Trip Planning · Duck Creek Journal
Is Eagle Point Open for the 2026-27 Ski Season? No, and Brian Head Opens November 6
Eagle Point Resort in the Tushar Mountains will not open for the 2026-27 ski season. The Cottonwood Fire damaged four of its five chairlifts and floods cut Highway 153. From Duck Creek Village, Brian Head opens November 6, 23.5 miles away by the summer road.
In this story
No. Eagle Point Resort in the Tushar Mountains east of Beaver will not open for the 2026-27 season. The Cottonwood Fire destroyed its Canyonside Lodge and damaged four of its five chairlifts, then July floods tore out stretches of Highway 153, the paved road up. From Duck Creek Village, Brian Head opens November 6, 23.5 miles away by the summer road.
The resort announced the lost season on August 3, and KSL confirmed it again on October 15. Visit Utah’s Eagle Point page now says the resort plans to reopen for 2027-28, but the resort has set no date. For this winter, our Brian Head ski guide covers the mountain that will run lifts, and the sections below cover the roads.
| Eagle Point, 2026-27 season | |
|---|---|
| Status | Closed all winter |
| Announced | August 3, 2026 |
| Chairlifts damaged | 4 of 5 |
| Skiable terrain burned | About 300 of 600 acres |
| Road from Beaver | SR-153 shut to general traffic |
| Next season | 2027-28 plan, no date set |
What the fire and the floods did to Eagle Point
The Cottonwood Fire started June 22 near Highway 153 in Beaver County and had burned 97,464 acres across Beaver and Piute counties by August 22, according to Utah Fire Info. It took the Canyonside Lodge and the Tushar Ridge Warming Station, along with 145 homes and condos in the Eagle Point community.
Then the burn scar shed water. Flash floods and debris flows hit Beaver Canyon starting July 19, and on July 21 UDOT announced an open-ended closure of SR-153. The worst damage runs from milepost 7.5 to 10.5, where floods destroyed several sections of road, and near milepost 14 the river took about half the roadway.
By mid-October the resort had finished debris removal at Canyonside, started demolition inside Skyline Lodge and cleared hazard trees near the lifts, and Rocky Mountain Power had finished its grid repairs. Engineers were still working out what the chairlifts need, KSL reported. Owner Shane Gadbaw told the station, “It’s not going to be the same Eagle Point.”
Can you drive up Highway 153 this winter?
Not as a member of the public. The Fishlake National Forest let its fire closure order expire on August 22, but SR-153 stays shut to general traffic from milepost 3 to 14.5 in Beaver Canyon. KSL reported on August 28 that UDOT does not expect the west side to reopen for general or recreational travel this year, and the highway west of US-89 at Junction stays closed with no reopening date either.
The state and the U.S. Forest Service put up an initial $18 million for repairs, half from each. UDOT plans to design the permanent road over the winter and rebuild after the spring thaw. “There are sections of the road that don’t exist anymore,” project manager Devin Squire told KUTV.
In a normal year the drive from the inn runs 101 miles and about 2 hours 26 minutes by Highway 14 to Cedar City, I-15 north to Beaver and SR-153 up the canyon, by OSRM road routing. The back way through Panguitch and Junction measures 93 miles, with gravel and dirt on the Junction side. Brian Head sits at a quarter of that distance.
Brian Head is the ski day from Duck Creek this season
Brian Head lists Friday, November 6 as opening day, the earliest date on Ski Utah’s 2026-27 opening list and two weeks ahead of Park City, Alta and Solitude.
| Brian Head from the inn | |
|---|---|
| Opening day | Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| By SR-148, while it runs | 41 minutes |
| By Cedar City and Parowan | 61.5 mi, about 1 hr 35 |
| By Mammoth Creek Road | About 35 mi, 1 hr 15 when passable |
| SR-143 snow tires or chains | NPS window Nov 30 to Mar 1 |
Highway 148 over the Cedar Breaks rim closes around mid-November each year, according to the National Park Service, and stays shut until mid or late May. After that the guaranteed route drops to Cedar City and climbs Parowan Canyon on SR-143. Mammoth Creek Road to Panguitch Lake cuts the trip to about 35 miles, but it is a county road that drifts shut after storms, so check it the morning you go. Our Brian Head driving guide carries the live SR-143 cameras.
For a snow day without a lift ticket, Deer Hollow sits 4 miles west of the inn, with classic track set by the local Nordic club and no trail fee. Our winter trails page compares it with the 7 mile round trip on closed Highway 148 to the Cedar Breaks rim.
Eagle Point season passes and the 2027-28 plan
Passholders for 2026-27 got three choices: a full refund, processed by September 15, a transfer to 2027-28, or a donation to BeaverTUF, the Beaver Tushar Unity Foundation that Gadbaw helped start for forest and watershed recovery.
Visit Utah says the resort plans to reopen for the 2027-28 season. Neither the resort’s own site nor its August statement gives a date, and UDOT’s rebuild of SR-153 starts after next spring’s thaw, so a 2027-28 opening depends on the road as much as on the lifts. “We will rebuild Eagle Point,” Gadbaw said in August.
For the nights around a Brian Head ski day, our cabins and rooms sit on Highway 14 in Duck Creek Village, a 41 minute drive from the lifts while Highway 148 stays open.
Quick answers about Eagle Point this winter
- Is Eagle Point open for the 2026-27 ski season?
No. The resort announced on August 3 that it will not operate this winter after the Cottonwood Fire, and Ski Utah lists it as closed for 2026-27.
- Did the fire burn the whole Eagle Point resort?
No. About half of its 600 skiable acres burned, and four of five chairlifts took damage. The fire destroyed Canyonside Lodge and the Tushar Ridge Warming Station.
- Can you drive to Eagle Point right now?
Not on public roads. SR-153 stays shut to general traffic from milepost 3 east of Beaver, and the Junction side has no reopening date.
- Is Eagle Point far from Duck Creek Village?
In a normal year it takes about two and a half hours by Cedar City, I-15 and Beaver. Brian Head sits 23.5 miles away by the summer road.
- Will Eagle Point reopen for 2027-28?
Visit Utah says that is the plan, and 2026-27 passholders could move their pass to that season. The resort has not set an opening date for it yet.
Trip Planning How Far Is Duck Creek Village From Cedar City? Thirty Miles, and the Road Climbs First
Thirty miles on Highway 14, about forty five minutes, and 2,600 feet of elevation between the village and town. The road climbs to just under 10,000 feet before it drops into Cedar Canyon.
Trip Planning What Is the Weather Like in Duck Creek Village in November?
November in Duck Creek Village runs 48 to 49F by day and about 24F at night, with 24 to 29 freezing nights in the month. Snow sits on the ground about 10 days in an average November at village elevation and 22 days at the Highway 14 summit. The highway stays open; Cedar Breaks closes on snow.
Trip Planning Is There a Fire Near Duck Creek Village? Today's Status and the Checks to Run
No. On October 4, 2026, no wildfire is burning near Duck Creek Village, and Dixie National Forest has no fire restrictions in place. Sixteen small fires started within 10 miles this year and all of them are out. Here are the numbers, the big fires in the record, and the four places to check on the day you drive.
Book the basecamp
When the trip idea is taking shape, Duck Creek Village Inn makes an easy base between slower mountain time and bigger Southern Utah days.