Two friends spend a week in January at a Moonlight Basin house. One bought a day ticket. The other carries an Ikon Pass. They leave the driveway together and reach Madison Base by the same route. At the Lone Peak Tram, their situations can differ.
Big Sky's winter 2026-27 season opens in about eight weeks, and the changes that matter most to a Moonlight Basin household are not on the Moonlight side at all. The routes onto snow from this side of Lone Mountain are the same. The tram is now bundled into the ticket, and which guests get that bundle depends on the pass they hold. For anyone hosting, the useful question this fall is what each guest's pass includes.
Three routes, one destination
Everything that starts in Moonlight Basin lands at Madison Base, where Big Sky Resort tickets get scanned. Three routes get you there.
- The Jay Hawk lift at LakeLodge. The building near Ulery's Lake was marketed at its 2021 debut with ski-in, ski-out access to what was then called the Jayhawk triple chair. Rental listings for LakeLodge units still describe the lift as sitting at the doorstep, with a direct run to Madison Base.
- The Madison 8. This eight-seat chair is the primary lift on the Moonlight side. It climbs 1,850 vertical feet from the base, and the Headwaters chair picks up at its top after a short hike. Kerzner's own description of the resort credits the Madison 8 with roughly doubling uphill capacity at Madison Base.
- The One&Only Gondola. It is heated and covers the distance from Sky Lodge to Madison Base in about five minutes, according to reviews from Wallpaper and AFAR. It belongs to the One&Only resort, so a guest staying in a private home should confirm with the club or resort whether it is theirs to ride.
Sky Lodge is also where The Landing sits, right beside the gondola. Outside magazine called it the most public-facing of the One&Only restaurants, a room where hotel guests and skiers from across Big Sky end up at neighboring tables. Its published winter hours last season were Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Hours for 2026-27 had not been posted in anything found for this piece, so a lunch plan built around The Landing needs a phone call in November.
None of this changed since last winter. What changed is downstream of the scan.
What the ticket window stopped doing
Big Sky Resort's winter ticket page now lists the Lone Peak Tram as included. The Kircliff page says the same in plain terms: lift tickets come with tram rides. A guest with a day ticket no longer has a separate tram purchase standing between them and the summit, and the same is true of the Kircliff observatory at 11,166 feet, since a tram ride grants entry.
Passes are where it gets specific. The resort's season pass page says Gold and Freestyle passes include unlimited tram. Black, Blue and Twin Tips holders reach it through an Unlimited Tram add-on. The Freestyle Pass, sold in blocks of three to seven days, picked up tram access every day for 2026-27. Twin Tips holders have a wrinkle: the tram access that comes with a Freestyle Pass does not apply on Twin Tips days, which run November 25 through December 18 and again April 1 through April 11 plus the bonus weekends. Children ages 0 to 6 of season passholders get a complimentary Child Pass with unlimited mountain access, but it carries no tram access, and Tram Autocharge can be added to the child's account. Child Passes are not eligible for the Unlimited Tram add-on.
| Guest arrives with | Tram status for 2026-27 |
|---|---|
| Day or multi-day lift ticket | Included |
| Gold pass | Unlimited tram included |
| Freestyle Pass, 3 to 7 days | Included on each Freestyle day, new this season |
| Black, Blue or Twin Tips pass | Unlimited Tram add-on required |
| Child Pass, ages 0 to 6 | Not included, Tram Autocharge can be added |
| Ikon Pass or Mountain Collective | Reported as not included by a Big Sky vacation-rental operator; confirm with the resort |
The last row rests on a single secondary source, so it is the one to verify directly before telling a guest anything. It is also the row most likely to matter, because Ikon Pass holders are the guests most likely to show up at a friend's house with a pass already in hand. Ikon's own announcement said current 2026-27 prices run through October 8, making that date relevant for anyone advising a guest on which pass to buy.
The quiet-side question has one data point
Moonlight's side of Lone Mountain has a reputation for lighter crowds, and the only firsthand account found for this piece comes from a June 2026 Roaming Montana guide. The author reported a 90-second wait at the Six Shooter chair on a February Saturday, against a 30-minute line at the Lone Peak Tram the same day. The same guide said the north-facing Moonlight terrain holds snow quality later into March and April than the Mountain Village side.
That is one writer, one Saturday, and a season when the tram carried a separate charge. No published data measures whether a tram-inclusive ticket sends more people up Lone Peak, spreads them differently, or leaves the Moonlight lifts as quiet as that February morning. The answer will show up in February lift lines, not in any forecast. What can be said now is that the tram line was the long one on the day it was measured, and this winter every day ticket sold has the tram in it.
Terrain matters here as well. The Roaming Montana piece cautions that the Headwaters chutes carry real exposure and recommends skiing them with a partner. That advice holds regardless of pass type. The tram grants access to the summit, and what a guest can ski down from it is a separate question from what their ticket permits.
Kircliff for guests who do not ski
Kircliff is the glass observatory at the top of the tram, and it is now open to walking guests. Winter 2026-27 walk-up tickets were not on sale as of September, and the resort's Kircliff page was still selling summer access while collecting emails for winter availability. The resort also notes that the connecting path between the Explorer Gondola and the Lone Peak Tram is snow-covered in winter and can be difficult for guests with limited mobility. Only the gondola itself is wheelchair accessible in winter. The Explorer Gondola sits in Mountain Village, a drive away from Moonlight, so a non-skiing guest's Kircliff day is a separate outing from a ski day, with its own ticket.
What to confirm before guests land
Season dates are the first item. Lifts spin daily November 25, 2026 through April 11, 2027, with bonus Friday to Sunday access April 16 to 18 and April 23 to 25, conditions permitting. One travel news outlet listed a November 6 start and a May 2 finish, and the resort's own pass pages do not support those dates.
Then a short list for each guest:
- What pass they hold, and whether it includes the tram or needs the add-on.
- Whether they are on Ikon or Mountain Collective, which calls for a direct question to the resort about tram access.
- Whether a child under 7 is coming, in which case Tram Autocharge belongs on the child's account.
- Whether Kircliff is on the agenda, in which case the winter ticket email list is the only route until tickets go on sale.
- Whether lunch at The Landing is planned, in which case the 2026-27 hours are the open item.
If you are working out winter access for a Moonlight Basin property, the team at Life in Big Sky Real Estate can point you to the right questions for the club and the resort. Live Big. Connect with our team.
