In this article
Key facts
| Question | Current answer | Important caveat |
|---|---|---|
| When do Epic Pass prices go up next? | After September 7, 2026 | Epic has not published the amount of the increase. |
| What does the adult Epic Pass cost now? | $1,119 for ages 31+ | Age, product, tax, eligibility, and checkout terms can change the total. |
| What does Epic Local cost now? | $829 for ages 31+ | Epic Local has different access and restrictions from the full Epic Pass. |
| Is September the final increase? | Not confirmed | Epic has not announced the 2026 final off-sale date. |
| What is the lowest-price route? | Buy at launch or use eligible Auto Renew | Auto Renew excludes some passes and promotional pricing. |
What Epic currently says
The official Epic Pass storefront says the lowest price of fall ends September 7. It also advertises five Epic Friend Tickets with eligible season-long passes; Epic Day Pass is excluded from that benefit.
The amount after September 7 is unknown. A deadline tells you when the displayed offer ends, not what the next price will be. It also does not establish the final day passes remain on sale.
Screenshot: the official Epic Pass storefront shows the September 7 deadline, Epic branding, the $1,119 Epic Pass total, and the $829 Epic Local price. Captured 2026-08-28. The 2,560px article asset uses deterministic scaling from the browser capture; no interface pixels were rewritten or generated.
The current prices are one confirmed step above spring. Vail Resorts' May 5 announcement listed the adult 31+ Epic Pass at $1,089 and Epic Local at $809 through May 25. The live August prices are therefore $30 and $20 higher, respectively. An independent EpicorIkon update recorded the same post-deadline amounts—but its earlier estimates show why forecasts should never replace the official storefront.
The three-season Epic price calendar
Epic uses a price ladder, not a permanently published annual schedule. These are first-party-recoverable checkpoints for the full adult Epic Pass; blank intermediate amounts are left blank rather than reconstructed from memory.
| Season | Launch / lowest-price checkpoint | Confirmed later deadlines | Last official checkpoint recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | March 5: $982 | Prices rose after May 27 and September 2 | November 18: $1,107; passes went off sale December 2 |
| 2025–26 | March 4: $1,051 | Prices rose after May 26, September 1, and November 16 | November 16 checkpoint: $1,121; passes went off sale December 4 |
| 2026–27 | March 3: $1,089 for adult 31+ | Prices rose after May 25; next rise is after September 7 | August 28: $1,119; final off-sale date unannounced |
The pattern is useful but narrow: launch in early March, the first deadline around Memorial Day, another around Labor Day, then at least one late-fall decision point before passes leave sale. It does not make a specific October or November 2026 date predictable.
Benefits move down the ladder too. The 2026 launch announcement offered 10 Epic Friend Tickets to early season-long buyers. The May 25 checkpoint offered six; the August storefront offers five. For some buyers, waiting costs both money and guest-ticket capacity.
The prior seasons reinforce that distinction. The 2024 launch included 10 Buddy Tickets and six Ski With a Friend Tickets, while the 2025 season later shifted to a new Epic Friend Ticket program. Compare benefits by name and terms, not only by count.
Why the prices keep moving before winter
The ladder rewards an earlier commitment: Vail Resorts receives predictable preseason sales, while the buyer receives the lowest advertised price and more benefits for accepting uncertainty earlier. That is different from a flash sale; the pass normally becomes more expensive as the season approaches.
Video: The Wall Street Journal, published 2026-02-26. The report explains how Epic Pass turned skiing into an advance-commitment model and why preseason pass revenue matters. It is useful economic context, not evidence for the September 7 deadline or the next price.
For a broader current comparison, Mountain Marker's Epic-versus-Ikon guide records the August 2026 price gap, while Undercover Tourist's buyer guide summarizes the 2026 selling calendar. Both are commercial or independent summaries; verify the final price and terms on Epic.
Use Epic Auto Renew first if it fits
Epic's Auto Renew page says eligible pass holders receive the lowest annual price and most benefits, excluding promotional pricing or other discounts. The current flow uses a $49 spring payment and a remaining balance charged in mid-September, with an email 30–60 days before the spring charge.
Auto Renew is the strongest answer when you already know you want an eligible pass next season. Check the current policy and eligible-pass list first: some military, college, family, Australia, and pack products are excluded, and renewal is not the same as a fully refundable reservation.
Prospective buyers and people avoiding automatic renewal still have a gap: the public page can change without promising an alert for their exact product, age band, price, or deadline.
Watch only the missing public price condition
If native renewal does not fit, watch the smallest public block that contains the season, exact pass, age band, current price, and deadline. A precise condition is: “Alert me when the adult 31+ Epic Pass changes from $1,119 or a new dated price deadline appears.”
Current PageDog app-derived screen verified against the desktop source on 2026-08-28. It uses example product data to demonstrate a price-condition alert; it is not an Epic integration.
The guide to tracking one price on any website explains how to keep product and variant context, and reducing false website-change alerts shows why a focused region is safer than the whole page. PageDog checks while the app is running and the Mac is awake and online; it does not buy a pass, enter checkout, bypass security, or predict an unannounced price.
A practical buy-or-wait rule
- Buying 2026–27: If the current pass, access, and total already work, buy by September 7 rather than treating an unknown future amount as a reason to wait.
- Eligible returning buyer: Compare Auto Renew terms before adding another alert; its native lowest-price guarantee is stronger.
- Waiting on plans: Track the exact public price/deadline block, not rotating mountain photography or the full page.
- Comparing passes: Use the separate guide to when Ikon Pass prices go up; Epic's September date does not transfer to Ikon.
- After September 7: Recheck Epic directly. Do not assume the next increase or off-sale date from 2024 or 2025.
Research sources
Current official sources
- Epic Pass storefront — live deadline, prices, and Friend Ticket count; checked 2026-08-28.
- Vail Resorts: prices increase after May 25 — spring prices and six-ticket checkpoint; published 2026-05-05.
- Epic Auto Renew and current policies — native guarantee, payment timing, eligibility, and notice terms; checked 2026-08-28.
