What's in a Master Plan?


In October 2017, an engaged group of stakeholders met to discuss the future of Schweitzer and what it would take to transform the resort from a regional ski resort to the top 4-season resort in the Pacific Northwest. Among the group of stakeholders were some of the country’s most experienced real estate analysts, investors, marketers and developers, branding and creative experts, landscape architects, relationship architects and storytellers as well as Schweitzer’s own senior management. The group identified six areas of the Schweitzer experience that held high promise for achieving Schweitzer’s goals. The stakeholder group believed that focusing on these six things would begin the measured and sustained process of enhancing the existing guest experience and drawing new customers to the mountain:

- Family: ‘Adventurers’ may lead the charge in discovering a destination like Schweitzer, but its families who will populate most of the Resort.
- Live/Work: At Schweitzer, work-life balance takes on special meaning. The resort itself is a symbol of how people can achieve more balance in their lives. But for many visitors, because Schweitzer is more a three-or-four-day weekend than a two-day weekend, Schweitzer needs to get much tech-savvier and fast.
- Food and Beverage: Americans have become foodies. Not just in the cities, but everywhere. Schweitzer needs to capitalize on this interest and support the growth of a culture that embraces great local foods and cooking.
- Health, Wellness and Sustainability: These topics need to become core values and at the heart of all decisions made on the mountain.
- Summer: It’s been said that “summer drives winter” in creating successful all-season mountain resorts. The more immersive those summer experiences can be, and the more they connect the mountain with the town and the lake, the more Schweitzer, and the community of Sandpoint, benefits.
- Skiing & Snowboarding: Mountain improvements with upgraded lifts, new terrain and expanded services need to develop in parallel with business growth.

Moving Forward


Since the 2017 Sky House gathering, Schweitzer has grown rapidly. The resort has seen record skier visits in the last several years and its reputation as the best family friendly resort in the Pacific Northwest is reverberating with many who are searching out authentic ski and snowboard experiences. With this growth, there have been some challenges – strains on the existing infrastructure, the need for more beginner terrain, and more lodging accommodations for visitors on the weekends. Identifying key areas that need improvement has been a relatively easy task, but developing a strategy to tackle these challenges becomes critical. Yes, Schweitzer is growing and so the question becomes, how does the 16th largest ski area in the US work towards a sustainable future that keeps it moving forward without changing the heart of what customers love about Schweitzer?

This question isn’t new. Since the resort first began in 1963, there have been plans to upgrade and improve the overall experience both on and off the slopes.

“The resort, from its inception, has always been looking forward, searching for ways to improve and grow,” explains Schweitzer President and COO Tom Chasse.

The newest master plan for Schweitzer was developed thanks to that October 2017 meeting and culminated with the Board of Directors engaging with SE Group, a company whose focus is on strategy, permitting, planning and design for communities, ski resorts, educational institutions, real estate development and public land management groups. Throughout the process, it was SE Group’s role to analyze and look into every aspect of the overall guest experience at Schweitzer. They took into account details like the exact number of hotel beds, parking spaces and lift capacity numbers, how many tables are in the restaurants, and even the number of toilets available on the mountain. They worked closely with the director team to understand how Schweitzer functions during day to day operations and what areas were facing new challenges. With no stone left unturned and studied, the latest master plan for Schweitzer was finalized, laying out three phases of growth over the next 15 years.

Artist's rendition of the Creekside Village parking area
Artist's rendition of the Creekside Village parking area
Current Phase
Schweitzer Creek Village - A New Arrival
(Under Construction)

From Spokane to Sandpoint, the Inland Northwest continues to experience significant population increases with people moving here from all over for a variety of reasons. Here at Schweitzer, we are also seeing a growing demand for access to year-round outdoor recreation, and as we continue to evolve to meet those demands, the guest experience remains top of mind. With nearly 3,000 acres of skiable terrain and a network of high-speed lifts, the on-mountain experience is best in-class for the area. One area we are looking to improve is parking.

In summer of 2022, we embarked on a multi-year project that reimagines the guest arrival experience at Schweitzer while increasing parking and access to the mountain. The new Schweitzer Creek Village project, is considered more substantial than any other plan put forward for the resort.

“To keep up with demand and continue providing an exceptional guest arrival experience, we prioritized looking for solutions that directly affected parking and mountain access,” explained Mountain Operations Director Rob Batchelder. “I’m very excited about this third phase of Master Plan development and believe Schweitzer Creek Village is a unique solution intended to get people on the mountain efficiently.”

The vision for Schweitzer Creek Village is to become a dedicated area for our day-guests, perfect for beginner and intermediate skiers and riders, with ample parking and additional rental and SnowSports school facilities.

“On the mountain we are looking to expand our beginner and intermediate terrain offering,” continued Batchelder. “When fully realized, the development of Schweitzer Creek Village will create approximately eight new runs, 3 new lifts and an additional carpet catering to beginner and intermediate skiers and riders.”

Physically, Schweitzer has room to grow, and Schweitzer Creek Village will fulfill the need to keep up with demand while enhancing the overall mountain experience.

In order to bring Schweitzer Creek Village to life, there are 4 main arteries that will be created to easily connect guests to the mountain:
- A pedestrian/skier bridge across Schweitzer Creek (DONE)
- The replacement of the Musical Chairs double chairlift(DONE)
- A new 1,400 space parking lot
- A road connecting the parking lot to the roundabout

The Bridge
Schweitzer Creek is one of the main drainages for water coming off the mountain and flows year-round under the Great Escape Quad, down past the Hermit’s Hollow Tubing Hill and below the Musical Chairs lift and Fall Line parking lot. In order to connect Schweitzer Creek Village to the existing network of trails, we completed construction of a skier bridge just below the existing Musical Chairs loading terminal and opened it to public in December 2023. The bridge will be wide enough for skiers and riders to cross as well as grooming equipment.

The Lift
The final piece to connect everything together is the long-awaited replacement of the Musical Chairs double. In the spring of 2022, a down payment was made with Leitner-Poma for the purchase of a new high-speed detachable quad lift, similar to the Cedar Park Express. Alignment for the new Creekside Quad lift will shift to connect Schweitzer Creek Village to the main village, spanning over Schweitzer Creek and terminating near the Snowsports School meeting area in the village.

“The installation of a high-speed detachable quad will be a major enhancement for all of our guests,” said Batchelder. “Not only will it be easier for beginner skiers and riders to load and unload, the new lift will increase capacity to 2,400 guests per hour (2-3 times the existing capacity) allowing guests to upload and download safer and more efficiently. It will also provide the opportunity to transport “foot passengers” without skis or snowboards to and from the village, even in summer.”

Construction is planned for at least one new connector trail for guests to access Schweitzer Creek Village from other areas of the mountain. The new run will likely originate from Lower Loophole or the Cat Track to the Village.

The new Creekside Quad lift opened in December 2023 providing access via the Fall Line parking lot, the Village and Happy Trails run and the new run yet to be named.

The Parking Lot
The new parking lot is designed to park roughly 1,400 vehicles – nearly four times the capacity of the Fall Line lot. This should provide plenty of room for our current guests to park and access the mountain as well as create space for future growth.

Construction of the new parking area began in the spring of 2022. Trees were cleared and dirt was moved – a lot of dirt was moved. One of the key differentiators for this arrival zone is that the lift and the parking are on similar elevations, meaning when guests arrive to Schweitzer Creek Village, they will not have to walk up a hill to access the lift. For our existing guests that are used to hiking up from the Gateway Lot to the main village, this will be a vast improvement.

The Road
Ever since the construction of the roundabout nearly 15 years ago, there has been a sign stating “future road” - the “future road” is almost here. In the summer of 2022, the focus was to modify the old road alignment and develop the new road by grading, leveling and widening the road corridor. Crews worked all summer moving thousands of yards of dirt. Future plans include the installation of a new vehicular bridge, final grading and alignment, installation of utilities, and paving.

“When you think about the amount of dirt and rock we’ll move, the magnitude of this project is massive,” says Mountain Utility Company Director Tom Trulock. “This will be the largest road and utility project in Schweitzer’s history. Most people don’t realize, it’s more than just a road and a parking lot – we have to think about our future sewer, water and power needs for the next 20 years and beyond.”

What’s Next?
The new Schweitzer Creek Village arrival area will continue to evolve in the coming years with the addition of expanded beginner terrain, new lifts, snowmaking as well as skier/rider services like rentals, SnowSports School and a day lodge. There are also future plans to expand summer operations from Base Camp with new experiences, trails, RV park, and more.

Batchelder points out that one of the proposed lifts from Schweitzer Creek Village will connect to the saddle area between Down the Hatch and the top terminal of the Stella lift, making it possible to access the backside of the mountain without needing to pass through the main village or ride the Great Escape quad.

Across the country, ski resorts have continuously faced challenges associated with growth and increased demand. The new Schweitzer Creek Village project is not only a big deal for our growing community, it’s a big deal for the industry, and as of the last independently owned resorts, Schweitzer’s future is very bright.