50 Years of Big Sky Trail Maps

Big Sky Resort opened in 1973 with four lifts and twelve trails. Today, Big Sky Resort stretches across 5,850 acres of skiable terrain, accessed by 38 lifts and over 300 named trails. Explore our major lift and terrain expansion milestones over the last fifty years through a trail map retrospective. Today, you can experience just how far we’ve come with our new Ski the Sky Loop, a self-guided signature route that highlights Big Sky’s most iconic terrain and viewpoints. 

1973 

Big Sky Resort opened for its first winter season in 1973. The Huntley Lodge and Mountain Mall served skiers looking to explore its four lifts: Andesite, Explorer, Lone Peak, and the first Gondola. 

1976 

After Chet Huntley's passing, Everett Kircher purchased Big Sky Resort in 1976, adding to the Boyne Resorts family-owned properties. As a visionary entrepreneur, Everett had a profound influence on skiing across all of North America. 

1978 

In 1978, the Mad Wolf double chairlift was installed on Andesite Mountain. Mad Wolf substantially increased total skiable acres, as well as enhanced the intermediate and expert terrain offered at Big Sky Resort. 

1984 

In 1984, Gondola II opened, providing additional access up Lone Mountain from Mountain Village. 

1988 

The installation of the Challenger lift in 1988 put Big Sky Resort on the map for its expert terrain and challenging steeps. 

1991 

Installed in 1991, the Southern Comfort lift created access to over 225 acres of terrain on Andesite Mountain. At the same time, the Ramcharger High Speed Quad replaced Rams Horn. 

1994 

The addition of the Iron Horse quad chairlift in 1994 added four new runs and expanded the original terrain boundary of the mountain. Today, Iron Horse serves around 100 acres of terrain and connects the North and East faces of Lone Mountain. 

1995 

A feat of engineering, the Lone Peak Tram was built in 1995. The extreme terrain challenged the entire ski industry’s idea of what was considered resort skiing. The Shedhorn double was also installed, adding a huge expanse of terrain as the first chairlift on the south side of Lone Mountain. The following year, in 1996, the Swift Current high-speed quad replaced Gondola II, further increasing the capacity out of Mountain Village. 

2007 

In 2007, the Dakota Triple added new streamlined access to the Dakota Terrain on the south side of Lone Peak. Previously accessible by the Lone Peak Tram, the new lift created a self-contained area with some of the mountain’s best glades and powder fields. 

2013 

In October 2013, Boyne Resorts purchased Moonlight Basin Resort and its associated terrain. This acquisition also included the ski terrain of Spanish Peaks and brought the total acreage of Big Sky Resort to over 5,850 acres. 

2014 

In 2014, legendary ski map artist James Niehues painted Big Sky Resort’s trail map for the first time, bringing us into the current era of Big Sky’s trail maps. An excerpt from his website reads, “Lone Peak, the home of Big Sky Resort, is striking no matter where you’re approaching it from. It’s a statuesque mountain framed by smaller peaks, with intimidating summit chutes that gently roll over into acre upon acre of crisp groomers and well-spaced trees. It’s no wonder that this stunning peak has come to symbolize some of the best of Montana’s skiing.” 

2023 

In honor of Big Sky’s 50th winter season, we introduced the Ski the Sky Loop to help our guests explore the best of Big Sky Resort. This signature route takes skiers and snowboarders across the resort to see new sights and dive into the nooks and crannies that make this mountain special. Featuring 27 individual runs and 11 individual lifts, Ski the Sky Loop touches over 17 miles of trail, totaling nearly 16,000 feet of vertical.