Beaver Creek's Opening Weeks Run Straight Into Its Biggest World Cup Yet

Last December, Birds of Prey at Beaver Creek was a men-only weekend. Before it started, warm weather and snowmaking trouble had already cost it a race. This December, organizers have scheduled seven World Cup races over two back-to-back weekends. The Vail Valley Foundation says that is more than at any Birds of Prey since the course made its World Cup debut in 1997. The first of those races is planned for eight days after the lifts open.

So Beaver Creek's season doesn't build slowly toward its big event this year. Opening day, the holiday weekend and two weekends of World Cup racing all depend on the same thin early-season snowpack. For anyone who lives within a bus ride of the Covered Bridge, the whole stretch is free to attend if you plan around how it runs.

Eight days from first chair to first downhill

Vail Resorts has set Beaver Creek's 2026/27 opening for Wednesday, Nov. 25, subject to weather and conditions. Every event after that is lined up behind it with no gap:

Opening day has its own small contest. At the Beaver Creek Cookie Competition, guests can check in as judges, taste cookies from five finalists and vote for the best chocolate chip cookie. The resort says judging spots are limited and recommends arriving early. Two days later, the Tree Lighting & Ice Spectacular brings free skating, Santa and holiday crafts. It ends with a skating show at the rink, fireworks and the lighting of the village tree. On Saturday the rink hosts the Retro Skate Party, with a live DJ and free hot cocoa.

The racing starts the next Thursday. Both men's downhills begin at 11 a.m. on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4, and the super-G starts at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The giant slalom on Sunday, Dec. 6, runs in two parts, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The women race the following weekend: downhills at 11 a.m. on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, and a super-G at 11 a.m. on Dec. 13.

Last December showed how much depends on early snow

Seven races is a big schedule for the first weeks of a ski season, and 2025 showed why that matters. As Vail Daily reported in November 2025, the resort pushed back its opening because there wasn't enough early snow and temperatures were too warm. The World Cup still passed its snow control check by using alternate starts and finishes.

That passing grade came with cuts. Race organizers announced at the time that early-season warmth and snowmaking trouble had led them to drop the extra Thursday downhill. According to the organizers' recap, the remaining downhill then moved up to Thursday and the super-G to Friday. Ski Racing Media reported that wind and visibility collapsed during the 31st racer's run in that super-G, so the jury called the race, and results through bib 30 stood.

The 2026 schedule brings back the extra Thursday men's downhill and adds a second women's downhill on top of it. The second women's downhill was announced on May 7, 2026. The January schedule had listed only two women's races, so it no longer applies. Every date in the table above still depends on weather and conditions. If November is warm, the Thursday downhill and the women's second downhill are the most likely races to be cut, since a missing Thursday downhill is exactly how last year's program shrank.

The two-weekend format has been tried before. Women first raced the Birds of Prey downhill in 2024. Beaver Creek hosted two weekends of racing that year as well. The new part in 2026 is the number of races.

The stadium is free. Getting there takes about an hour.

General admission to the John & Karen Arnold Red Tail Stadium is free and open to the public, grandstands included. Concessions and restrooms are on site, and VIP hospitality is sold separately. The finish is at mid-mountain, so the time you need to budget is for getting up there:

1. Park with a full car or don't drive. Organizers recommend the Elk or Bear lots at the resort base. Parking there is free on race days for vehicles with five or more people. The Villa Montane and Ford Hall garages are free for three hours after 3 p.m., which is when the village events get going.
2. Take the bus from down valley. The Core Transit Vail/Beaver Creek Express runs from the Vail Transportation Center or Avon Station, every 20 minutes at peak times. From Edwards, park at the Freedom Park Mountain Rec Field House and take the Valley or Hwy 6 route to Avon Station. Riders from Eagle and Gypsum take the Valley route to Avon Station. From Avon Station, the Express or the Town of Avon Skier Express goes to the village.
3. Ride the race shuttle from the Covered Bridge. Free shuttles leave the Covered Bridge often throughout race days. After the drop-off at the finish area, it's a five-minute uphill walk on snow to the stadium. Organizers say to allow about an hour from the resort base to Red Tail Stadium.
4. Or ski partway on the weekend. You can't ski in and out of the stadium. On race days from Friday through Sunday, though, Centennial Lift No. 6 gets you to Red Tail Trail: get off the chair and go skier's left.

ADA access is available on request at 970-470-2269.

The one-hour estimate matters most for the 11 a.m. starts on Thursday, Dec. 3, and Friday, Dec. 11. Those are workdays, and the hour from the base comes on top of the drive or bus ride to get there.

A second program runs in the village after the races

The races are over by early afternoon, and then the village takes over. Free music plays on the CELSIUS Music Stage and the Beaver Creek Music Stage through both weekends and on the weekdays between them, Dec. 9 and Dec. 10. Listed performers include Big Richard, Sam Grisman Project, The Runaway Grooms, The Hip Snacks, The Great North Special, The Staples, Parton Me, Future Joy, Rattlesnake Milk, MOONLGHT and Scott Rednor Band.

Fireworks are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, and Saturday, Dec. 12. Beers of Prey is on Saturday, Dec. 5. The first Cheers of Prey, a cocktail and mocktail tasting, is on Saturday, Dec. 12.

Two headliners are ticketed separately. Nathaniel Rateliff plays the Vilar Performing Arts Center on Dec. 5 and 6, and ILLENIUM plays Dobson Arena in Vail on Dec. 11. The Oct. 6 event announcement lists those shows apart from the free village concerts. The Vilar shows fall on the first race weekend, the same days as the Saturday super-G and the Sunday giant slalom. Event-day parking also applies to the evening crowd: the free garage window after 3 p.m. lasts three hours.

The course is built partly by local volunteers

Seven races at mid-mountain take a lot of people to set up, and much of the course work is done by volunteers. The on-course team is the Talon Crew. Volunteers must be at least 18, expert skiers and available for at least four shifts. New volunteers have to take their first shift on one of the listed course-build days. To join, you fill out the Talon Crew registration form on the event's volunteer page, sign the waiver, pick four or more shifts and wait for a coordinator to approve you.

Not every role needs expert skiing. The Raptor Crew handles off-course jobs, and the NextGen Raptor program is open to ages 14 to 18, as listed on the broader volunteer page. Because a first shift has to be on a course-build day, anyone hoping to work the men's races will be signing up during the same weeks the resort is still making snow for opening day.

After the World Cup, Thursday nights take over

Once the women's super-G ends on Dec. 13, the village switches to its weekly schedule. Thursday Night Lights starts Dec. 17 and runs every Thursday through April 8. Skiers and riders rated Level 5 or higher register starting at 4:30 p.m., get a light-up baton and ski down Haymeadow together, and the night ends with fireworks over Beaver Creek Mountain. Timing moves with sunset each week.

On the mountain, Spruce Saddle is on the hours page with a planned daily opening on Nov. 25, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., subject to change. The lodge is also listed in Vail Resorts' 2026 capital plan as a planned remodel. Vail Resorts' stated goals for that program include better guest flow, more seating, modern coffee and bar options and broader menus, all subject to approvals. The first lunch at Spruce Saddle this season will show how much of that plan was finished.

Brooke grew up in this valley and can tell you which Birds of Prey mornings are easy to get to and which take more planning. If race week has you wondering about life near the Covered Bridge year-round, Bloom Group Vail is happy to talk it over. Request a market consultation, and we'll walk you through how Beaver Creek's season calendar affects owning, renting and living here.