Skiing and snowboarding are more popular than ever at ski resorts in the North Carolina mountains. This is particularly true in the Banner Elk area, where parking lots and lift lines regularly fill up on weekends at Beech Mountain Resort and Sugar Mountain Resort.
While there’s nothing better than a great ski weekend in Banner Elk, skiers with flexible schedules are discovering big advantages to visiting the slopes midweek. The two main advantages are midweek ski discounts and increased time on the slopes.
Skiers and snowboarders who book midweek ski trips can save almost 40% on lift tickets and 26% on equipment rentals. Tubing and ice skating are less expensive, too, while lodging rates are reduced by as much as one-third compared to weekend prices.
Here’s a look at discounts for midweek skiing (Mon-Fri) vs. weekends during the 2025-26 season:
- Save 38% on lift tickets at Beech Mountain Resort
- Save 38% on lift tickets at Sugar Mountain Resort
- Save 27% on ice skating Sugar Mountain Resort
- Save 26% on equipment rentals at Sugar Mountain Resort
- Save 20% on snow tubing at Sugar Mountain Resort
- Save 17% on snow tubing at Beech Mountain Resort
- Equipment rental savings up to 25% are also available at Banner Elk’s off-slope ski shops: Ski Country Sports, The Ski Shack and Edge of the World Snowboard Shop.
More Tips for Grabbing Ski Season Deals
Another way to save money on your North Carolina ski trip? Consider night skiing. Night time can be the right time as both Beech Mountain Resort and Sugar Mountain Resort reduce lift ticket rates for midweek night skiing, which is defined as Sunday through Thursday nights.
Beech Mountain offers 27% off night skiing during the week, while Sugar Mountain offers 23% off night skiing during the week.
Beech Mountain also has three special midweek nights providing deeper price reductions. Tuesday nights are Student Night, with $23 lift tickets for enrolled students from kindergarten through college. Wednesday nights are Men’s Night, with $23 lift tickets for males, and Thursday nights are Ladies’ Night, with $23 tickets for females.
And don’t forget skiing trips in early spring to save money! Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain typically offer special rates in March during the final weeks of the ski season.
Stack Up Savings with Midweek Lodging
When it comes to lodging, midweek visits provide a lower price tag on cabins, vacation homes, bed-and-breakfast inns and hotels.
Midweek visits usually offer more lodging choices, too, as weekends tend to book up well in advance. To see what’s available for your midweek ski trip, check out this comprehensive listing of Banner Elk lodging properties.
Lodging operators very much welcome guests who visit during the week. They appreciate mid-week revenue and some have more flexibility to adjust rates, check-in times and check-out times.
Pro Tip: If you don’t see mid-week discount lodging rates on their website, consider placing a phone call to your favorite lodging options. It’s quite possible they’re willing to negotiate a special rate with you one-on-one that is not available online.
Less Lines Equal More Enjoyment
Equally impressive to the cash savings are the time savings.
Skiers and boarders visiting during weekdays report lift lines are much shorter and their time spent on the slopes is much longer. Rental equipment lines and ticket booth lines are also greatly reduced. And parking near the slopes is much easier midweek.
Aprés ski, skiers happily notice that quicker wait times are the norm at Banner Elk’s amazing collection of restaurants and coffee shops.
All that extra time and savings makes it possible to work in a visit to Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster.
Wilderness Run is North Carolina’s premier alpine coaster and remains open year-round, even in the snow.