The one that is actually free
Purgatory in Durango publishes it in those words: kids 12 and under always ski FREE, via a free Power Kids Pass, proof of age and a waiver, no adult-ticket string. That is not a January promo week. It is the reason this mountain is in the database even at a 6.5 Family Score. Frame it as a Southwest Colorado trip, not an I-70 add-on — it is a 6-hour drive from Denver.
The rest of the 26/27 cluster
Mt. Bachelor: kids 12 and under get a free season pass when an adult buys an Outplay 365 or Full Season Pass. Mt. Bachelor steps pass prices up during the fall — they did it around the start of October last year — so this is a buy-early deal rather than a buy-now-or-lose-it one. Check their pass page for the current price deadline before you sit on it. Separate multi-day products let ages 6–12 ski free the same number of days as parents when bought advance online. Do not read that as 'always free at the window.' Palisades Tahoe: 4 and under free every day. Kirkwood (Epic): 4 and under free at the ticket window — same Vail policy, not a promo week. Snowmass: under 6 with a parent purchase. Sun Peaks and Big White: 5 and under free. Camelback: 5 and under free. Boyne Mountain: $1 tickets ages 0–5. Stratton: 4 and under around $10. Mont-Tremblant: Kids Ski Free Week — 12 and under, up to 7 days, dates change. Powder Mountain: free kids season pass (up to two) with an adult Unlimited for 26/27 — we have a resort page now; the mountain is still not a family campus. Stowe is not on this list. Four-and-under can get a complimentary Epic pass with an adult, in-resort or by phone — that is a pass product, not a kids-ski-free week, and it is not Tremblant's dated free week.
Do the family-of-four math anyway
A free child ticket next to a $250 adult window and a $400 lesson is not a budget trip. Purgatory and Bachelor change the equation because the child product is season-shaped, not a coupon for Tuesday. Lodging, rentals, and food still exist. If the 'free' week requires the $400 hotel, run the kitchen-condo numbers. Our deals page does not invent tracking links for these — go to the resort.
We will update this every August
Age cutoffs and 'with a paying adult' rules move. If a resort changes 12-and-under to 10-and-under, this page should be the thing that catches it. That is the job. Screenshots of last year's blog are how families buy the wrong week.