Great Bear Ski Valley

South Dakota, US — size XS · 2 km of trails · 50 m vertical · 3 lifts · light snowfall

Open it on the map greatbearpark.com

North America
New York City — town, pop. 8,804,190Los Angeles — town, pop. 3,820,914Toronto — town, pop. 2,794,356Chicago — town, pop. 2,664,452Great Bear Ski ValleyNew York CityLos AngelesTorontoChicago
South Dakota
Sioux Falls — town, pop. 171,544Sioux City — town, pop. 82,821Norfolk — town, pop. 24,366Brookings — town, pop. 23,657Watertown — town, pop. 22,073Great Bear Ski ValleySioux FallsSioux CityNorfolkBrookingsWatertown
Within 30 km
Sioux Falls — town, pop. 171,544Brandon — town, pop. 9,856Harrisburg — town, pop. 5,498Tea — town, pop. 4,839Dell Rapids — town, pop. 3,706Hartford — town, pop. 3,025Great Bear Ski ValleyGreat Bear Ski ValleySioux FallsHarrisburgTeaDell RapidsHartford

Closed today

Season: usually mid December - late March.

26/27 Passes

PassWhat it grantsBlackouts
Indy Pass2 daysblackout calendar not published
Indy+ Pass2 daysno blackout dates

The mountain

Trails
2 km — size XS
Vertical
50 m
Summit
462 m
Base
412 m
Lifts
3
Region
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States

Typical Snowfall

Our take: ❄︎❄︎❄︎❄︎ Light

Snow-day share
13% of December–March days — a centimetre or more; ERA5 model
Longest snowy stretch
3 days — consecutive days with a centimetre or more, typical winter; ERA5 model
Model climatology
79 cm — ERA5 model, ~10 km grid

The Season

Snow on the ground
1020 cmOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJun
Snowfall, season to date
50100150 cmOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJun

middle half of winterstypical2025/26

Snow on the ground: measured at SIOUX FALLS (GHCN station), 5.4 km away; 20 winters
Snowfall: measured at SIOUX FALLS (GHCN station), 5.4 km away; 20 winters
Natural snow; a groomed base runs deeper.

Character

2 of its 3 lifts are surface tows, and there is no gondola or cable car — the lift fleet says small hill more plainly than the trail count does. It is a small hill: 2 km of trails, against 19 km for the median North American resort on a pass. Most of what the independents' passes sell is this size.

Terrain

  • easygreen circle0.4 km · 2 runs
  • intermediateblue square1 km · 6 runs
  • advancedblack diamond0.8 km · 7 runs

North American grading.

Lifts

  • 1chairlift
  • 2magic carpets

FAQ

Is Great Bear Ski Valley on the Indy Pass?
Yes. The Indy Pass grants 2 days at Great Bear Ski Valley for 2026/27, with blackout calendar not published.
Is Great Bear Ski Valley on the Indy+ Pass?
Yes. The Indy+ Pass grants 2 days at Great Bear Ski Valley for 2026/27, with no blackout dates.
How much snow does Great Bear Ski Valley get?
Great Bear Ski Valley has light snowfall by our banding.

Sources

Pass terms
Indy
Mountain figures
OpenSkiMap, from OpenStreetMap
Season dates and live status
skiresort.info
Snow on the ground
Open-Meteo

Data (ODbL) · Method

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