Ski Resorts

There are 12 Utah ski resorts, each with their own flavor and reasons to visit. Not all of them are fit for a ski vacation because they are too small or don’t have enough lodging nearby, but the skiing and riding at each one is unique and fun.

Park City – Deer Valley – The Canyons

These are three of the biggest resorts in the state, and as of this year, Park City and The Canyons are now connected through a gondola. The Canyons is more than 3000 acres all on its own and will feel a lot like Vail. The mountain is very open and spread out with heated chairlifts.

Deer Valley is more like Beaver Creek. Small and exclusive. Steep terrain with no corners cut on amenities, with just tons and tons of private homes.

Park City is the most well-known from the festival and sharing a name with the ski town. You can literally ski right down onto Main Street. Park City is flatter with less diverse terrain than its next door neighbor, but it still packs a punch.

Alta & Snowbird

These two are the skier’s mountains. Alta is one of the few resorts that still doesn’t allow snowboarding. A bit in denial about the sport? Yes, but they have soul all day and two giant canyons to get lost in and crush it forever.

Snowbird has more terrain, more types of terrain and skis much bigger in the face of Alta purists. Snowbird is more built out, favoring the ski trippers and families, and has a whole peak dedicated for the little ones to crush on.

Solitude & Brighton

Solitude and Brighton are fairly similar in size and territory, but they go about it in very different ways. Solitude has a well-built out base area with lodging and restaurants and has about 50% more vertical feet. Brighton, on the other hand, has more terrain parks, a giant free parking lot that connects both sides of the mountain, and caters more to the locals than to the ski trippers.

Utah Ski Resorts – Ogden Area

There are three resorts that are all just northwest of Ogden.

• Snowbasin
• Powder Mountain
• Nordic Valley

Nordic Valley used to be named Wolf Creek and Wolf Mountain. Snowbasin is 45 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City. Powder Mountain is right at an hour, and Nordic Valley is somewhere between the two. Snowbasin was home to the downhill races for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Utah Ski Resorts – Southern Utah

There are two resorts in the southern half of the state.

• Eagle Point
• Brian Head

Both of these resorts are more than three hours drive from downtown SLC, though not more than four. They are both a straight shot down I-15.

Utah Ski Resorts – East of Salt Lake City

The resorts that are closest to the city are the big resorts that get the most attention, arguably have the best terrain, and see the most yearly visitors. There are three basic groupings of resorts on the eastern side of Salt Lake City. They will all look next door to each other on the map, but because of how the canyons are shaped and where the passes are, they can be a 45 minute drive despite being only a few miles away from each other.