When does Northstar open? Opening day 2026-27
Target Nov 20
Northstar's opening day is Friday, November 20, as posted on northstarcalifornia.com.
Opening-day alerts
A notification on this device on opening day, early in the morning, with a link to the resort’s own report. Pick your resorts:
For Mt. Rose, Sugar Bowl and Diamond Peak it comes the morning their lift page first shows a lift running; for the others, the morning of the opening day they announced, whether or not it holds. It is a heads-up, not the resort’s report: check the resort’s own site for hours and terrain before you go. One alert per resort; no account, no email, and you can turn them off here any time (what we keep).
Snow at Northstar
The nearest SNOTEL station, Truckee #2 at 6,500 feet, measured 0 inches of snow on the ground on Sunday, October 18 (no change on the day, no change on the week).
In a median year the snowpack at Truckee #2 starts building on November 23. That is the date natural snow usually begins to stay; resorts with snowmaking can open earlier when nights are cold enough, and later when a dry November leaves nothing to groom.
National Weather Service forecast at the resort
Snowfall forecast: 0 in over the next three days and 0 in over seven, from the NWS Reno office’s gridded forecast for the base area, read Oct 19, 12:27 PM PT.
| When | Forecast | Temp |
|---|---|---|
| This Afternoon | Mostly Sunny | High 63°F |
| Tonight | Mostly Cloudy | Low 41°F |
| Tuesday | Mostly Cloudy then Slight Chance Light Rain | High 61°F |
| Tuesday Night | Chance Light Rain | Low 38°F |
The road to Northstar
From Reno, I-80 west to Truckee (about 32 miles), then SR-267 south toward Kings Beach for about 6 miles to Northstar Drive. SR-267 climbs on past the resort to Brockway Summit before dropping to the lake.
- Roadwork Westbound between Farad and Hinton Rd, traffic getting through — emergency work, about 10 min; until 5:01 p.m.
Road pages with chain controls, closures and every camera: I-80 road conditions · SR-267 road conditions. What R-1, R-2 and R-3 ask of your car is on the chain-control levels page.
Webcams near Northstar
The state highway cameras closest to the resort, on SR-267 at Northstar and Brockway Summit. They show the road, not the slopes: the resort’s own cameras are on northstarcalifornia.com.
Live video, confirmed streaming at ; still image taken .
| Camera | Road | Elevation | From the resort |
|---|---|---|---|
| SR-267 at Northstar | SR-267 | 6,197 ft | 1.3 mi |
| SR-267 at Brockway Summit | SR-267 | 7,194 ft | 2.8 mi |
| SR-267 at Truckee Bypass | SR-267 | 5,866 ft | 4.7 mi |
| I-80 at Truckee / SR-267 | I-80 | 5,928 ft | 5.0 mi |
| SR-89 at Truckee / West River | SR-89 | 5,885 ft | 5.2 mi |
Northstar California and the highway cameras around it.
How this page decides "open"
Announced: the resort’s own site names an opening day or a target, shown here with the date we read it. It is a plan, not a promise: a warm, dry autumn moves it. This page does not follow Northstar’s lifts. Its opening day is the one posted on northstarcalifornia.com, with the date we read it; snow and the forecast here are refreshed every morning. On the day, the resort’s own lift report says what is running. Alert me sends a notification on the morning of the announced opening day.
Other Tahoe resorts
All of them on one page, with snow and forecasts side by side: Tahoe ski resort opening dates. Choosing between them from Reno: ski resorts near Reno compared.
Opening plan: as posted on Northstar’s own site, northstarcalifornia.com, on the date shown. Snow on the ground: USDA NRCS SNOTEL station Truckee #2 (834:CA:SNTL). Forecast: National Weather Service, api.weather.gov. Road status: Caltrans and NDOT. Nevada Explorer is not affiliated with Northstar California.