Tube-or-Treat at Sugar Bowl

Tube-or-Treat is Sugar Bowl's Halloween weekend on the snow, set for Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1, 2026 at Sugar Rush Tubing on Donner Summit. Sugar Bowl runs two-hour tubing sessions from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, conditions permitting, and Saturday doubles as an all-day Halloween bash.

What Tube-or-Treat Is Like

Picture a snowy hill on Halloween while most of Tahoe is still in fall mode. Sugar Rush pulls that off with a SnowFactory, a system that makes snow inside a refrigerated unit even when it is above freezing outside, then pumps it out and spreads it across the tubing hill. You walk a short, flat path to the moving carpet, ride an on-snow escalator 500 feet up the steep part of the hill, then pick a lane and slide back down. On Saturday, the hill fills with kids and parents in costumes, a DJ keeps the music going, and between runs there is trick-or-treating, a costume contest and cocktails for the grown-ups. It is a family crowd, loud and a little chaotic in the best way, and for plenty of people it is the first snow day of the season.

Event Highlights

Saturday, October 31 is the main event, with the Halloween party running all day alongside tubing: a DJ, trick-or-treating, a costume contest and cocktails, and costumes are encouraged for everyone. Sunday, November 1 is a bonus day of tubing at the same $25 Halloween-weekend price. After that, Sugar Bowl plans to keep Sugar Rush open on November Saturdays and Sundays, conditions permitting, at $50 per person, and the mountain is targeting Friday, November 27, 2026 for Opening Day, conditions permitting.

2026 Schedule

Saturday, Oct. 31: Two-hour tubing sessions from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., plus the all-day Halloween bash
Sunday, Nov. 1: Two-hour tubing sessions from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets, Cost and What to Bring

Halloween-weekend sessions are $25 per person for two hours, and tubes are included, one person per tube. Book through Sugar Bowl's online shop. Capacity is limited per session and advance reservations are strongly recommended, though walk-up tickets are sold when space allows. Riders must be at least 42 inches tall, and anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian to sign a waiver before tubing. Season passes do not include tubing. Sugar Bowl says snow boots are a great idea, so wear those along with waterproof layers and gloves. Food and drinks are available to buy onsite, and dogs are not permitted at Sugar Bowl Resort.

Parking and Getting There

Sugar Rush sits at 350 Sugar Bowl Road in Norden, along the road to the Judah base area, on the right before the main Judah parking. From Truckee, Sugar Bowl calls Donner Pass Road the fastest route: drive past Donner Lake, up and over the summit, then turn left onto Sugar Bowl Road at the Main Entrance about a quarter mile past the summit. Coming from the west on I-80, take the Norden/Soda Springs exit (Exit 174), turn right onto Highway 40 eastbound and continue 3.5 miles to Sugar Bowl's Main Entrance. Check I-80 conditions with Caltrans before you go, and text "Old40" to 855-835-5599 for Old 40 open and closed alerts.

Book sessions and check conditions on Sugar Bowl's Tube-or-Treat page.