Winter in the Wenatchee Valley starts on Saturday, October 17. That afternoon the last Tamarack Festival day at Mission Ridge runs a Gear Swap in the base area, and the resort's Rental Shop opens with limited services. One week later the season's official kickoff party happens downtown at a brewery on Orondo Avenue, not on the mountain.
The lifts come much later. OnTheSnow's 2026/27 table projects Mission Ridge opening on December 4. The site says that projection isn't official or final. That leaves about seven weeks between the first winter errands and the first chair. Most of that time, the calendar's center sits in town.
October 17 Is the First Winter Saturday
The Tamarack Festival ran on three Saturdays this year: October 3, 10 and 17. Each had its own theme. October 3 was about the trees, with a Larch Talk in the KaWham Cafe. October 10 had apple bobbing, potato sack races and pumpkin painting. On October 17, in Mission Ridge's own words, the festival "starts pointing toward winter."
The October 17 schedule shows how that works:
- 11:00 AM Chair 5 Pub opens
- 2:00 PM Guided hike to Lake Clara leaves from under the Hampton Lodge deck
- 2:00 to 6:00 PM Gear Swap in the base area
- 3:00 PM Guided hike to Midway leaves from the same spot
- 3:00 to 6:00 PM Snowcat and snowgun exhibit in the base area
- 3:00 to 5:00 PM Face painting in the base area
- 3:30 to 5:30 PM Seth Garrido plays the Chair 5 Pub
- 6:00 to 8:00 PM Seth Garrido, Spare Rib and Trevor close out the night
You'll need to sign up ahead for either hike. Lake Clara is 3 miles roundtrip with about 1,000 feet of gain and takes around two hours. Midway is 1 mile roundtrip with 500 feet of gain and takes about an hour. A family photo session with a professional photographer runs at 2:00 PM for $150, which includes 10 edited high-resolution photos. The festival page doesn't say whether any chairlift runs or how parking works on event days. Check before you plan on either.
Put the gold larches, the swap tables and the snowmaking guns together and October 17 already feels like a winter day.
That same evening, Numerica PAC's October calendar lists Creep Show Peep Show downtown. Finishing at the mountain and catching a show in town on the same Saturday takes some planning.
A Week Later, the Season Party Moves Downtown
Mission Ridge calls the Pray for Snow Concert "the official kick-off to the winter season." It's held on Saturday, October 24, from 6:00 to 10:00 PM at Timberline Brewing, 1 Orondo Ave. The resort co-hosts it with the Leavenworth Winter Sports Club. That puts two winter sports organizations behind one party.
All Panic No Disco opens with 90s and 00s alt-rock and pop-punk covers. Band of Eden headlines. Savanna Woods fronts the band, and their set runs from Fleetwood Mac to AC/DC. The food comes from local vendors too. Mission Burger and Knotty Delights will be on-site, Timberline will serve pizza, and Vintage Sips will pour coffee and other hot drinks.
All proceeds from this year's beer garden support the Leavenworth Winter Sports Club and Ski Hill!
So a drink at a Wenatchee brewery helps fund the club's ski hill. Drink tickets are sold on-site by the club and can't be added to your online event ticket. The event is 21 and over. Tickets cost $20 plus tax online in advance and $30 with tax included on the day, whether you buy online or at the door. Mission Ridge's retail team will sell merchandise from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. So the second chance to shop for winter gear this month is also downtown.
The list of sponsors shows how local this kickoff is. It includes Timberline Brewing, Cascade Subaru, Washington Trust Bank, Mela Coffee Co. and the Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority.
Downtown Fills the Rest of October
Once the concert is over, the mountain doesn't have anything else on the calendar for the month. Downtown Wenatchee does. The Wenatchee Downtown Association's listings and Numerica PAC's calendar cover nearly every night through Halloween.
| Date | Event | Where | Cost or entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 15 to 31 | Urinetown | Numerica PAC | See PAC calendar |
| Oct. 22 to 25, Oct. 28 to 30 | The Haunt | Old Chelan County PUD building | $25 pre-registered, $30 at the door |
| Oct. 24 | Pray for Snow Concert | Timberline Brewing, 1 Orondo Ave | $20 plus tax advance, $30 day of |
| Oct. 28 | Cirque Mechanics: Tilt! | Numerica PAC | See PAC calendar |
| Oct. 30 | The Rocky Horror Picture Show | Numerica PAC | See PAC calendar |
| Oct. 31 | Trick-or-Treat on the Ave | Downtown | Free |
| Oct. 31, 7:00 PM | Halloween Pub Crawl | Downtown | 21 and over |
| Oct. 31, 7:30 to 10:30 PM | Time Travelers' Dinner | Atlas Fare | Reservations required |
The Haunt runs seven nights across two weeks. It's set in the empty Chelan County PUD building, and guests go through in guided groups of up to ten. Tickets are good for check-in anytime between 6:00 and 9:00 PM, and the last tour goes out around 9:00. If you buy by 4:00 PM on the day you go, you pay $25 instead of the $30 door price. The organizers warn that wait times vary and that tickets have sold out quickly before. A "Quarantine Zone" bar serves guests 21 and over.
Numerica PAC's calendar changes as shows are added, so check show times on the PAC's site before you go.
The Pass Math Before the First Chair
A Mission Ridge pass is the other decision people make before the snow, and the 2026/27 pass page was updated October 10. Here are the adult prices before Washington's 8.4% sales tax:
- Premier, $929. Unlimited day and night access with no blackouts. It includes two buddy day-ticket vouchers, two rental package vouchers and two night-ski vouchers.
- Core Value, $698. Monday through Friday, every night of night skiing, and early and late season weekends. It also gives 50% off select weekend tickets from December 12 through March 14.
- Midweek, $524. Monday through Friday. Blackout dates are December 28, 2026 through January 1, 2027, plus January 18 and February 15, 2027.
- Twilight, $395. Skiing from 2 PM to close every day of the season.
Quantities are limited at each discount level, and prices go up as each level sells out. As of October 10, the adult Premier pass was marked nearly sold out at its current price. Premier holders also get free skiing at Blacktail Mountain Ski Area in Lakeside, Montana, and three free day tickets at Powder Alliance mountains. Reciprocal deals with Loup Loup Ski Bowl, 49 Degrees North and Lookout Pass are listed as "anticipated but not yet confirmed." Passes can't be refunded after December 15, 2026. That's eleven days after the projected opening. Pass terms are Mission Ridge's to set and change, so read them on the resort's page before you buy.
December 4 Is a Projection, Not a Date
Mission Ridge hasn't posted an opening target on its homepage this fall. The homepage is currently promoting 26/27 passes and seasonal hiring. The pass terms say the resort can change its tentative open and close dates, and it decides how many lifts and how much terrain are open at any given time. OnTheSnow's December 4 figure is the only date in circulation, and the site labels it a projection.
So the dates that are actually set this fall are October 17 at the Gear Swap, October 24 at Timberline Brewing, and October 31 downtown at Trick-or-Treat on the Ave.
At Valley and View, we follow the valley's calendar through these in-between weeks too. If you own a Wenatchee home that sits empty until ski season, or a rental that could catch ski-season guests this winter, we'd be glad to talk it through with you. Buy, sell or manage with Valley & View.
