One of the greatest things about living in Salt Lake City is having eight world-famous ski resorts within an hour's drive. Each of the Salt Lake area's ski resorts has its own personality, pros and cons, and most Salt Lake skiers have a favorite.

Alta

Alta is for skiers only - no snowboards - and shares Little Cottonwood Canyon with Snowbird. Fortunate geography blesses Alta and Snowbird with more snow than other Salt Lake area resorts. Alta is great for no-nonsense advanced skiers, but beginners and intermediates will also find plenty of runs at their level. Alta is sometimes described as "steep, deep, and cheap," a skier's ski resort with not too much emphasis on dining or nightlife, although you can certainly find plenty of good food and drink.More »

Brighton

Brighton is an SLC locals' favorite for its low prices, kids ski free policy, and popular ski school. Many Salt Lake residents learned to ski at Brighton, continued to ski or board there as high school and college students, and now take their own children for skiing and boarding lessons. Brighton has a great mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced terrain. It shares Big Cottonwood Canyon with Solitude.More »

Canyons Resort

Canyons is Utah's largest ski resort, sprawling across eight mountains, so it's great for skiers and boarders who like to explore. The village, lodges and condos have undergone a lot of development in the last several years, and Canyons has developed a reputation for excellent dining, with restaurants like The Farm and Slopes by Talisker.More »

Deer Valley

Deer Valley is the most luxurious of Utah's ski resorts, for skiers only, and with amazing customer service, incredible dining, and incredible lodging. Deer Valley was rated the number one ski resort in North America by readers of SKI Magazine in 2008, 2009 and 2010. You'll be pampered and well attended from the moment you arrive. It's pricey, however. Deer Valley has the most lifts of any Utah ski resort but not the most overall acreage, so it's highly developed, with a lot of beginner and intermediate terrain and some advanced. Overall, Deer Valley is great for intermediates and lovers of luxury.More »

Park City

Park City Mountain Resort is huge, almost as big as Canyons, with the most intermediate terrain of any Utah resort. It has a great ski school with instructors from around the globe. PCMR is known as much for its atmosphere as for the snow, and the resort is well integrated with the town of Park City (Town Lift connects directly with Park City's Main Street). It's also renowned for its huge halfpipe and terrain parks. Stay with the higher runs for the best snow and least crowded conditions.More »

Snowbird

Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon is a hip, elegant resort and an advanced skier or boarder's paradise, with piles of Utah powder and acres of challenging terrain. Along with Alta, it gets more snow than any other Utah resort, with the season sometimes extending from October to May or even June. It's truly one of the best ski areas in the country and has repeatedly been rated number one in top ski magazines and websites. One tip: the ratings on Snowbird's runs are a little low - their greens would be other resorts' blues, their blues other resorts' blacks, etc.More »

Solitude

Solitude, in Big Cottonwood Canyon, lives up to its name with uncrowded conditions and untracked snow, especially in its famed Honeycomb Canyon. Like Brighton, the other Big Cottonwood resort, it supplies a good mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced terrain. Solitude includes a small village with some good lodging options.More »

Sundance

Sundance, in gorgeous Provo Canyon, is Utah's smallest ski resort at 450 acres, but smaller crowds and a quiet, rustic atmosphere can be perfect for a relaxing getaway. Dining and lodging options are terrific at Sundance and reflect the tastes of the resort's founder, Robert Redford.More »