In 1946, the Riblet Tramway Company of Spokane took a mining ore-bucket tram and turned it into the world's first double chairlift, on Mount Spokane. It lasted three seasons. Its replacement went up in 1956, and at the time it had the longest vertical rise of any lift in the Northwest. That lift is Chair 1, the Vista Cruiser, and it still carries skiers up from Lodge 1 every winter.
On July 9, 2026, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission voted unanimously to approve a 20-year master plan for Mount Spokane State Park, according to The Spokesman-Review. The first ski-area project on its list is replacing the Vista Cruiser. The plan surrounds that replacement with deliberate limits, and the new chair is meant to keep Mount Spokane what it already is, a backyard mountain for people who live within an hour of it.
What the plan actually says about Chair 1
The approved master plan puts the Vista Cruiser replacement in Phase 1. The Spokesman-Review describes that phase as projects for the next seven years. The new lift could run in summer, but only if the concession agreement between State Parks and the ski area's operator is updated first.
The plan names that summer use and then fences it in. It doesn't recommend letting mountain bikes on the lift. It cites the long-term sustainability of the upper-mountain trails, specifically Upper 290 and Upper 140. The plan's wording on bike access reads:
"...mountain bike lift access may not be consistent with the park vision identified in this master plan – as a rustic, backyard wilderness, not a recreation destination."
The reasoning comes down to money. Consultants working with State Parks on Upper 290 used a rule of thumb that a black diamond mountain bike trail needs about 10 percent of its original construction cost every year for maintenance. The plan says State Parks has never been able to fund trail upkeep at that level and doesn't expect that to change. So the plan concludes that summer lift access should stay pedestrian-only unless significant protections for the trails are put in place first.
Even the old lift hardware has a role. The plan says the historic Vista Cruiser chairs should be kept where possible and built into new facilities or interpretive displays honoring Riblet, the Spokane company that pioneered the chairlift.
The pattern runs through the rest of the ski-area list
The same restraint shows up in every ski-area project after Chair 1. The plan's Phase 1 package for the Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park includes:
- Replacing the Vista Cruiser with a modern chairlift, depending on an updated concession agreement
- Building water storage near Lodge 2, which depends on getting a water right from the Washington State Department of Ecology
- Adding parking, expected near Lodge 1
- New entrance and road signage for the ski area
The plan estimates $3.5 million for that Phase 1 package, paid for by the concessionaire. The water tank is mostly about fire safety. It would provide enough water pressure for the sprinkler systems that current building codes require, and that has to happen before Lodge 2 can be expanded. It could also help with snowmaking as a way to adapt to climate change.
Phase 2 covers more parking closer to Lodge 2, a new vehicle maintenance building, and a larger beginner area where the current maintenance building stands. It also replaces Parkway Express, which the plan expects to run only in winter because the master plan focuses on improving existing trails, not adding new ones. The largest Phase 2 item is a remodel or expansion of Lodge 2, designed to fit what the plan calls the park's "modern rustic" look. Phase 3 brings more lift replacements, including Hidden Treasure and Beginner's Luck, along with an expanded learning area and terrain on the site of the current maintenance building.
That beginner terrain, built on land the ski area already uses, is the only new terrain anywhere in the three phases. The rest of the list replaces aging lifts and lodges.
The nonprofit that runs the ski hill, Mount Spokane 2000, gave input that shaped the document. Even so, the Commission's briefing says some of its requests were left out, in part or in whole. The reasons given were conflicts with the park's vision, public feedback, and concerns raised by the Tribal, Cultural Resources, and Stewardship programs. General manager Jim van Loben Sels told commissioners the nonprofit might need to depart from the project list at some point but supports the plan. "It's reflective of where we need to go as a park," he said, as The Spokesman-Review reported.
Not everyone wanted Chair 1 replaced
In the State Parks compilation of public comments gathered from December 2025 to March 2026, some commenters pushed back on replacing the lift at all. One wrote that more than 90 people had submitted comments to save Bear Creek Lodge from demolition "and also to keep the historic vista cruiser chair 1 from being replaced." The plan kept the replacement, and its instruction to preserve the old chairs is how it answers that concern.
Bear Creek Lodge is the plan's other big change at the park's front door. State Parks bought the property in 2023. Phase 1 calls for demolishing the lodge and designing a new visitor center and park entrance there, at an estimated $2.1 million, with construction pushed to Phase 2. KXLY quoted one visitor who welcomed the change: "Replacing the Bear Creek Lodge with a proper visitor center will bring more folks to the park to enjoy the trails."
Nordic skiers came out of the plan with a modest gain. The Commission approved Nordic skiing as a conditional activity on the existing trail inside the Ragged Ridge Natural Area Preserve. Selkirk Lodge, the hub for the Nordic trails, is on the Phase 1 list for classroom space, restroom renovations and more parking, estimated at $975,000.
Approval is not a construction schedule
The plan doesn't put a date on any of this. Paul Knowles, the State Parks trails program manager who co-wrote it, told The Spokesman-Review that approval doesn't start any project and that funding still has to be found. He described the list as an "investment strategy." For the ski-area projects, the plan says each one has to be scoped, designed, permitted and built under an updated concession agreement as money comes in. As of mid-October 2026, we haven't found an announced lift manufacturer, fundraising campaign or construction date for the new Chair 1.
The same goes for the drive up. The plan describes repaving State Route 206, Mount Spokane Park Drive, from Linder Road to Snowblaze Condominium Road, but notes that the work is unfunded and might qualify for the 2027–29 state capital budget.
This season, the Vista Cruiser runs as it always has
Nothing in the plan changes the 2026–27 season. Here are the dates on the calendar now:
- October 15: Summit Road closes to vehicles until spring 2027, according to Washington State Parks. This is the summit access road, not Mount Spokane Park Drive.
- October 17 through November 8: Season pass pickup events. Mt. Spokane isn't mailing passes this year. Pickup locations include Alpine Haus North, Solnix, the Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol Ski Swap, River Park Square's Explore All Four event and the Elevation Celebration at Lodge 2.
- November 10: Last day for fall pass prices. An adult All Access pass is $699 through that date and $899 after. The Flex Limited Midweek + All Nights pass goes from $449 to $599.
- December 1: The Sno-Park permit season begins and runs through March 31. A Discover Pass isn't required during that window. The Selkirk Lodge area has 37 miles of Nordic trails.
- December 5: Target opening day, weather and snow permitting.
- December 16: Seven-day operations and night skiing begin. Night tickets cover 3 to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.
The pass page says night operations run to mid-March. The lift ticket page lists night skiing "Through March 14!" without naming a season, and the resort's own post tied March 14 to the 2025–26 season, so check the calendar before planning late-season nights.
According to the resort's facilities page, Lodge 2 is still the main lodge, with food service and the Foggy Bottom Lounge. Lodge 1 serves food on weekends, holidays and special-event days. Vista House pours beer and serves snacks on weekends and holidays. The Mountain Tap House yurt, sponsored by No-Li Brewhouse, is open the same days. The resort also has new season-long locker rentals in Lodge 1, a few steps from the Vista Cruiser.
Katie McDaris has spent more than 17 years helping buyers and sellers across North Spokane County, including households that plan their winters around the drive up to Mount Spokane. If you're weighing how close to the mountain you want to live, or how projects like Bear Creek's new entrance and the SR 206 repaving might change things, Katie McDaris is glad to talk it through. Schedule a Consultation.
