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North Carolina ski weekends for 2026‑27: Hatley Pointe, Beech Mountain, Appalachian Ski Mtn. and Christmas at Biltmore

Three North Carolina ski areas suit a winter weekend as much for the lodge, the bar and the fire as for the runs: Hatley Pointe near Asheville, Beech Mountain Resort and Appalachian Ski Mtn. in the High Country. Christmas at Biltmore runs November 3, 2026 to January 10, 2027, with Candlelight Christmas Evenings tickets from $135.

Four skiers in winter jackets sit in wooden chairs around a stone fire pit in the snow at dusk, holding glasses of beer, with lit ski slopes and lodge buildings behind them.

Photo: Beech Mountain Resort

Three ski areas in the North Carolina mountains make a winter weekend as much for the lodge, the bar and the fire as for the runs, and all three are between four and a half and six and a quarter hours' drive from the Lowcountry. Hatley Pointe, in Mars Hill north of Asheville, is the closest, and 42 minutes from Biltmore Estate, whose Christmas season runs from November 3, 2026 to January 10, 2027. Beech Mountain Resort and Appalachian Ski Mtn. are in the High Country near Boone, each about an hour and 50 minutes from Biltmore. All three make snow on every slope.

Nearest slopes
4 hr 35 minCharleston to Hatley Pointe
First to open
Nov 20Appalachian Ski Mtn., weather permitting
Lift tickets
From $57Weekday adult, 8 hours
Candlelight
From $135Biltmore, Nov 3 to Jan 9

Hatley Pointe

Hatley Pointe is the old Wolf Ridge ski area in Mars Hill. Deb and David Hatley bought the property in early 2023 for $8.4 million and have since put another $12 million into it, gutting the lodge, installing new snowmaking and rebuilding the main chairlift. The resort keeps its capacity limited, and every pass, lesson and rental is sold by online reservation only. Daily lift tickets, rentals and lessons for this season go on sale online on November 10; the opening day has not yet been announced.

Chairlifts run over a slope lined with snow-covered trees, with skiers below and snow guns along the trail.
The chairlift at Hatley Pointe.Photo: Hatley Pointe

The mountain peaks at 4,700 feet, with 54 acres, a 700-foot vertical drop and 21 trails, many of them lit for night skiing. New this season is the Cloudbelt, a 400-foot covered magic carpet lift that starts near the Bru Haus and opens a long stretch of the Broadway run to skiers not ready for the chairlift. The magic carpet on the Tennessee Walker bunny slope has moved to add 15 to 20 feet of learning terrain.

The lodge has a fireplace and several places to eat and drink. Smoke & Timber is the restaurant, with a menu built on Italian and Spanish flavors and local ingredients from executive chef Kat Vulgamore, who spent six years in the kitchens at Biltmore Estate; reservations are encouraged and walk-ins are welcome. The Bru Haus is the slopeside après bar, with cocktails, mocktails and craft beer. Peaks & Pies bakes Neapolitan-style pizza in a wood oven, the Terrace Bistro serves soups and baked dishes between runs, and Steeps Coffee & Juicery serves lattes to start the day. A lift pass includes entry to the resort's events.

Diners at a dark wooden table share a carved rack of meat, a board of charcuterie and glasses of red wine.
Dinner at Smoke & Timber.Photo: Hatley Pointe
  • Prices. Daily tickets go on sale November 10. The Signature season pass, seven days a week with no blackout dates, is $950 until November 28 and $1,050 after.
  • Staying. There is no hotel on the mountain. The resort's lodging partners include Triple Timber, three cabins with ski-in, ski-out access, three hot tubs and room for 33 guests, and The Overlook, a cabin two minutes from the resort with three decks, a gas fire pit and three gas fireplaces, both managed by Home Team Luxury Rentals.
  • Booking. Reserve lift tickets, lessons and rentals online when they go on sale on November 10, and book a table at Smoke & Timber for the evening.

Beech Mountain Resort

Beech Mountain Resort tops out at 5,506 feet, and the bar at the summit is named for the height. The resort's projected opening day for the 2026-27 season is November 21, 2026, and the last day is March 20, 2027. It has 95 skiable acres, 17 trails, an 830-foot vertical drop and snowmaking over every slope.

A glass-walled pavilion with a white canopy roof sits on a wooden deck at a mountain summit, with people seated inside and blue sky beyond.
The 5,506' bar at the summit of Beech Mountain.Photo: Beech Mountain Resort

The 5,506' bar was remodeled in 2024, the same year the resort added a new snowmaking air compressor, five new snow guns and colored stadium lights and speakers for night tubing. Off the slopes, Beech Mountain Brewing Co. runs a taproom and grill with live music and a smaller brewhouse, the Red Baron Room is a bar dressed in vintage aviation, and The Lodge serves hearty meals. An upgrade package adds concierge service, lift line priority, private guides, reserved parking and a private lounge.

  • Lift tickets. An adult 8-hour flex ticket is $60 on weekdays and $97 on weekends, which start at 5pm on Friday. A night ticket, from 5pm to close, is $44 on weekdays and $59 on weekends. Every ticket carries a $2 media fee, and children 4 and under ski free. From opening day to December 3, weekday prices apply all week and the resort runs day sessions only, 9am to 5pm.
  • Tubing. Night tubing runs under the lights with music, sold online only, for riders at least 42 inches tall.
  • Lessons. A one-hour group first-time lesson, for ages 8 and up, is sold in person each day, first come, first served. Traxx, a full-day ski program for ages 6 to 12 from 9am to 3pm, includes rentals, a slope ticket and lunch, and books online in advance.
  • Staying. Beech Mountain Resort Lodging, the resort's official partner, rents vacation homes a few minutes from the slopes, at (828) 387-4246.
Two skiers stand on a snowy ridge looking out at layers of blue mountains under a pink and purple sunset.
Sunset from the top of Beech Mountain.Photo: Beech Mountain Resort

Appalachian Ski Mtn.

Appalachian Ski Mtn. in Blowing Rock is scheduled to open on Friday, November 20, 2026, weather permitting, and runs to March 14, 2027. Grady Moretz and four partners bought the area in 1968, and the Moretz family has owned it outright since 1986. Over the last three years it has put more than $2 million into snow guns, automation, pumping and water storage. Its 13 slopes, on a 365-foot vertical drop, are all lit and all covered by snowmaking.

A long ski slope lit by rows of lamps at dusk under a pink and blue sky, with a chairlift station at the bottom and snow guns blowing along the edge.
Night skiing at Appalachian Ski Mtn.Photo: Appalachian Ski Mtn.

The lodge is a 46,000-square-foot Bavarian-style building from 1962 by the architect William P. Reinhardt, with a 200-foot observation deck over the slopes, a large stone fireplace and a slopeside restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Below it is an outdoor ice rink, open from November 28 to March 14 in sessions from noon to 2pm, 3 to 5pm and 7 to 9pm, with a Moonlight Skating session from 10pm to midnight on New Year's Eve. On Friday and Saturday nights, Midnight Blast keeps the slopes open late, with extra Midnight Blast nights from December 26 to 31.

Skaters of all ages circle an outdoor ice rink at night beside the lit ski lodge, with onlookers along the rail.
The ice rink beside the lodge.Photo: Appalachian Ski Mtn.
  • Lift tickets. Every ticket and rental is reserved online before arrival, and buying on the day adds $2. An adult 8-hour flex ticket is $85 on Saturdays and Sundays and $57 on weekdays. A night session, 5 to 10pm, is $50 on Friday and Saturday nights and $40 Sunday to Thursday.
  • Lessons. A one-hour beginner group lesson, for ages 6 and up who have never skied or snowboarded, is $37 a person. Beginners stay on the easiest terrain and the conveyor lifts, and lessons are booked online in advance.
  • Skating. $25 on weekdays and $31 on weekends, with skates and a helmet included, reserved online.
  • Staying. The resort owns four chalets, all a mile or less from the lodge and one a two-minute walk. From December 17 to January 1 they take a four-night minimum.

Christmas at Biltmore

Christmas at Biltmore runs from November 3, 2026 to January 10, 2027, and its evening version, Candlelight Christmas Evenings, from November 3 to January 9, except November 17, November 26 and December 24. A Norway spruce and luminaries line the approach to Biltmore House. Inside, ornaments catch the light of candles, fireplaces and twinkle lights, musicians play Christmas music in the Winter Garden, and the Banquet Hall has two Christmas trees under its vaulted ceiling. The evening is set as the first Vanderbilt family Christmas, in 1895.

Biltmore House lit up at night, with a tall Christmas tree covered in white lights on the front lawn and smaller lit trees around it.
Biltmore House on a Candlelight Christmas evening.Photo: Biltmore
TicketFromIncludes
Christmas House & Grounds$110A daytime visit to Biltmore House with an audio guide. Discount for ages 16 and under; ages 9 and under free.
Candlelight Christmas House & Grounds$135An evening visit to Biltmore House with an audio guide, and free grounds access the next day. Discount for ages 16 and under.
Candlelight Christmas Exclusive Tour$360A 90-minute guided tour, A Vanderbilt Christmas, plus a house visit. Discount for ages 10 to 16.
Grounds only$85Gardens, grounds, Antler Hill Village and the winery.

Prices vary by date, and a midweek daytime ticket costs up to $55 less than a weekend one. Every ticket includes Antler Hill Village and the winery, a complimentary wine tasting, the gardens and grounds, and parking. Antler Hill Village is lit for Christmas from November 3 to February 15, 5pm to midnight, at no extra charge.

The Banquet Hall at Biltmore House at night, with a long table, a ring chandelier, garlands and two lit Christmas trees beneath a high vaulted ceiling hung with flags.
The Banquet Hall at Christmas.Photo: Biltmore
  • Booking. Buying online saves $10 a ticket, and Biltmore asks for at least seven days' notice for the best date and price. The time on the ticket is the entry time to Biltmore House.
  • Changing a date. Tickets are non-refundable but can be moved to another date by calling 800-411-3812 at least 48 hours before the visit. A Candlelight ticket moved after its original date can only become a daytime ticket.
  • Dinner. Reservations are recommended for Candlelight guests at the Stable Café, Cedric's Tavern, the Bistro and Village Social. In November and December, The Dining Room at The Inn on Biltmore Estate takes reservations only from guests staying at The Inn, the Village Hotel or the Cottages.
  • Staying. The estate's own rooms are the Village Hotel, The Inn on Biltmore Estate and the private Cottages.
A choir in red and black sings among poinsettias, palms and candles in the glass-roofed Winter Garden at Biltmore House, beneath garlands.
Carols in the Winter Garden.Photo: Biltmore

A day on the slopes at Hatley Pointe and a Candlelight evening at Biltmore are 42 minutes apart by car. From Beech Mountain Resort or Appalachian Ski Mtn., Biltmore is about an hour and 50 minutes.

Antler Hill Village at night, with trees and buildings wrapped in warm white lights and a lit cone-shaped tree in the square.
Antler Hill Village lit for Christmas.Photo: Biltmore

Drive Times

Google's drive times for a Friday morning in December:

FromHatley PointeAppalachian Ski Mtn.Beech MountainBiltmore
Charleston4 hr 35 min5 hr 2 min5 hr 30 min4 hr 3 min
Mount Pleasant4 hr 35 min5 hr 2 min5 hr 30 min4 hr 3 min
Beaufort4 hr 59 min5 hr 25 min5 hr 56 min4 hr 25 min
Bluffton5 hr 10 min5 hr 40 min6 hr 9 min4 hr 38 min
Hilton Head Island5 hr 16 min5 hr 45 min6 hr 14 min4 hr 44 min
Savannah5 hr 11 min5 hr 41 min6 hr 11 min4 hr 39 min

Packing and Booking

Hatley Pointe, 578 Valley View Circle, Mars Hill, NC 28754 · hatleypointe.com · Beech Mountain Resort, 1007 Beech Mountain Parkway, Beech Mountain, NC 28604 · beechmountainresort.com · Appalachian Ski Mtn., 940 Ski Mountain Road, Blowing Rock, NC 28605 · appskimtn.com · Biltmore, 1 Lodge Street, Asheville, NC 28803 · Christmas at Biltmore