In July of 2024, Monarch Mountain announced that new runs would be available to skiers in the 2025-2026 season. With these new additions, Monarch Mountain will be considered one of the superior ski resorts in the area, and other popular resorts such as Breckenridge and Keystone may notice an exodus of skiers as they leave to explore the new trails at Monarch.

According to Monarch Mountain’s official website, 10-12 new runs will be introduced this season, and Monarch predicts they will be available to skiers when the resort opens for the season on November 27th. With Monarch’s new total of 82-84 runs, it grows closer to the size of other large resorts such as Keystone, which has a total of 128 runs.

In order to prepare for these new runs, Scott Pressly, the director of mountain operations, put together a plan detailing the new runs, ski lifts, a new warming hut, and a ski patrol building. Skiers across Colorado have shown interest in this new construction and expect that these runs will be a highlight of the 2025-2026 season. Coronado Ski Club President Oliver Frieling said, “I love it there and look forward to the new runs they are opening up because they never disappoint. By adding on 370 acres, it will only get better.”

What drove Monarch Mountain to add these new runs was the need to provide new, thrilling runs to both new and veteran Monarch patrons. Monarch skier Daniel Sechel, Class of 2026, said, “I think they came to the conclusion that they needed more runs because Monarch is a relatively underground ski resort, and they are probably trying to attract more attention to the mountain and get more customers.”

With Monarch’s growth in popularity, the need to expand, draw in new skiers, and pique the interest of veteran skiers at Monarch emerged. With this new addition, all Monarch skiers can expect new and exhilarating ski experiences this winter and should look forward to flying down Monarch’s newest runs.