Other southern fields continue to delay openings, because of mild temperatures hindering snow-making, with a start to the season now nearly a month behind schedule.
NZSki area manager Hamish McCrostie said it was a "huge relief" to finally get the season under way.
"It's a huge relief, not just for NZSki, but for all of us staff and the community of Queenstown, really," Mr McCrostie said.
Both ski areas will open at 9am with limited beginner, novice and intermediate terrain available.
When the Otago Daily Times spoke to Mr McCrostie late yesterday afternoon, Coronet Peak's 211 snow-making guns had been running continuously for the previous 48 hours and were expected to carry on throughout last night.
When all the guns are fully operational, they can pump out 24 tonnes of snow a minute.
Snow cover on the main open trails yesterday averaged 15 to 20cm on the upper mountain and 10 to 15cm on the lower mountain.
NZSKI chief executive James Coddington yesterday told the ODT he expected an announcement on the Remarkables skifield before the end of the week.
"If we can carry on with the snow-making in the way that we have been in the last few days, we are getting close."
The Remarkables was scheduled to open on June 18, and delays in the opening of both fields had created financial difficulties for 220 Coronet Peak staff, who will only start being paid tomorrow, and a further 160 Remarkables staff who are still without pay.
Colder temperatures allowed snow-making to transform Wanaka's Snow Park and permit operation's staff to prepare the field's popular box run for the field's opening at 9am today.
"There are lots of people in town ready to get the season started, so we're very excited to be [one of] the first to open in the Southern Lakes," Snow Park general manager Robin Sadowski-Synnott said.
Snow Park will be open seven days a week with limited terrain initially. Further terrain and night skiing will be added as snowfalls and snow-making from the field's 29 snowguns permit.
While colder temperatures in the past week meant Treble Cone was "definitely going forward" with its preparations, it was still relying on a natural snowfall to open, marketing manager Nigel Kerr said.
"We are making lots of snow.
These colder temperatures have been great for us. But we're not set up to open just off snowguns."
Cardrona's snow-makers and 54 snowguns had been busy too, field manager Gary Husband said.
"We've had a couple of good nights with snow-making this week and the anti-cyclone means that the cool temperatures are going to be around for a bit longer at night, so we'll hopefully be getting in some good [snow] production."
