The Best of Utah: An Insider's Guide to Popular Ski Resorts

If you’ve ever skied in Utah, you probably understand why the state is known as having “The Greatest Snow on Earth.” Due to its inland climate and high elevation, Utah boasts the perfect conditions for low-density snow (or snow with a small percentage of water). Consequently, Utah snow is fluffy, deep, and powdery. Pair this with large, consistent amounts of snowfall, and you have the ingredients for a great skiing experience.

The only downside to having something great is that you will likely have to share it. Visitors come from all over the world to ski in Utah. However, Utah’s popularity doesn’t mean that we are all doomed to have the same cookie-cutter experience. Below you’ll find some insider secrets for making the most of Utah’s legendary snow and the resorts that showcase it. From the best tree skiing to amazing après eats, we’ll explore some of Utah’s hidden gems that are sure to make your day on the mountain one of a kind.

Trees Please

Nothing beats going off the beaten path and charting your own course through the trees- except for when everyone else has done it before you, that is. One insider tip for having a great tree skiing experience is to check out the woods around green runs. After a big storm, the tree-filled areas around difficult terrain can quickly become tracked out. However, if you do some exploration around beginner runs, you’ll often find that the powder is untouched. And as our South Weber Prostaff Manager, Owen says: “It may not be as steep or exciting as a black diamond, but powder in the trees is powder in the trees and that means a good time, every time.”

If tree skiing is your thing, you’ll also want to be sure to check out Deer Valley, Brighton and Powder Mountain. These resorts offer some of the best tree skiing in Utah.

Events

Spending time on the slopes is great, but it never hurts to shake things up a bit. Utah’s resorts offer some exciting events that are bound to take your ski day from an 8 to a 10. Some of these include:

Solitude’s Pond Skim- Every year in the spring, Solitude hosts a Pond Skim beach party. Donned in costumes, contestants pick up speed as they cruise down the mountain, hoping to successfully glide across the pond of water that awaits them at the end of the track. Prizes are awarded for best costume, best skim, and best crash. It’s a party you don’t want to miss!
https://www.solitudemountain.com/things-to-do/events-and-activities/pond-skim-beach-party

Snowbasin’s End of Year Bash- Looking to end your season on a high note? Check out the Closing Day Basin Bash. Snow Basin’s 2025 closing day bash featured live music, great food, and an 80’s theme. A costume contest, along with a full bar featuring 80s themed cocktails, made it a day for the books. Keep an eye out each April for this great event.

Demos Days- Brand sponsored demo events are an amazing opportunity to try out new skis before buying them. Deer Valley is also home to the Rossignol High Performance Test Center, where you can demo the latest and greatest in Rossi skis. If you want a killer deal on demo rentals from a variety of brands, you can find one of our local Ski ‘N See stores near you by visiting SkiNSee.com.

Long Runs and Lots of Space

Utah is home to some large resorts and long runs! Snowbasin and Park City in particular are noteworthy when it comes to giving guests the ability to traverse a lot of terrain. Read on for more details.

Park City- Park City Resort is one of the largest ski resorts in North America. It offers a wide variety of terrain, as well as a reason to explore downtown Park City nearby (which is a worthwhile experience in and of itself). After checking out the city, you can hop on the Town Lift to head back to the resort. Though Park City Resort can be busy on days when the whole mountain is open, you can utilize lesser-known lifts to find areas that are less crowded. These include the Thaynes, Dreamscape, and Day Break lifts. In need of rentals or some new gear for your day at the resort? Ski ‘N See has a store conveniently located in the Park City Mountain Village, right next to the Payday lift.

Snow Basin- Snow Basin may be a little out of the way, but it is well worth your time (plus if you account for traffic in the Cottonwood canyons, the drive time to Snowbasin is pretty comparable). Snowbasin is unique in that it is set to host the Alpine events for the 2034 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Grizzly and Wildflower Downhill trails, designed and used for the 2002 Winter Olympics, are still in place today and open for the everyday skier to experience. The Grizzly Downhill run drops nearly 3,000 vertical feet across two miles, while Wildflower drops 2,625 vertical feet. Snowbasin has 13 lifts, 104 runs, and 3,000 skiable acres. All those numbers have it sounding pretty good, right? The math is indeed mathing.

Radical Runs

Still hungry for more? Check out this list of some of the longest runs in Utah:

Green Monster at Deer Valley- 4.85 Miles
Home Run at Park City Mountain- 3.5 Miles
Chip’s Run at Snowbird- 2.85 Miles
Wood Lawn at Solitude- 2.28 Miles
Amy’s 3 Mile Run at Powder Mountain- 2.25 Miles

Night Skiing

Sometimes making it up to the mountain first thing in the morning or in the middle of the day can be hard (shoutout to everyone who works a daytime job and doesn’t like the crowds on the weekends). However, working a 9 to 5 doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on all the excitement. Brighton Resort offers night skiing that allows you to squeeze some runs into your day, even if you’re not randomly free at 10am on a Tuesday. Here are some fun Brighton Night skiing facts:

Brighton has 24 nighttime runs, illuminated by 250 lights!
Night skiing hours are from 4 to 9 pm, Monday – Saturday.
The Explorer, Majestic, Crest 6, Snake, and Milly lifts are all open for night riding.
Nighttime lift passes are a great bang for your buck (often much cheaper than a normal lift ticket).

For more information, click here.

The Best Bites

Shredding all day on the mountain can work up an appetite, and good food tastes even better after some great runs. The following bars and restaurants are the best of the best and the perfect way to end your day on the slopes.