Saturday, October 31, 2026
If your skis are still in the garage and your boots have not met your feet since April, today is the day to fix that. The Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol Ski Swap, the region's largest winter sports equipment sale, opens this morning at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, running today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to noon. Organizers expect more than 24,000 new and used items — alpine and Nordic skis, snowboards, boots, clothing, helmets and goggles — with admission at 5 dollars and children 12 and under free. Sunday brings 25 percent off marked red-tag items, and proceeds fund the all-volunteer Mt. Spokane Ski Patrol, now in its 62nd year running the swap. Did you know swap proceeds fund the patrol's medical, rescue and training work? Sandpoint's own turn comes soon: the SARS Ski Swap, supporting the Schweitzer Alpine Racing School, is set for November 14 at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, with gear check-in November 13 and shopping from noon to 6 p.m.
The swap matters because Schweitzer's season is close enough to count down. Tentative opening day is Friday, November 27 — 27 days from today — conditions permitting, and the season pass sale ends November 15, just 15 days away. Schweitzer 3-Packs start at 249 dollars while limited quantities last. New ways to learn headline the winter lineup: Learn to Ski in 3 gives first-timers three group lessons with lift access and rentals, and finishing all three earns a Grad Pass for unlimited skiing from March through closing day. Women's Wednesdays adds a six-week instructional program, and private night skiing on the Basin Express is new for groups who want the mountain after hours.
On the mountain itself, the resort's own Mountain Report this morning shows the village at 35 degrees and cloudy with a light west wind at 1 mile per hour, and the summit at 30 degrees and cloudy with wind at 7 miles per hour from the south-southwest. The snow report fields — overnight, 24-hour and base — are all still blank dashes, with 0 of 10 lifts and 0 of 92 trails open and the resort closed for the season, so there are no ski operations or snow totals to report yet. The village forecast stays cool and unsettled: mostly cloudy today with a high of 38 and a low of 37, cloudy on Sunday at 38 and 32, and mostly sunny on Monday at 35 and 35. The resort's daily message notes fresh snow fell on the mountain on October 28 — a welcome sight, even if there is still a long way to go before it is skiable.
This morning's shared radar adds a damp travel note for swap shoppers and Halloween drivers. Showers are showing over Coeur d'Alene and along Interstate 90 east of Spokane, with more showers southwest of Libby near the U.S. Highway 2 approach and at the Idaho border in western Montana, so expect wet pavement on the drive in. Saturday is our scenery day, and the panhandle is putting on its late-October show: autumn leaves are falling in red and gold around Sandpoint. Down at Memorial Field, the osprey pair has migrated south for the winter — the live nest cam still offers lake and mountain views while the nest sits empty.
Bonner County turns from Halloween to Election Day in a hurry. Early in-person voting ended at 5 p.m. yesterday, Friday, October 30, at the Bonner County Elections Office on Highway 2 in Sandpoint, so the next chance to vote is at your regular precinct on Tuesday, November 3, when polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Alongside county, state and congressional races, Sandpoint voters will decide a proposed 1 percent local option sales tax for street work, which would run from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2036 if approved — and under Idaho law it needs a 60 percent supermajority to pass. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds are earmarked for streets.
Halloween itself is packed. The Pond in Ponderay celebrates its Halloween opening day with public skate sessions starting from 10:30 a.m. through 6:30 p.m., costumes welcome. Pumpkin painting runs 2 to 4 p.m. at Barrel 33 followed by its Halloween party and costume contest from 6 to 9 p.m. Brewooos for the Brave, a fundraiser for the Thin Line Community Center with live music by Brian Jacobs and trunk-or-treating, runs 2 to 5 p.m. at Matchwood Brewing. The Downtown Candy Walk runs from 3 to 5:30 p.m., the Lions Club trunk-or-treat starts at 4 p.m., the VFW trunk-or-treat begins at 5 p.m.,
After a day of bargain hunting in Spokane and candy walks in Sandpoint, imagine ending the evening up on the hill at The Village Overlook, watching the village lights come on as the mountain settles into the cold. Our hotel-style studio is a warm, easy base for this in-between season — swap weekends, film nights and, in just 27 days, first chair on opening morning. Come stay with us, check your gear one more time, and dream a little about the turns ahead. Winter is almost here, and we would love to host you when it arrives.