Best Ski Resorts in the US

25 of the Best Ski Resorts out West

Here are the 25 best ski resorts in the western United States! I grew up skiing on the East Coast, thus, my first trip out West, was a BIG shock to me. Especially because, when I made my first turn, there was NO ice, just snow. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised, and I hope you all are too, with all the AMAZING resorts you’ll find out west! So, to start off, I wanted to breakdown this post by different states, so, with no surprise, our first state is, Colorado!

Colorado

There are SOOOO many different mountains and ski resorts within this EPIC state, as I’m sure you all know! But the mountains that I recommend, you might be surprised by! So, here are the places!

1. Steamboat Springs! Okay, so I have a soft spot for this mountain, because it was the first ski resort, out west, that my Dad and I skied out. And if you’re like myself, and grew up skiing in the East Coast Mountains, you know my pain, and JOY when I first skied out west! But, just because I have a soft spot for this mountain, it doesn’t mean, it’s not well deserved! Steamboat offers, 2,965 skiable acres, 314 inches of annual snowfall, a summit elevation of 10,568ft, a 3,668ft vertical drop, and 165 marked trails. This mountain is no joke!
2. Vail! Talk about an Epic pass! The Vail season pass offers 46 different mountains all apart of Vail’s Epic pass! Because Vail owns and operates MANY different resorts, it’s Epic pass, or season pass, is good for ALL the mountains it owns and operates, even some others, throughout the season! Vail offers a total of 197 trails, an average snowfall of 354 inches, a 3,450ft vertical drop, a summit elevation of 11,570ft, and 53% mostly advanced to expert terrain!
3. Crested Butte! This mountain is considered the Jackson Hole, of Colorado! Now, don’t worry, we’ll get to Jackson Hole, because talk about a GNARLY mountain, truly! I would say Jackson Hole, is the Jay Peak of the West (if you don’t know Jay Peak, here is a link)! Anyways, Crested Butte has 121 total trails, 300 inches of average snowfall, a 3,062ft vertical drop (including a fast hike), and a 12,162ft summit elevation!
4. Breckenridge & Beaver Creek! These are two awesome resorts! They are both apart of Vail’s Epic pass, thus if you buy one, you get both! Breckenridge has a total of 187 trails, a 3,398ft vertical drop, and a summit elevation of 12,998ft, and 1,061 acres of skiable bowls. Beaver Creek is more geared towards intermediates, but still offers great terrain! They have a total of 150 trails, a 3,340ft vertical drop, 310 inches of average snowfall, and a summit elevation of 11,440ft! Also, I recommend staying at or around Breckenridge, as it’s the most center location, you can find some places, here.
5. Telluride! With mostly advanced terrain, this mountain has a total of 127 trails, 3 Bowls, a 4,425ft vertical drop, 330 inches of average snowfall, and a 13,150ft summit elevation. This resort is not part of the Epic pass, but does offer 7 free nonrestricted days to ski at this resort! You do not want to pass this mountain up, especially if you love to find the uncut trails!

Utah

Okay, moving on to our next state, Utah! Now, I’m sure you all know about Park City, so of course it is on the list! But there are also, a couple of hidden gems on this list, that may be new to you!

1. Park City & the Canyons! Now, personally, I LOVE the Canyons, and recommend this mountain over Park City. However, a couple years okay, Park City did buy out the Canyons, so now they are joint resorts. Which isn’t all bad, because now their seasons passes, work for more trails! Park City offers, 330+ trails (including both mountains), a 10,026ft summit elevation, 355 inches of average snowfall, and a 3,226ft vertical drop. For places to stay, I suggest staying in Park City, for all the ski mountains you want to ski at within Utah, you can find places, here.
2. Alta! This mountain offers about 70% (estimate, not actual) of advanced to expert terrain, thus I don’t recommend going here if you are a beginner to intermediate, you won’t have a fun time. But, if you are here for the gnarly times, you’ll have a wicked time! Also, this mountain is apart of the Ikon pass, which offers a season pass for ALL of it’s 44 mountains included! Here is a list of all the mountains included on this pass, it almost offers the same amount as, Vail’s, Epic Pass. I will say, from the list I saw, if you want to travel more, I would go with the Ikon pass, because it has more East Coast resorts and some European. Whereas, the Vail, Epic pass, does have as good East Coast resorts, but the Ikon pass, in my opinion, has the better East Coast resorts, and great West Coast ones. Thus, you could go with one or the other, and be completely content for the WHOLE winter! Now for the stats of this mountain, it has an average snowfall of 547 inches, 11,068ft summit elevation, a 2,538ft vertical drop, and a total of 2,614 acres of skiable terrain.
3. Snowbird! Snowbird, offers mostly expert terrain, and quite a few different bowls to ski. It offers a total of 169 trails, 11,000ft summit elevation, 500 inches of average snowfall, and a vertical drop of 3,240ft.
4. Solitude! And both of these mountains are apart of the Ikon Pass as well, yay! Solitude offers, a total of 82 (named runs), 50% expert to advanced only terrain, 500 inches of average snowfall, 10,488ft summit elevation, and a vertical drop of 2,494ft.
5. Deer Valley! Sorry, snowboarders, because this resort is solely for skiers! Which is good news for us skiers! Deer Valley offers a total of 103 runs, 300 inches of snowfall, 9,570ft summit elevation, a 3,000ft vertical drop, and is also apart of the Ikon Pass!

Montana

Talk about snow country! This wild place holds one of the biggest ski resorts within the entire U.S. and receives some of the most snowfall per year! So, let’s get to the mountains!

1. Big Sky! Talk about trails for DAYSSSSSS! Big Sky offers more than 250 trails, WOWWWW, 60% advanced to expert terrain, 400+ inches of snowfall, a 4,350ft vertical drop, and a 11,166ft summit elevation! And is also apart of the the Ikon Pass. Also, Montana, has the only privately owned ski resort apart of Yellowstone’s National Park, the Yellowstone Club. Also, I would stay at Big Sky or Bozeman, if you plan on skiing in Montana, here are some places for Big Sky, and some for Bozeman.
2. Whitefish! Whitefish offers a total of 113 named trails, 300 inches of snowfall, 4 terrain parks, with a skier and snowboarder cross course, 6,817ft summit elevation, and a 4,464ft vertical drop! Also, if you want to ski here, I would stay in, Kalispell, Montana.

Wyoming

Wyoming is home to the BEST skiers I have ever seen! Jackson Hole, first on our list, has the craziest, most adventurous, and talented skiers I have ever seen! Well, I guess it comes at no surprise, because the terrain, makes it one GNARLY mountain to grow up at!

1. Jackson Hole! You don’t have to worry about beginners here, because EVERYONE is an OUTSTANDING skier! You DEFINITELY have to check out the famous, Corbet’s Couloir Cliff! This mountain is also apart of the IKON PASS! What a freakin season pass!!! This mountain, offers, 133 marked trails, 451 inches of snowfall, 10,450ft summit elevation, and a 4,139ft vertical drop! Here is a list of places to stay, I recommend staying here, because you can ski at Jackson, and then Grand Targhee, because they are about an hour and a half away from one another. Plus, the Jackson Hole village has more things you can do, than Grand Targhee.
2. Grand Targhee! Grand Targhee is SWEET!!! This mountain has 2602 acres of total ski area, average of 500 inches of snowfall, a base elevation of 7,851ft, and a vertical drop of 2,270ft. And its apart of the SHOW STOPPING Grand Tetons!

Idaho

Who knew?! When you think of skiing, I doubt, Idaho, is on your list. Probably, Colorado, Montana, and Utah, right? Well, don’t feel bad, because up until last year, when my Dad mentioned skiing in Idaho, I had no idea there were mountains in Idaho! Now, after done my research, I am quite embarrassed, that it’s only been about a year, since I’ve known about Sun Valley.

1. Sun Valley! Sun Valley has over 2050 acres of skiable terrain, 220 inches of average snowfall, and is one of Idaho’s main ski areas! It has more than 3,400ft in vertical drop, a 9,150ft summit elevation! Also, I recommend staying near or in Sun Valley, here are some places.

Nevada

Yes, even the dessert has snow! Lake Tahoe is located partly in Nevada and California, along with the ski resorts!

1. Diamond Peak! This resort has over 650 acres of skiable terrain (one of our smaller mountains, but still awesome), 300 inches of snowfall, mostly expert terrain, 8,540ft summit elevation, and a 1,840ft vertical drop.
2. Mount Rose! Has over 1,200 acres of available ski trails, 350″ of average snowfall, a 9,700ft summit elevation, and a 1,800ft vertical drop. Also, this mountain offers mostly expert to advanced terrain! For places to stay in Nevada, I recommend staying never Mount Rose, at the Incline Village, you can find places, here.

California

Well of course, I had to talk a little bit about California! Now, I know California is usually praised for it’s sun, flashing lights, cameras, and much more, but California has WAY more to offer, than just Southern Cal. Northern California is home to one of the world’s largest National Parks, Yosemite, and has MANY ski resorts! So, here are the mountains!

1. Squaw Valley! This mountain does get QUITE crowded, thus, I recommend some of the other mountains listed, before trying this one, if you’re not a big fan of crowds. This resort is apart of the Ikon Pass too! Squaw Valley has 6 mountain peaks, mostly intermediate trails, 5 terrain parks, over 170 trails, 450″ of average snowfall, a summit elevation of 9,050ft, and a vertical drop of 2,850ft.
2. Mammoth! Mammoth is also, apart of the Ikon Pass! Mammoth offers 150 trails, 400″ of snowfall, a summit elevation of 11,053ft, a vertical drop of 3,100ft, over 3,500ft of skiable terrain, and mostly intermediate trails.
3. Sugar Bowl! Sugar Bowl has mostly expert to advanced terrain, 100 trails, 500″ of average snowfall, 1,650 skiable acres, and a vertical drop of 1,500ft.
4. Heavenly! Is apart of the Epic Pass, Heavenly, has 4,800ft of skiable acres, 360″ of snowfall, a vertical drop of 3,500 feet, a 10,067ft summit elevation, 2 terrain parks, and 97 trails!
5. Kirkwood! Is also, apart of the Epic Pass. Now, Kirkwood has 2,300 acres of land, 354″ of average snowfall, a 2,000ft vertical drop, 58% advance to expert terrain, 86 trails, and a summit elevation of 9,800ft. As for places to stay, all these places, except for Mammoth Mountain, are within 30 minutes to an hour and a half at most, away from one another. Thus, I recommend staying in or near, Squaw Valley, or Olympic Valley. And, if you want to travel to Mammoth, stay in Bridgeport, California. Beware, Bridgeport is still about an hour away from Mammoth, and the drive from Squaw Valley, to Mammoth is about 3 and a half hours, thus, maybe come back and visit Mammoth on another ski vacation, and just see the other mountains on this list!

Okay, I quickly just wanted to mention, some AWESOME ski products and where to find them! Some GREAT ski socks, or even hiking/everyday socks are, Darn Tough! They have great wool, warm, and comfortable socks that are perfect for skiing and hiking! Here is a link to check out the socks if you want. Now, for great ski jackets and snow-pants, I recommend, The North Face. They offer a variety of great products, from gloves, to jackets, fleeces, smart-wool socks, and much more, here is a link to see all their products!

Washington State

I almost forgot to mention, Washington ski resorts! Yes, the West Coast is not just California! If you’re from the U.S., I know you already know that, but just in case you forgot, Washington is apart of the West Coast, along with Oregon! Okay, but for the real reason you’re here, the mountains, here they are!

1. Steven’s Pass! Is also apart of the Epic Pass. It has a summit elevation of 5,845ft, a 1,800ft vertical drop, 460″ of average snowfall, and offers mostly intermediate terrain. For this mountain, you could stay in Seattle, and it is only an hour and forty minute drive. Or you can stay near Steven’s Pass in, Skykomish, WA, but it is about $100 to $200 more expensive, with nothing else around it.

Oregon

Okay, lastly, but of course, not least, Oregon mountain resorts! Here are the best ski resorts within Oregon!

1. Mount Hood Meadow! Hood offers 2,150 acres of skiing, 430″ of snowfall, summit elevation of 7,300ft, and a vertical drop of 2,777ft.
2. Mount Bachelor! This mountain has 4,300ft of skiable acres, 101 total trails, 462″ of snowfall, a 9,065ft summit elevation, and a 3,365ft vertical drop. For places to stay, I would stay at the Mount Hood Village, and then drive to Redmond, Oregon, and then drive to Mount Bachelor. Mount Hood Village is almost 3 hours away from Mount Bachelor, thus, way I would stay at Redmond, because it’s about an hour from Mount Bachelor.

And that wraps up our list of the 25 best ski resorts out west! I hope you found some new resorts that you can’t wait to shred up the mountain at! If you have any recommendations of awesome ski resorts, let us know, in the comments below! Thank you for reading, and get shredding!

P.S. If you don’t already know about the INCREDIBLE Patagonia, they offer EXTREMELY sustainable, high quality, and recycled outdoor clothing/products! Here is a link to find out more! Lastly, Sun & Ski Sports, is also an amazing ski product website, here is a link to see what they offer!