	No blackout dates on 29 resorts. Others exclude : Nov 28 - 29, 2025 Dec. 27 - 31, 2025 Jan. 17, 2026 Feb. 14 - 15, 2026	Unlimited access to 29 ski resorts, 10 total days excluding peak dates at Vail, Beaver Creek, and Whistler Blackcomb. Unlimited access to Park City, heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood, and Stowe excluding peak dates. 5 days each at specified Swiss and Japanese resorts.	$833 USD + Tax

Quick Links

• Visit the official Epic Pass site: Epic Pass

• Visit the official Ikon Pass site: Ikon Pass