Utah Ski Resorts RANKED - Worst to Best
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- čas přidán 27. 05. 2024
- Our overall rankings of the destination Utah ski resorts for the 2022/23 season, including Brighton, Solitude, Powder Mountain, Deer Valley, Park City, Snowbasin, Snowbird, and Alta.
0:00 Intro
0:55 8th in Utah
2:37 7th in Utah
4:21 6th in Utah
6:38 5th in Utah
8:46 4th in Utah
11:01 3rd in Utah
12:36 2nd in Utah
14:44 1st in Utah
16:22 Conclusion
See our full resort breakdowns and written reviews for the Utah resorts here: www.peakrankings.com/utah-ran...
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When I was a young man, I dated a girl whose father was a patroller at Whiteface in the east. Whenever I got the opportunity I would follow him around as he was very good and old school, but he never spoke to me and we referred to him as the old man. He was a frightening guy who I guess didn't like the idea I was dating his daughter. I got the balls up to ask him once..."What is the best ski area you ever skied?" He stated "Alta!" That was the only thing he said to me in the year I dated his daughter. So the quest was on and eventually I headed to Alta to fulfill my dream. He was right! I have skied all around the country but Alta is my favorite. I skied Whiteface a few years ago and asked an older patroller if he knew old man Pillmeier. He said he did and he was skiing a few days ago. The man is now in his 90! Skis Alta every year! Go Joe Go! Thanks for heading me in the right direction!
On one hand, I like Brighton being last to discourage tourists but it’s a bad take. It’s our home mountain and the home of pretty much 50% of the pro snowboard community for a reason. Also when friends and family come to visit, it’s always by far their favorite. The grooming is also the best partly due to how flat it is.
I love Brighton! I grew up a Mammoth ski => boarder so of course I support the overall board community. And I like good park features.
It’s because snowboarding sucks
this was gonna be my comment. brighton has tons of easily accessible side and back country which makes it huge. they under report their snowfall and still get the second highest annual averages in the country. brighton is honestly top, this reviewer is a jerry.
but yea, appreciate the bad review, traffic is unbearable already
@@user-hn3uu3gj2g Just because you couldn't figure it out doesn't mean it sucks. Sorry you're stuck on skis.
@@TheRiddzSteamer sorry for what, not being low class? Snowboarding ruins the snow, you have to strap up every time you use the lift, you hobble around like and idiot if it’s ever flat. You can’t go nearly as fast as skiers can, you can’t do any of the technical or dangerous terrain skiers can so sorry for what? Sorry you’re some uneducated kid who peaked in high school who still thinks it’s cool to down a fireball on the lift.
Brighton isn’t known for its long runs, but its tree runs are some of the best out of all of them.
shhh . . . it's the locals things . . . I'm glad there's no real hotel and restaurant options ;) Totally, best glades ever
Couldn't get the sb/alta last week so we went to Brighton for alot of fresh powder. Great day in the trees
@@ComsiCaterpillar Same. I love just heading up after work and knocking out a few laps. hitting the trees and cruising home
on a pow day when i'm up there, it's snake and great western in the AM for the trees and then head over to milly to do some stupid stuff in the PM without dying. milly is a top 3 chair in the US. lotsa crazy stuff can be found off that chair. lotsa crazy stuff.
I know people love to hate on Deer Valley (and I almost always ski Alta/SB), but it has the best mountain aesthetic on this list. It has the most beautiful glades through the birch trees, and the view from Stein's Way is the most picturesque in all of SLC. Otherwise, a well-prepared list.
I can’t believe there are still resorts banning snowboards.
Great review, thanks!
its kind of like racism to me , total nonsense. im a skier but i ski a lot with snowboarders..
I have worked in the ski industry for 4 decades and skied at Alta full time for 10 seasons. A large part of Alta’s terrain is accessible through Avalanche gates and very long narrow (18”) traverses that have some rolls and dips and require that you step up or drop down.It would be challenging on a snowboard depending on your ability to ride switch. Sometimes you need poles to push to maintain momentum and sometimes your may have to scrub off speed to navigate the traverse. Also using the EBT to crossover from the Albion side to the Wild Cat side requires being able to push the final distance. The same goes for Catherine’s area off Supreme. If you drop low it’s a push and skate to get out.
I live in Utah and have been to all of them numerous times. You can't go wrong with any on this list, and I would certainly not consider one to be unequivocally better than another. It just depends on what you're looking for.
Totally, Utah's ski scene is like a garage full of super cars. They all have they're occasion
The best pow skiing conditions on black runs. And excellent blues. So Alta Snowbird miles ahead of the rest.
And you can stay downtown, and ski all of them the same weekend. Nowhere else on earth is it possible to ski 4 days in a five day weekend from the east coast.
I live in Utah and spent this season at Solitude. I can't speak for the other resorts because this is my first season in Utah, but Solitude was fucking terrible.
@@Bllksem Hopefully you are joking around, I can't imagine any being fuxxing terrible, but gosh, there are so many great places to ski in Utah. Definitely ski them all.. Utah has some of the best skiing and arguably year-over-year has the best quality, most reliable snow in the world, with an excellent city and airport with connections to every major city in the US just 45 minutes away. I wasn't there this year, but I heard that the snow in February was excellent in the region. Solitude isn't one of my personal favorites there, but Alta, Snow Bird, and Powder Mountain are 3 of my top 10 mountains worldwide.
I'd argue that Alta's biggest drawback is that it doesn't allow boards. Can it really be considered Utah's "best resort" if it isn't available to a third of us??
for real, though.
Yep. Prevents technical runs from being scraped to pack ice by the inexperienced boarders who got themselves in too deep.
@@captainnope747 Yes. It is a well-known fact that's all we're good for. You must be a blast at parties.
The difficulty of snowboards is they are both short and skidders, especially on steep terrain. They have another difficulty,, some of the absolute best of Alta are the back bowl areas. These require cross country skiing and breaking trail uphill and on traverses. Skis are required for those. Suggestion?? Put on a pair of skis,,the norm now is short and wide,, not all that different from a board,, come out and play with us, you will love it.
Relearning how to ride on skis when you’re used to snowboarding or vice versa is very had (at least for me) and it would take a long time to get to expert level. In addition, I have family members who swore off skiing after destroying their knees during extremely icy conditions. And I have never seen bad conditions and blamed it on snowboarders. So banning boarders is a big deal for me, even though I am a skier, and I don’t think there would be much to loose from letting them in.
sad to see brighton on bottom, I understand why, but for me as a snowboarder, it is a great how snowboard friendly brighton is, and night skiing makes it easy to go after work.
Even if it is #8 on this list it is still better than any US resort east of the rockies.
I wish park city didn’t get rid of their night skiing :[
Even though I'm a daytime weekday skier, the convenience of night skiing at Brighton would put it above the other 4 in my opinion.
List is obviously biased by the owner of the channel. Middle aged, skier who doesn’t ride park. He kinda failed to touch on anything that makes it great and isn’t aware why it’s so famous in our community
Brighton beats out most these resorts , # 8 is ridiculous! F Alta just for banning snowboarders! RIDE BRIGHTON 🤘🏽🏂
Deer Valley review was lacking. Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it has the best on slope dining pretty much anywhere in North America.
Here’s where I differ with the review. Snow typically not as much inches on a given storm as the Cottonwood Canyons unless the front moves in from the south. That said, it’s higher altitude than PC/Canyons and gets the most snow on that side of the Wasatch range. Great fall line skiing accessed directly off of every chair (all but Red Cloud and Mayflower are high speed quads). You can bang out a ton of vertical at DV. If you want challenging terrain, go to Mayflower, Perseverance, or Daily Bowls. No lift lines to be found at the first two. Tons of intermediate options too for blue skiers. Wasatch Express serves several steeper than average blues, double blues. Flagstaff has easier blues. Also, mountain is easy to navigate, just don’t try jumping from Empire back to Bald or Bald Eagle multiple times. That would just be poor planning. Plenty of glade stashes (Centennial, Ontario, Triangle Trees, X files) just got to know where and when. I love Alta but lift lines are long and there is a lot of traversing necessary to get to the best terrain. Alta/Bird still 1/2 but DV better than described. My sleeper pick is Snowbasin, was awesome this year and over 3000 vertical on longest run there.
I would have put both the BCC ski areas above both Park City resorts, but this is right other than that. I also think that at this point, Sundance deserves to be included in the destination mountains, it's not a sleepy local hill anymore.
At the end of the day, you ski Utah because of the snow and terrain, not the lodging or nightlife.
Sundance is better than park city in my opinion..which has the nightlife smh
Locals ski because of the snow and terrain. Lodging is your house, and nightlife is Netflix.
Whatever you do, don't go to PowMow! Please remove it from the list. I hear there's no parking, and it never snows. I also heard that the road is full of booby traps similar to what the Goonies had to overcome to get to One-eyed Willy's ship. For your own safety just go to Snowbird, Alta, and Park City.
My family has been skiing there for over 20 years and we have had no issues with parking or lack of snow. I prefer it over snow basin.
@@VardniK10 No dude, you are wrong. Parking is a nightmare and it's always raining. Definitely go to Park City or Snowbird instead.
@MitchCumstein I have never had a problem there, and neither has any of my family. My cousin is on ski patrol at Snowbasin and still prefers powder. It's not a flashy and overcrowded resort. If parking is a concern, they have a shuttle.
@@VardniK10 I know, I live there. Think about it dude…it’s a joke. One common between people who ski every day.
@SJB Dwella Well between me and you, I was getting pizza in the Lodge at PowMow, and I could have sworn I heard a crazy voice yelling, "Hey you guyyys!" coming from the basement. It gave me goosebumps bro. So unless you want to end up like Chester Copperpot, definitely go to Basin, or Alta, or Snowboard, or anywhere else!
Always have liked the intermediate runs on solitude. Steep but the snow makes them very forgiving. Love skiing Utah.
@lijones, that’s good to know. I’ve committed to taking our family of four there at New Years for a week from snow-free Tennessee. We’re intermediate skiers. It’s our third ski trip. The biggest barrier for me has been educating myself where the heck to go, how to stay for under 750 a night, and then learn to ski! I look forward to those intermediate slopes at Solitude.
@@DRL1320 Nice, can’t do better Utah. Staying in SLC will make it a little more affordable and just 45 min from several resorts. I suggest your first day ski Brighton. Easy mountain, good way to get your ski legs and a good ski school for the urchins or refresher. Throw me a note let me know how y’all enjoyed it.
Always love to see a new PeakRankings video :)
During my ski trip to Utah, many years ago, my buds and I skied Brighton, Park City, Snowbird and Alta. I absolutely loved Alta best - great snow, great terrain, laid back and quieter than the Bird and Park City. To me it had an old-school feel..... enjoyed my best days of skiing there. We were from the East. I thought I’d died and gone to ski heaven.
thats what i love about alta and snowbird! the apres is minimal, to me it feels like a SKI resort, not a tourist destination. If you really do love skiing, either of these will be your favorite resort.
Snowbird has a special place in my heart and it'll always be #1 to me 🤙🏻
Same man. My dad taught there for 45 years and it was basically my second backyard.
Snowbird is my favorite for sure. Alta second, and Brighton third. I know it’s not as fancy, but it sure is accessible and approachable.
decades ago i was on the race team there, was a wonderful experience.
Grew up skiing snowbird. Nothing can beat it
You like interlodge? ooooookay
This is how I see it top to bottom: Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Park City, Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, Deer Valley. This ranking could change on any given day depending on the crowds and conditions.
Having skied at most of these mountains, I agree with the assessments. Nice job!
Alta was always my favorite. I gave up skiing in 2012 and I’m now just blown by the prices. When i first skied in 1955 and all day lift ticket for a child at bromley, was $3.00, when i quit in 2012 an Alta all day adult was $75 without multi day option. I’ve taken up mountain biking, after equipment, cost per day= $0.00. I miss the sports, but they have out priced me.
Yeah this “must buy season pass” business model sucks, with those insane window prices the only new entrants to the sport overwhelmingly come from rich skiing families.
@@fandam801 Yep, our European brethren seem to understand how to price skiing. The reason it's dying in the US is because they are pushing exclusivity. Give it 50 years and half the resorts will be closed.
You can Thank Vail for the price hikes..... Nordic Valley, Brianhead are still affordable. There are affordable resorts.... Just gotta to look for them.
Wolf Creek in southern Colorado still has reasonable prices too
I backed out of skiing back in 2003. I love going to the mountains and skiing, but have found alternatives to the experience that are more accessible and far, far less expensive.
The top three are accurate, I think most locals would argue that Brighton should be ranked higher. Even though the vert isn't great, it's just one of those mountains that feels and skis bigger than it actually is.
True, I’m shocked it wasn’t at least ranked higher than Solitude
@@plazstic Solitude is way better than Brighton. I consider Brighton to be the worst resort in the state after Sundance.
@@kevinl8440 are you a 35+ white guy who skies? Typically these are the types that think solitude is better lol. “I’m super advanced! I need an advanced mountain! Also snowboarders who jump off of stuff scare me :(“
@@kevinl8440 Go ahead at stay at Solitude. We always make of fun of you when we drive by.
@@kevinl8440 I ski both, and I personally consider Brighton to be better, as do my buddies (who will be switching to a brighton pass from an ikon pass next season)
Great review my thanks!
Thank you!
Good update. And excellent and accurate review
Thank you!
As a tourist skier from the east coast, the biggest advantage Utah has is how close all these mountains are to each other--and proximity to the airport. We stay at Canyons/Park City, and drive to some of the others to round out our week. Alta is my favorite, but it's nice to get out quickly onto the huge Park City mountain for a couple of days. Deer Valley wins for the food, but not the price. I love the main Colorado mountains (Breck area, Copper, Vail, Beaver Creek, etc), but the drive from the airport is long, and it's harder to go to multiple mountains in one week.
Huh? Vail, Breck, Copper, Beaver Creek, A Basin are less than a hour apart. Assuming I-70 Vail Pass and the tunnel aren’t getting hammered with snow. And Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk are even closer to each other.
@@mrsmartypants_1 I love all those mountains too... but it still doesn't compare to Utah in accessibility. 45 minutes from a major airport, and almost every major mountain is within an hour. For a variety in a single trip, Utah wins. For skiing in general, both are great.
@@chrisblum2194 I agree, Utah skiing is unparalleled in accessibility. It's a direct flight from every major city in the US, and slopes are an easy hour from the airport. Don't knock staying in the city rather than at a resort. A place like Little America downtown has really nice, reasonably priced lodging, walk to wonderful restaurants, and what 8 or more world class ski areas an easy hour away. You can ski the AMAZING Powder Mountain the same week you ski the AMAZING Alta Snowbird. You can't do anything like that from Denver, Bozeman, Reno, Jackson, there aren't any other options with that quality of skiing with 6 am direct flights and redeye returns from the the east coast. Jackson, Vail, Aspen, Big Sky, Taos, Reno, etc, all take two flights and/or 2 or 3 or more hours driving, in 7 days you can ski 5 days. You can leave Philly, NY, Chi, Boston, LA, Miami, Dallas, etc at 6am and be on the slopes that day, and you can ski until 2 or 3p and still make a 7pm flight home. Yes you risk canyon closures, but honestly, where else can ski 4 different world class mountains in 4 and 1/2 days including flights?
sadly, Deer Valley's food is not of the caliber that it built its reputation on long ago. Don't get me wrong, it's not as dismal as the large Colorado resorts' on mountain offerings, but it's not even the highest quality in Utah anymore.
Maybe PR can do some episodes on on-mountain food offerings in the future. Like the lodges themselves, DV won't land at the top anymore.
Thank you for the quality content. As a long time snowboarder it’s awesome to have a channel that really analyzes the resort and goes over the pros and cons. It’s expensive to ski especially if you’re flying out west so it’s great to have a Chanel that gives you more insight into logistics, reliability etc. also it’s just fun to watch if you’re super into boarding/skiing.
Beaver Mountain near Garden City/Logan is one of the best bang for you buck resorts in Utah hands down. Family owned, not super well known outside of the local area and lift tickets for adults are a low $60. The views aren't quite what you'd get in Cottonwood with the crazy cliff features but comparatively way better price and you're not sacrificing too much.
Same thing I said. Just visited there last summer for the first time since 1975. But always enjoyed skiing there.
@@alanmiller9681 I love it. One of the cheapest season passes, especially if you're a student as well.
Ski the beav!!!
I grew up on the beav, now I ski Tahoe. Miss the simplicity and scale of Logan Canyon, getting crazy out here
@@chrisparnell2241 Skied the Beav while at USU but these days ski Tahoe most of the time. Have a condo there. Just came through from there today. Sierra Cement compared to Jackson Hole right now.
Great review, wish you'd included Sundance. Really enjoyed my day there in between Park City and Dear Valley. Great atmosphere, no lift lines and lots of snow. Hit the Homestead Crater on the way back to the PC Hostel. Great day! 😎👍
just finished skiing park city, longest line was prolly 5 minutes
I'm an east coaster and have skied them all except Deer Valley. Little Cottonwood canyon is an experience you must do (Alta & Snowbird). Snowbird has a huge backside not mentioned. Ski them during the week. My Snowbird experience is something I'll never forget. On the whole, a good and fair overview.
Wow. Thank you for your expert evaluations. God bless you.
Nice list; I think your rankings are spot on.
Snowbasin definitely has some of the nicest on hill daylodges and restaurant buildings. This must be from the 2002 Winter Olympics? The resort exceeded our expectations for skiing as well. We saw a Moose in the trees near one of the runs. Had a great trip. Fits well in my top three.
@El Barbero Actually, GS and Slalom (the technical events) were at Park City. Snowbasin hosted the speed events (Downhill and Super G). They were all great!!! And like PeakRankings states, "the lowest rated area on this list is better than most other Top Rated areas"....
Agree completely with the assessment. Love old school Alta, and love Snowbird as well, but it is quite a different experience, but agree to order of resorts! Good job, and if you listen carefully, the descriptions given are what listeners should here and pic depending on level of experience
Very honest review!
I’d put Deer Valley at number one.
Also Alta and snowbird are both under one ski pass, you can access both mountains.
Deer Valley is trash bro
@@AntarcticIceCap😅
You discussed choke points. snowbird has one of the worst choke points I’ve ever experienced. It was a powder day and mineral basin opened later in the day than the rest of the resort. When they dropped the rope it was like a scene out of brave heart as 100s of skiers fought to get first run down the powder. The basin was tracked out in less than 30 minutes and the lift wait to get back out of the basin was almost an hour wait. I swore off Snowbird that day. Alta is the place to go for sure.
You swore off Snowbird because you road into a choke point that half the mountain was waiting to get to because it was closed all day? 😂
Also, shout out to the small resorts that didn't make the list, e.g. Beaver, Nordic Valley, Sundance, etc. There have been days that I've had just as much fun at the small resorts than what you can expect from the big resorts.
Beaver is sick!
When we lived in Utah 1991/92, Solitude was probably the best option simply because they wanted to live up to their name by never having any lines anywhere, so the number of lift tickets sold was limited to guarantee this. When I was skiing alone (i.e. without my family) I did prefer Snowbird though since you could use the gondola to get to the top very quickly, go straight down the double black diamond runs while racing the gondola and get to the bottom station just in time to catch the same one back up again. After 10 or 11 such runs back-to-back I _had_ to take a short break. For most of the winter we did go to Alta with our two kids (2-6 months and 2.5 years old), taking turns to take the 2.5 year old skiing. By February/March he was going down all the blue runs. 🙂 (We are Norwegians, so used to taking kids outside year round.)
Heia Norge!
I don't disagree with PowMow's placement on the list as it does have drawbacks but I love it so much as a beginner destination. I think every lift in the resort has at least one green at the top and Ogden Utah was easily close enough by for me to overlook lodging and facilities. Any factor outside of actually being on the mountain is relatively negligible to me.
That place has the best likelihood of powder anywhere, it's one of the best Powder areas on earth, a kind of disney land for powder skiers. We got smashed with 2 feet at Alta, it was basically skied in by afternoon. Found stashes that day and the next at Alta, and Snowbird. THREE days later, we were finding long fresh lines all day PowMow: off the road, off the Tbar and off the Cats. Last run of the day, three days after the storm, found waist deep line off one of Cats..
Thanks for this Im from Florida but grew up skiing deer valley. In Utah I've only skied deer valley, park city, and Sundance. Will be skiing all 4 slc cottonwood resorts in a couple months super stoked!!!
If you want to skip the crowds, Snow Basin is the best bet, I never wait more than 5 minutes on the chairs, maybe 10 on the Gondolas. It's a world class resort
@@danblumel looking into the Ogden resorts for the future
There are good things to say about all of these resorts. Which is best for an individual comes down to personal preference. Expert skier looking for gnarly vertical- Snowbird and Alta. Intermediate looking for groomed cruisers- Deer Valley. Old-school small mountain experience- Brighton. Looking for Apres ski- Park City and Deer Valley. While many rank Snowbird and Alta the best and they do usually have the best snow that also means dealing with Little Cottonwood canyon and then finding parking. For many people price doesn't come into play- they are skiing on a pass so Deer Valley doesn't cost anymore to ski than Solitude.
Interesting to see these ranked! Would love to hear your thoughts on more Montana ski hills!
We're going to Whitefish this season! If conditions allow, we'll add a video review.
@@PeakRankings sweet that's my home mountain I hope you enjoy
@@PeakRankings Did you ski Bridger?
Snowbird should be #1 as their hotels are considerably cheaper than Alta and Park City. And the Ski Free, 5th Night Free and early week deals are all-inclusive packages with transportation from the SLC airport that can be trip insured, so it's a safer bet to ensure great trip for those out of state and don't necessarily want to purchase a $1k Ikon pass.
I'm not sure I would agree, hotel availability and cost at Snowbird isn't great either. I mean, yes, Alta's lodges are a fortune, but both areas are all basically ski in/out, and that's a fortune everywhere, and staying at Alta is one of the coolest ski experiences anywhere, world wide. For me, a number of places in Europe, Taos, maybe Aspen, Teluride, Jackson, Big Sky, a few places in western Canada, quite compare as far as having top terrain, pretty reliable snow, awesome vibe. Cool thing about Utah, is you have a great lower cost alternative, stay at the base canyons (or for me, even better, in the city, which is also really close) and have awesome weather, restaurants nearby, and ski all of these places (catch PowMow a few days after the dump, you'll be amazed how much snow you find) as day trips. Any of these places you can ski all day and still make a 7 pm dinner or even flight home, including dropping off the car. This is different that the week at the condo with the Fam and friends, but it's still the best skiing on earth on tap for pretty reasonable money. Some times it's about snow for time and money, some times its about high end ski in/out with fam and friends. You have both options around Salt Lake...
Loving the videos. Cound you do a video on some Canadian mountains, like Whistler-Blackcomb out west or Mont- Tremblant out east
Thank you! Yes, lots of Canada content in the pipeline.
@@PeakRankings don’t leave out Kicking Horse & Sunshine Village.
@@tallrobshortpants7190 both are in the pipeline, as are Revelstoke, Lake Louise, and Big White, among others!
In the '80s I spent a month skiing Utah for university credit. Snow Basin was our base, but visited all the others.even 35 years later, this ranking seems about right. At Alta and Snowbiird, we had snorkel days. That was a first for me. Snow Basin was small and friendly. The skiing was great. i would like to go back to see how it has changed since the Olympics. Park City and Deer Valley were a bit disappointing, but that might have because we skied them after Snowbird.
Glad you didn't mention Beaver mountain. Don't need people finding out about that gem...
For real, let us keep enjoying it. Haha
Skied Brighton early March 2023. Of course, the snow totals were INSANE but as per usual last season, I ended up there and it snowed. I got there at noon, started snowing at 1p and was still dumping when I left. The 4-6p timeframe when people were leaving and night skiing was ramping up was some of the best skiing I've done...especially the trees off snake. Was still plenty of daylight and 2" and hour refills made it close to perfect. Love the simplicity of the mountain and of course, Molly Greens
Why do people care about nightlife so much? Just ski people it's not a city.
What do you do in the evening
@@scarface548 Grab food and beer, and sleep. If you have energy left, you aren't skiing hard enough.
A lot of people go to the mountains for the party scene as well as the skiing. This is especially true for large families where maybe only a couple of family members like to ski.
As a bonus... Part of Alta/Snowbird is that it's so close to SLC. You can ski but stay in non ski priced lodging and beer while still being close to the mtns.
Ya boring
Ive skied most of those resorts, and your specifics are excellent. However, as someone that tires easily of mega resorts that have lower snow, and get packed down immediately, I can't imagine putting a resort like Park City above a more wild type of ski area like Brighton, despite the size difference. Brighton is also connected indirectly to Alta, and for those adventurous, note that I've actually walked up from the top of the lifts at Brighton and skied down through Alta, and vice versa, although thats more of a back-country experience that requires skins. The point is though, the top of both cottonwood canyons do get comparable snow (brighton solititude alta and snowbird) and all the others on your list far less. (As you've noted) The most exciting thing i learned from you, and I had no idea about this, is that Powder Mountain's powder won't get skied off immediately. Even at Alta I had to arrive early enough to prevent this from happening! Thanks again!
Thanks for your thoughts Todd!
Ultimately, Park City and Brighton are very different mountains, and it can often be up to personal preference as to which is better. As you alluded to, Brighton is the better pick for snow quality and reliability, but Park City is just so much bigger.
I've skied four on the list. I've skied Snowbird the most, followed by Alta. Snowbird is a more challenging mountain in my view, and I don't recommend it for any novice or someone with fear of heights. The catwalks can be intimidating and Mineral Basin is a no go for most casual skiers. Yet, there's no place like it I've ever skied. Alta has such an amazing novice area that permits for a great introduction to powder skiing. Snowbasin is beautiful, and I especially love driving up to the resort when the area is snow covered. It's like being on another planet. Plus, for aviation enthusiasts, there's a great air museum at the air force base near by. Solitude is nice too, but I didn't like that I had to pay for parking. All of these resorts are amazing, and the location next to Salt Lake City makes it an easier trip than skiing in Colorado and dealing with I 70. Can't wait to get back and thank you for the great video.
Solid ranking. I've been to all but Snowbasin. Regarding snow (frequency and quality) the LCC resorts can't be beat. If it's a good year and sparse snow is not a factor and powder isn't in the cards then the equation changes. If you prefer longer wider runs and usually more blue then you would probably prefer Park City. You really need to be high end intermediate (minimum) to fully get what Snowbird offers or just willing to charge (Alta does have some more longer more mellow runs). Also, there's nothing like Powder mountain. If you go during or near a storm you'll have powder all day. It's not steep but it's still fun.
First season after moving to Utah and got a solitude season pass. Go to solitude if you like $35 parking, 30min lift queues on weekends with good conditions, and a traffic jam to reach the mountain. One weekend in January after it had snowed a lot I got off the I-215 and I sat in traffic for around an hour to move maybe 2km. I ended up just turning around and going home. Not just is it insanely busy, but if there's any meaningful amount of snow they close more than half of the expert terrain (all of honeycomb and all of the terrain gates leading into honeycomb), leaving you only with the main runs down that gets tracked out in 3 hrs max. This season was supposedly more warm than usual, but solitude was also pretty much unrideable for all of November and most of December, only becoming decent in January. It is now March and I'm not even going anymore because it's 20 degrees C in salt lake right now, meaning everything at the mountain will be melted. The season might as well have been 2 months long because of the awful conditions early and late season, and even those 2 months were mediocre *AT BEST*. *DO NOT GO TO SOLITUDE*, trust me you will be better off anywhere else. I only just moved here and got my pass for solitude because it was one of the few resorts offering an unlimited pass for under $1k and I didn't know any better. I'm planning on going to beaver mountain next season instead even though it's 4x further away and nearly on the border with Idaho. Moving here from Canada and snowboarding 2 hrs south of Banff at Nakiska for 7 years I am *extremely* disappointed. "Best snow in the world" my fucking ass. Also are we just not going to talk about the season pass prices? In 2019 (my last season in Canada) a season pass at Nakiska (1000 acre resort) cost $400CAD (around $300USD), but in Utah many of these resorts of a similar size are charging >1kUSD for the same. Solitude was $600USD and frankly was god awful by comparison to Nakiska.
“Alta is for skiers” is it’s old motto … no wild niightlife there. Wow, I was so fortunate to have lived, worked & skiied for free (Rustler Lodge & Alta Lodge) in the early 70’s at Alta! Things were so different back then with NO crowds. I went back 12 years to work at the ski school and found my heart will always belong to Alta. Even living up there in the Summer time is awesome with lots of hiking & beautiful high altitude wildflowers. Snowbird comes in second with tons of wonderful memories beginning with the year it first opened. Mahalo nui for a review that validated my never having skiied anywhere else in Utah … (except Deer Valley one weekend for my ski instructor certification 12 years ago). The contrast to Alta was in the mid 70’s working at Loon Mtn, NH … where I had to learn what my edges & flat file were for 😂
I grew up at Powder Mountain in ogden. Night skiing there was amazing. It was so much fun.
Thanks for the list. Hard to argue with #1 and #2. Alta is my favorite mountain period. I spend my time at both LCC and BCC mountains and love all 4 for different reasons. I agree, Solitude was a lot better before IKON (never anyone there). I def want to check out Powder and Sundance. Snowbasin on the list too.
Multitude access has pretty much been ruined by the Ikon pass, that little resort did not deserve to become the dumping ground for the Ikon pass. Mon to Thursdays can be still quiet and you can actually find a parking spot but outside of those days it’s a mess with traffic.
@@fandam801 I won't ski on weekends. If I'm paying to fly out west, I want the best scenario possible
I think these rankings are very fair, or at least very similar to what I would have given them! Skiing at Alta/Snowbird is probably the closest we’ll get to heaven without kicking the bucket!
Just a few notes, however:
1. If you have an Ikon, on a Brighton day, you can always go to Solitude! Thus, while the difficulty in getting around is true, if you just do Milly Express and Solitude as one resort, it changes the experiences bit, and you get free parking! 😂 Even on crowded weekends, Milly and Solitude’s Sunrise lift and Summit Express sometimes have minimal lines. If you were to think of Brighton with Solitude, it might potentially change were it ends up on the rankings.
2. In my view, at least two of Utah’s non-destination resorts are also worth considering. Brian Head down in the south is stunningly beautiful. It’s not huge, but it has some fun terrain and great views. You could also make your base in St. George, and do golf, Zion, or even Vegas in the same trip. Right now I live in Cache Valley, and ski at Beaver Mountain with my kids. Beaver has lots of wide, open greens and lots of intermediate terrain, great tree skiing, and as someone with two kids learning to ski, I’d say it almost is a better (less anxious) experience skiing with kids than at the Cottonwood resorts, which have more lines, and sometimes you never know how tough or narrow a catwalk might be. (Granted, the people up here in Cache Valley probably don’t want anyone to know about The Beav’s status as a hidden gem). I might also give a shout out to Nordic Valley, which while it is objectively one of Utah’s worst resorts in terms of the stats, it also is probably the cheapest and it has almost no lines, even on weekends! They also made a few new glade runs this year off of their six-person chair, Nordic Express.
Going to Brian Head in a couple weeks no idea what to expect but I’m super excited
@@kushndiamondz That’s great! When I was there, my impression was that it wasn’t hardcore steep, but there’s still quite a lot of interesting terrain. This year has been Utah’s most incredible snow year in decades, so hopefully they’ll have the top section open. On a bluebird day, with the red rocks, I think their stunning scenery in one of a kind! I know Lucas Catania went there once, so see that here on CZcams czcams.com/video/oBxaf541u6Y/video.html
thanks for your ranking. I'll be skiing in Utah for the fourth time in February. I can't decide if I love Snowbird, Alta or Brighton with Solitude more. A few years ago I had country club skiing in Snowbird. The canyon was closed and only hotel guests were allowed on the one foot powder in the slopes.
Thanks for watching!
One thing to mention is that powder days in the the cottonwoods are rough traffic wise. LCC is usually closed for avy control until 8 or 9 and the traffic gets crazy. Sometimes it can take multiple hours. The Park city resorts don't have nearly as big a problem and PowMow and Snowbasin have no traffic issues at all.
I also have to say that I think that Alta inflates its snowfall numbers a bit compared to some of the others. A 6" snowfall at Snowbasin can feel like 12" up high but a 12" snowfall at Alta usually feels like 6" unless you are skiing leeward slopes at the very top.
Just this last Sunday over MLK weekend we had a big storm and it took 4 hours for people to go from the Brighton parking lot to the canyon mouth.
Yes please go everywhere but Brighton
As a skier, ski only resorts piss me off. Skiing is great and all but the snow is for everyone... I know there are areas that just aren't accessible by snowboard (flat and long) but still, just put up a sign that says "long flat" or something so snowboarders know not to take it
Here is the beauty of PC. No doubt the most easily accessible resort of all the other ones. The lift system is massive and complicated, but that caters heavily to the locals. It could be the most busy weekend of the year, all the tourists will get sucked into the payday/bonanza/silverload traps. But if you are a local who knows what’s up, you can make your way over to the lesser known spots and feel like you have the mountain all to yourself.
I'm from PA staying in park city for the week, I made sure to get away from bonanza and silverload as quickly as possible.
Thanks for addressing cost issues. I have paid as little as $10 for a day pass. I have skied the Bird for as little as $30. I'm just not skiing anymore because I can't justify $100 to get elbowed out by hordes of hi-fashion Californians.
Personally I love Park City even with the flaws, it's just such a nice expansive resort
Many people don’t agree with this but I think it’s really fun to attempt to cross the entire resort and back in a single day
tourists that want the full packaged winter wonderland experience should go to park city. Ride or die skiers go to snowbird/alta
The ‘hills of dirt’ (exposed only during early and late season) next to Deer Valley and across from Park City are actually very beautiful, as is the whole Park City area. The meeting of high desert and mountain scenery makes for amazing alpenglow and sunsets. The scenery really grows on you if your not expecting Telluride or Crested Butte type vistas. Plus, it’s possibly the best ski town in the world! The locals are so Gung-ho about winter sports and ski racing (and partying) that the vibe is incredible. Hopefully it still is anyway, I lived there for several years but haven’t been back since Vail bought it…..
I found it takes an hour everyday get back and forth from interesting terrain. Cool ski town, but meh skiing
Great Video. Was wondering if Alta or Snowbird was going to be first. Was thinking Snowbird because of the lodging. But I'd take a day at any one of these resorts! I spent 6 days at Snowbird about 15 years ago. We got over 50" of snow in the 6 days we were there. Best week of skiing in my life. First storm dropped 42" in 2 days (Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning). Tuesday from 10am through all day Wednesday was bluebird blue with stomach deep powder. Got another foot Wednesday night. Thursday/Friday bluebird powder days. Little Cottenwood canyon was closed Monday/Tuesday morning because of the 4 feet of snow. So we had crazy powder with no one there, don't know if I'll ever get another week like that. For that reason, Snowbird is my #1 anywhere :-)
Have you had experience in Sundance? im curious where you would put that as I get season passes there yearly. Id probably put it behind snowbasin
You missed a couple of negatives at the top of your list. Let's start with minor nuisances, like at Snowbasin not using RFID at the lifts, which creates a LOT of slowdown and particular weirdness for Ikon holders that don't traditionally attach their pass to their head. The Strawberry area there is southeast facing and is not open anywhere near the length of the season as the rest of the mountain.
At Solitude, a third of their terrain is locked into Honeycomb Canyon, which is often closed, is only serviced by 3 lift rides up from the bottom of its runs, culminating in one single chokepoint at the Summit chair to take the next run. A lack of snowmaking capabilities were on hideous display last year as dirt was showing across runs all over the mountain during January and February, trashing even the most hammered rock boards.
While Alta is great, they have a total of 6 lifts with one rarely running (Albion...an old t-bar style two seater that will be torn out shortly as they finally complete a 6 pack conversion of the Sunnyside lift next to it...that is far behind schedule already). That means in reality, you've tagged a resort with 5 total operating lifts as your number one destination (Snowpine and Rustler technically belong to their respective hotels and the tow rope is not good for anything other than destroying your gloves). On weekends and holidays, those lines can get just as stupid as PC or any of the Colorado disaster zones (WP/Copper/Vail/Aspen).
Perhaps you missed another option.
Those combo passes at the next-door-neighbor resorts. AltaBird becomes a completely different animal than either of your top two on their own (assuming you can stomach one or two trips into Mineral Basin's lines at the Bird) or the SolBright pass over in Big Cottonwood, allowing you to spread your runs out over those two areas without taking your skis off, particularly if Honeycomb is closed. Those erase some of the weaknesses that any of the four Cottonwoods have on their own and help them stand a little stronger against other mega resorts in the West.
That was always the funniest cultural thing about snowbasin. “Why is your season pass on your head” there has to be a better way 😂
Alta is magical on a powder day. I’m pretty partial to Snowbird and Solitude as well. I skied solitude a crazy amount when I lived in Utah - like every other day during the ski season. You honestly can’t go wrong with any of these on the list.
cant wait for the Colorado ranked!
I have skied all of these (except Deer Valley) and I agree with your ranking. Great job! I love all the video footage! The one thing that may be worth mentioning about Snowbasin is the two gondolas which make the skiing experience on harsh weather days a whole lot more enjoyable.
Yeah lol Deer Valley . . . don't bother, unless eating and drinking is the goal and $1,000 per day is the budget. It's for rich people the can't ski, it's a bunny hill
Snowbasin is the best if you don’t care about hotels and city life. Best lifts! easiest mountain to navigate, and it’s huge! On a bluebird it’s like 2 mountains in one
Excited to see the Wyoming/Idaho version of this video.
I hope not. No offense but we're losing a way of life.
I totally agree with your top 3 as a local. Deer valley could be 4 but that’s the negative. Snowbird and Alta are top tier. Learned how to ski at Alta and it’s skier only. I agree with you
Heading to Snowbird right after new years with my brother. First Utah trip for both of us. I'm an expert(ish) snowboarder, he hasn't skiied in a few years, so we'll see how that goes. Staying at the Cliff Lodge, I thought we got a pretty reasonable rate since lift tickets were included. I'm on Ikon, but it saves my brother like $600 and we're right next to the tram.
Of the places I’ve been to.
1. Snowbasin
2. Snowbird
3. Alta
4. Deer Valley
5. Solitude
6. Canyons (yes I split it from park city side)
7. Brian Head
8. Park City
9. Eagle Pointe
10. Cherry Peak
11. Nordic Valley
12. Beaver Mountain
13. Brighton
I just returned from my first ever trip to Deer Valley, and I have to disagree with some of the remarks in this video. I'm a serious skier who has been to nearly every major North American resort, and I loved it. It's a huge mountain with lots of varied terrain - it will keep any serious skier busy for days. The layout takes some getting used to, but it's easy to figure out. The trail map is detailed and accurate to a fault, and signage is super-clear and plentiful. And if you need help, green-jacket staff are everywhere. Lodges and huts are modern, immaculate and spacious. The food is excellent and priced no higher than other major resorts. Every major lift is a high speed quad, and stoppages are rare and brief. Lift lines were nonexistent for us, albeit in late March. No snowboarders means that new snow takes longer to track out and moguls are better shaped. There is plenty of challenging terrain - Daly Bowl and its Chutes are extremely steep. It's not like Jackson Hole in that regard, but it's adequate for most any expert skier. Finally, I didn't find the on-mountain development to be a problem. Large swaths of the resort - the vast majority of the upper mountain (Empire, Lady Morgan, Bald Mountain) - are completely undeveloped.
Overall, I think the notion that DV emphasizes "luxury and pampering" is slightly misplaced. Rather, DV is uniquely hyper-focused on customer service: they ensure that the on-mountain experience is as easy, pleasant and hassle-free as possible. And if you use the Icon Pass and find average-priced accommodations in Park City, that experience can be had without paying through the nose.
I’ll still take Brian Head. No crowds, decent terrain. High elevation. No crowds. And on top of that, no crowds.
absolutely insane that snowboarding is still banned in places in 2023. On that fact alone Alta should be lower
Wolf mountain used to be my home park/resort, snow basin when we had a full day, and Alta was by far the best place for intermediate-advanced skiers who like steep and wild terrain. I miss utah so much I’d do anything to find a way to have a life back there again
Literally tried going to powder mountain twice still have no clue how you actually get in there.
"people don't go to Deer Valley to ski, they go for the food and to make business deals on the lifts."
I did 3 separate trips to Utah with a ski club and they made it affordable, transportation, accommodations, lift tickets and all. There is nothing wrong with it Utah. Alta/Brighton/Snow Bird & Solitude are all in the SLC area and using the internet, you can even put your own trip together by yourself. Any of the places listed here are OK.
Powder Mountain is such a different experience than the others on the list. Certainly worth a visit if you are in UT.
Seriously best place I have ever been to. Hard-core PowMow cult follower now, hope to get back soon.
Have skied Alta, Brighton, and Solitude and have snowboarded Solitude. If I had a choice I would go skis and hit Alta without a doubt.
Brighton and Solitude are useful on weekends or holidays when Snowbird gets too busy.
As a former professional alpine skiier back in the 80s, Snowbird has always been my favorite in Utah. But my home base of Breckenridge is still my favorite every year.
I would have to say that Whistler/Blackcomb and Sun Valley are the 2 best ski areas in North America.
Nope. I'd not change the order. Skied most of them,, and the final,,, I skied Snowbird first for 6 straight days,, on the seventh day I hiked up to Alta. I have never skied Snowbird since. Years ago,, but I doubt Alta has changed. Spectacular. As much off piste as you could ever want.
This is, I think, the only fair, honest and ACCURATE review I've seen on CZcams. I absolutely 100% agree with all points raised in this video. VERY, very well done 👍 to the makers. Perfect video, commentary and rankings. #KUDOS
Heading to Utah in February so this very helpful. Is park city mountain large enough to be considered two?
All the resorts are amazing and the snow unbelievable. Yes, Park city is really two resort that connect, Park City & Canyons. It’s too big in my opinion, but it it the most diverse terrain and always fun. If you are traveling from out of town, Park City will deliver a better overall package for your experience. It may be worth giving one of the smaller resorts a try like Solitude or Snowbasin for a day.
If you really want to experience Utah powder and not crowds, Snowbird/Alta is the best value. And if you're going with a group, their lower village properties have suites with kitchens and are cheaper than the cliff.
Just finished my ski trip in Utah and followed this guide to pick the resorts. I chose Deer Valley, Snowbird, and Alta. And I totally agree with this ranking! In comparison, the only thing at Deer Valley that attracted me was the Nastar race course, Snowbird and Alta are just better in all aspects. But the facilities at Snowbird this year is a bit better than Alta!
Attended U of U 1987-88, primarily skied the 'Tude because 1/2-day tickets for only $7. That was a terrible snow year if any remember, but I had several wicked butt-pucker runs with a little hiking from the Summit chair. BTW, Alta was $20 for the same 1/2-day that winter, and I admit to experiencing far more "better runs" at Alta (off both sides of Rustler)...
Love ‘em ALL❄️❄️❄️
I didn’t realize canyons and park city combined. I went to the canyons when I was 15 in 2007 and it was great. It seems like a vail thing to do to combine two resorts that sit couple miles away
I wasn't expecting Big Cottonwood to make the two lowest spots, but honestly I get it. Solitude especially. The whole draw of Solitude was that it was less crowded than Little Cottonwood resorts. For that perk you gave up some vertical drop, some snowfall etc. Now that it is the most crowded resort of the cottonwoods, it just doesn't make any sense to ski there (as a local at least).
Yea it’s always been the least appealing of the 4. But with alterra buying it, they are trying to turn it into a viable home mountain vs the one for the retirees who go up for a few chill laps.
Solitude used to be the best when there weren’t crowds. You could park front row and hop right onto eagle, no lift lines. Then ride up powderhorn and have long, steep powder runs to yourself. The last 5 years has started to become unbearable with the crowds.
Snowbird and Alta were always my favorite mountains to ski in the SLC area.
From someone who snowboarded for the first time ever a few days ago, why are some mountains skiing only?
My favorite? Snow basin. But truly I like all the Utah resorts I have skied. And no matter where you ski it always about the snow…,,or lack of same.
as someone from Park City, fully agree on deer valley. Its a running joke. Snowbird & Alta are the places to go, I disagree alta beats snowbird out.. For the very simple reason that I cant bring my friends that snowboard.
the side by side lifts to another set of lifts is a running joke for everyone in Northern Utah not just PC locals...until there's no snow for 8 weeks in January and February and dirt is showing through every run in the Cottonwoods boasting 60-80 inches of "base" while DV is claiming 32 inches with full coverage.
Then the tables start to turn.
Leaving the boarders at home ups the ranking.
I've skied them all and Snow Basin remains my #1. It's 1 hour, almost all freeway, from Park City / Deer Valley and well worth the drive if you're staying in the Park City area.
I am a local skier from Utah, This ranking is based on advanced to expert skiers’ point of view. As I progressed from beginner to ski mostly black runs, my preference changed drastically. Brighton and Solitude used to be my go to resort. But now as an advanced skier I prefer the top 3 in this list. Snowbird is notoriously less beginners friendly than the others, their green runs are sometimes steeper than blue run in Brighton. Like what he said, it depends on your ability level and what you are looking for. BTW all his comments IMO are fairly accurate except getting around part, I guess it’s just taking some getting used to.
The bird's the word.
I've always put Park City at #1 simply for the terrain parks.
Funny how a lot of the issues with park city came after the merger with canyons. it would probably have a higher rank without the addition. I hate trying to get around on the canyons side, but PC is pretty nice on its own.
My favorite ski resorts in Utah are the 4 on the Cottonwood Canyons. Surprised to see Solitude and Brighton on the bottom. Very interesting that my orher two favorites are the top two. I dont care about nice lodging, fancy restaurants, night life, or any of that stuff. Just give me a good mountain woth great snow and no crazy crowds and I'm happy!
Awesome video. Thanks! For me it's Bird #1. Soli #1a. Then the rest (can't Alta / DV as I knuckledrag) though I don't really consider nightlife / lodging / traffic / crowds when purely thinking about the resorts (JHMR would be my #1 in the US if I took all things into account). My #1 and #1a have scary stuff all over the place and compete for most snowfall in the state (and country, minus Baker on a good year). End of story for this guy.
There is little distinction between locals and destination resort skiers. Nightlife? If you can afford to fly here, pay for hotel, eat out, my guess is that you are financially stable. That is typically contraindicated for a full day of skiing and then having the youth and energy to go out dancing.🤣
Locals ski the cottonwood because its what we do. Tourists, go to PC and DV. They have all the show you need and you can prance around there.
You've hit this really well. I've been coming to SLC every year since the '70's. Most years it's Alta/Snowbird for the whole trip. On good powder years we'll do a day at Snow Basin, which improves dramatically with fresh. Park City is reserved for when Little Cottonwood is closed and Deer Valley is for when we get a comp ticket.
Now that Alta is not on the Ikon, we will be much less likely to ski there. Also, if the snow is old/weak Snowbird is definitely the better mountain.
The only reasonable way to hit these resorts is to stay in the valley. Between the cheap flights that let you fly out after your last day and the Salt Lake valley prices for lodging and food and car rental, SLC gives you the best bang for your buck. If you are not on Ikon, discount lift tickets are readily available at any ski shop. Best of all, you are in a real city. Where else can you ski a great mountain and go see Joshua Bell perform Tchaikovsky's violin concerto in the evening or go to a Jazz game (we've done both)?
Alta is still on Ikon.
@@noneyagdb2756 Not on the base pass.