This year Shaver Lake's winter starts on one day for the mountain and the village alike. Ski California projects China Peak's opening for Saturday, November 28, weather and conditions permitting. The Shaver Lake Civic League has its annual Winter Wonderland and community tree lighting on that same Saturday. What a local household pays for the season gets set earlier. The first deadline is this Saturday, October 31, and the next four weeks follow in order from there.
The Price Change Lands Four Weeks Before the Projected Opening
China Peak's 2026/27 season pass sale runs from May 3 through October 31, 2026, and the resort says rates go up November 1. As of this week, the resort's own news page says only that opening day is approaching. It doesn't give a date. So the deadline to lock in a price comes before the resort has confirmed when the lifts will run.
These are the sale prices posted for the China Peak season pass through October 31:
| Pass category | China Peak only | Cali Pass |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | $629 | $729 |
| Senior, 70 to 74 | $579 | $679 |
| Young adult, 13 to 22 | $579 | $679 |
| Child, 6 to 12 | $369 | $389 |
| Super-senior, 75 and up | $10 | $159 |
| Young child, 0 to 5 | $10 | $10 |
| Military | $419 | $469 |
The gaps within the table matter more than any one price. The Cali Pass costs $100 more than the China Peak-only pass for an adult. For a child it costs only $20 more. A skier aged 75 or older pays $10 for the China Peak-only pass, compared with $629 for an adult. Ages are counted as of January 1, 2027, so a birthday in early winter can move someone into a different row. China Peak passes have no blackout dates. The resort also lists a College Crew Cali Pass at $249 to $399 for ages 18 to 25.
Returning passholders get one more benefit. China Peak says China Peak and Cali passholders can renew their physical card online and go straight to the lifts. On a busy opening weekend, that keeps a renewed passholder out of the ticket line.
If someone in the house is skiing for the first time, a full season pass may not be the right buy. Ski California's 2026/27 roundup says China Peak's 1st Turn program is coming back this year. It costs $199 for three days of lessons, rental equipment, and beginner lift access. The same roundup says lift tickets bought at least seven days ahead come with savings. Use the 2026/27 numbers from that roundup. China Peak's first-timer page still shows 2025/26 rates.
November 1 Also Starts the Sno-Park Season on Highway 168
The day China Peak's prices go up is also the first day of the 2026/27 Sno-Park permit season. California State Parks lists the season as November 1 through May 30. For a Shaver Lake household, that means the two Highway 168 lots east of town. The state's Sno-Park brochure puts Tamarack on the south side of the highway and Coyote on the north side. Coyote is posted as a no-snowmobiling site.
A Sno-Park permit costs $15 for a day or $40 for the season, and it works at any Sno-Park lot. Buying online adds a $1.95 service fee per permit. Three day permits cost $45, more than a season permit. So a season permit pays for itself by the third snow day at Tamarack or Coyote. For families who sled, snowshoe, or cross-country ski close to home, that's a low bar to clear.
The pass and the permit pay for two different winters, one at the resort up the road and one in the snow lots along the highway. November 1 is when the pass price goes up and the permit season begins, four weeks before the projected ski opening.
November 28, From Morning to Tree Lighting
Saturday, November 28 is the day after the day after Thanksgiving, and the village schedule fills the whole day. The Shaver Lake Civic League's Winter Wonderland listing has free admission, parking inside the ball field, and a community shuttle run by the Shaver Lake Lions. The shuttle stops at the community center and Camp Edison from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
| Time | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Free Children's Holiday Crafts | Museum of the Sierra |
| 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Craft vendors | Inside the Community Center |
| 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. | Lions shuttle loop | Community center to Camp Edison |
| Noon to 4 p.m., 6 to 7 p.m. | Photos with Santa and the Grinch, donations encouraged | Winter Wonderland |
| 5 p.m. onward | Live music outside, food trucks, donated cookies and hot cocoa | Winter Wonderland |
| About 7 p.m. | Caroling led by The Church of Shaver Lake, then the tree lighting | Winter Wonderland |
The two organizers list slightly different times. The Civic League lists the lighting at about 7 p.m. and the event ending at 7:30. Pine Ridge Boosters' listing lists the lighting at 6:30 p.m. and the end at 7 p.m. Plan to be there by 6:30 so you see it either way.
The Civic League says the tree lighting has been a community tradition for more than 25 years. It says the event depends on local businesses, private donors, and the help of Pine Ridge Boosters, and that all donations go to student programs at Pine Ridge School.
If China Peak opens on the projected date, a family could ski the morning, catch the last Santa photos at 6, and be in place for the caroling. That depends on the snow, and the resort hasn't confirmed the date.
The Shoreline Stretch of 168 Is Changing Through 2030
Every trip on November 28, whether to the lifts, to Tamarack, or to the ball field, uses State Route 168. One stretch along the lake is now a construction zone that's expected to stay one for several winters. Caltrans's Shaver Lake Viaduct project will build a two-lane, 780-foot viaduct on a new alignment near the shoreline. The roadway shifts 63 feet into the hillside, and the structure sits on deep foundations over the section where the pavement keeps failing. Caltrans says the cause is an underground spring that makes the roadbed sink deeply and need repeated repairs.
KMPH reported in March that Caltrans had announced an April start and described the project as a permanent fix for a section with a long history of slope and pavement failures from groundwater and saturated soils. Caltrans District 6 later posted schedule updates for project work on June 25 and July 23, both naming Viking Construction as its partner, according to the June and July California Highways headline roundups.
The project page estimates construction at $35,589,900. Federal funds cover $27,805,000 and state funds cover $7,784,900. The page's proposed schedule lists Spring 2026 for the construction start and Summer 2030 for completion. If that schedule holds, this is the first of four winters with the work underway.
Caltrans says the new alignment should make construction staging simpler, reduce the need for reversing traffic control, and shorten construction days. The project page doesn't list a winter lane-closure calendar. Caltrans's highway conditions report showed no SR 168 traffic restrictions as of October 18. A report from mid-October says little about a holiday Saturday, though. Ski California's season roundup mentions the possibility of a record "Super El Niño" this winter and points drivers to Caltrans QuickMap for live closures and lane restrictions. On the morning of November 28, check QuickMap before deciding whether to drive to the lifts or take the Lions shuttle.
Here are the dates in order. China Peak's pass sale ends Saturday, October 31. Sno-Park permits for Tamarack and Coyote start Sunday, November 1. The village tree lighting and China Peak's projected opening both fall on Saturday, November 28.
If you own a cabin up the hill or are thinking about how a Shaver Lake place fits your winter, Iron Key Real Estate knows the Highway 168 corridor season by season, from the first snow to the viaduct work. Contact us any time to talk through what winter on the mountain means for your property.
