There was a time when the Alps were the world’s ultimate skiing destination. People traveled from far and wide to ski those runs, ignoring destinations closer to home. But over the last several decades, North American ski resorts have caught up with, and even surpassed the popularity of Europe’s finest. In this video, we’re going to look at some of the best ski resorts in America. Be sure to watch until the end of the video to find out which destination is rated number one. And don’t forget to click the like button and subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any of our upcoming videos.
What makes the best ski resorts in America so popular? They offer a few advantages over many other parts of the world, including more variety in the types of snow, better-supervised ski hills, shorter waits for lifts, and more snow than many resorts. More than double in some cases, with resorts like Whistler getting over 30 feet in a typical year compared to 15 or so for most European hills.
Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is one of the best ski resort towns in America, landing at or near the top of every list from one year to the next. It’s long been synonymous with extreme skiing, but over the last few years has made major changes to its design to accommodate more beginner and intermediate skiers.
Features like more open terrain on the Teton lift, the Sweetwater Gondola, and a new instruction center for kids called Solitude Station have made Jackson Hole much more of a family-friendly ski destination. The changes seem to be working as Jackson Hole has been growing much faster than the rest of the North American ski industry.
Steamboat
Steamboat bills itself as “Ski Town USA” and there’s good reason for that nickname. The resort has been around since 1963 and is a big part of the ski industry’s history in America.
Steamboat is a real place, not a collection of buildings built to “manufacture” a resort town. As such, it’s got a lot more to offer than many other ski towns. That’s not to say it hasn’t got a great ski culture, though. Steamboat is home to one of the largest (and coolest) ski shops in America, Ski Haus. On top of a great selection of equipment, it carries enough spare parts to repair virtually any make or model of skis.
Steamboat also gets more snow than any other resort in Colorado, one of the best states for skiing. The hills are covered in snow by early to mid-November, letting you get a head-start on many other resorts.
Aspen
Aspen is another Colorado-based resort and might be one of the most famous with non-skiers. Many movies about skiing take place in Aspen, like the Jim Carrey hit Dumb and Dumber, giving it a reputation as one of the best ski resorts in America.
A lot of people don’t realize there are actually four separate ski resorts near the town of Aspen – Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Aspen Snowmass. A single lift ticket gives you access to all four resorts so you can move freely from one to another.
Each of the four resorts has its own personality. Buttermilk is perfect for beginners, with mellow runs and a great ski school. Aspen Mountain’s slopes end right in Aspen itself. Aspen Highlands is a great hill for powder chasers, and Highland’s Bowl has one of the best in-bounds bootpacks anywhere. And if you’re looking for the ultimate destination resort, Snowmass is perfect.
Snowbird and Alta
Snowbird and Alta are technically two separate resorts in Utah but being so close to one another, they’re typically treated as two parts of the same destination. While they’re close together, they each offer some unique features.
Alta is only accessible to skiers — snowboarders aren’t allowed on its hills. Snowbird offers a tram that takes both skiers and snowboarders to the top of the resort’s vertical in a straight shot up the hill.
A joint lift ticket lets you cross from one resort to the other, provided you’re on skis, of course. One of the reasons Alta-Snowbird is so highly rated is that its slopes gather snow better than almost any other resort in North America. Combine that with interesting, varying terrain, and you’ll enjoy every foot of the ride down the mountain.
Vail
Heading back to Colorado, we’ve got another one of the most famous ski resorts in America – Vail. Like Aspen, Vail has been the setting of many movies about skiing and winter sports, which helped cement its fame even with non-skiers.
While Colorado is home to several of the best ski resorts in America, Vail is considered one of its flagships. It offers more than 5,000 acres of accessible terrain combined with a wide range of dining and lodging options at the base. Skiers of all skill levels will find suitable terrain at Vail.
You can fly to Denver and drive up to Vail, but the quicker option is to fly directly into Eagle-Vail airport, which is only 35 minutes from the resort. It has direct flights from hubs around the country, including Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Atlanta.
Whistler-Blackcomb
Whistler-Blackcomb, located about 3 hours north of Vancouver, Canada, is the largest ski resort in North America. It not only offers a great skiing experience but also one of the best ski village scenes. Over the last 20 years, Whistler Village has become a world-class destination, even for non-skiers.
Fine dining, high-end lodging, great shopping, and an amazing after-hours party scene make it one of the best ski resorts in the world, not just America.
Of course, the skiing is what really matters, and Whistler-Blackcomb won’t disappoint. It offers the largest vertical drop in North America for long descents. There are thousands of acres of terrain spread across the two mountain peaks, and you’ll find runs for skiers at any skill level – beginner to Black Diamond.
Being close to Vancouver is another bonus. The range of elevations, from sea level to the peaks of Whistler-Blackcomb, mean you can find a huge range of activities within a short drive of one another. You could spend time at the beach, maybe even take a dip in the Pacific Ocean when it warms up a bit later in ski season and hit the ski hills on the same day.
Big Sky
Big Sky offers 5,800 acres of terrain nestled in Montana’s section of the Rocky Mountains, making it the third-largest resort in North America. But unlike the other resorts over 5,000 acres — Whistler, Park City, and Vail — Big Sky almost never has big crowds. You can visit anytime and rarely need to stand in a lift line.
A small tram takes you up to Lone Peak for a couloir that you’ll need some serious skill to descend. But if you’re not quite at that level and consider yourself an intermediate skier, Big Sky is still ideal. It’s got a wide range of blue runs that descend at less intimidating angles. You can pull up to take in the view, and likely won’t see another skier for hundreds of yards.
The base isn’t as developed as many of the other resorts on this list, but Big Sky is gradually expanding it to offer more than just skiing to its visitors.
Park City
Park City Utah is the second-largest ski resort in North America. With an expansion to include nearby canyons several years ago, it grew to cover 7,300 acres. Only Whistler-Blackcomb offers more terrain to its visitors.
Park City’s size can be a little intimidating for skiers who aren’t familiar with the layout, but if you spend your days on one of the two sides of the resort, it’s a lot easier to manage. Legacy Park City is the southern portion, and Legacy Canyons is the northern part.
There’s plenty of great skiing on both sides of the resort. You can start from the Ninety-Nine Ninety lift on the north side or Jupiter on the south side. One of Park City’s unique features is being able to ski right into town. Only Aspen and Telluride offer similar ski-out options.
Telluride
Back to Colorado once again, we come to our top-rated hill in this list of the best ski resorts in America — Telluride. It’s a recognizable name to most skiers but has been a great white buffalo for many.
The town of Telluride dates back to its days as a mining outpost. Those old bones create a striking silhouette against the vertical box canyon walls. There are plenty of dining options and clever shops to keep you occupied after a day on the mountain.
The town runs into the lower hills of the resort, where the gondola will take you up to Mountain Village, a separate town that’s home to the resort’s operations and lodging.
Expert skiers will enjoy the Gold Hill runs that descend right into town. For intermediate skiers, Telluride offers plenty of blue terrain around Mountain Village, and beginners can choose from several long, well-groomed runs.
Unlike some of the other resorts on this list, Telluride offers great skiing right into spring, and the high elevation and northern exposure helps keep the snow in perfect shape.
Have you skied any of these resorts? Be sure to let us know which is your favorite winter destination in the comments below. And don’t forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel, so you don’t miss anything.