SKI Magazine's Readers Ranked the Best Resorts in the U.S. and Canada.

Opening day is upon us, with most major ski resorts expected to open by Thanksgiving weekend, kicking off the winter 2024–25 season. Each year, SKI magazine, our Outside Inc. partners, surveys its readers about which resorts offer the most value, their favorite family-friendly amenities, banging bumps, where to catch the liveliest après scene, and more. All responses are recorded—many of them mentioned below—and highlight what each ski area does best.

No one resort is the ultimate ski destination for every single person. We know that. You know that. But the experiences and opinions of your fellow skiers go a long way when it comes to deciding which mountain to knock off your bucket list next. To see the full list of the top 50 resorts in the U.S. and Canada, with details on how they’re ranked, check out its SKI’s complete resort guide here.

1. Snowbasin, Utah

Strengths: Value, lifts, access
Weaknesses: Lodging, après, nightlife
Price and Pass: Adult lift tickets from $159, or use your Ikon or Mountain ­Collective Pass.

Why Skiers Love It: The notion that a top ski destination should be considered a best-kept secret seems inconceivable, yet that descriptor filled the comment section in SKI’s annual Reader Resort Survey. Hidden in the Wasatch Back region, the 3,000-acre resort is popular with locals and visitors alike. Snowbasin skiers appreciate the easy access to Ogden (20 miles away), the fast lift network, the 325 average annual inches of snowfall, and the quality hospitality. “Staff are friendly, and you can tell they love to work there,” said one skier.

The resort earned the second-highest score in the value category, demonstrating that readers feel it delivers great bang for the buck. Raves were heaped on everything from the relative lack of crowds—holidays excepted—to the delicious food and variety of terrain (“Hands-down some of the best in Utah,” said one visitor). ­Skiers also loved the sparkling, marble-adorned bathrooms.

Snowbasin, which opened in 1939, doubled in size in the late 1990s after it was designated a venue for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Today it spans three peaks, drops 3,000 vertical feet, and operates 13 lifts—the DeMoisy Express six-pack debuted last season, doubling uphill capacity to the popular intermediate Strawberry area. Upscale facilities include national-park-style day lodges with those bougie bathrooms. With the 2034 Winter Games returning to the region, we can expect even more upgrades, as Snowbasin is slated once again to host the alpine skiing events.

Big-mountain skiing, with a local, family-owned vibe. Outstanding terrain, lodges, and lifts. (But don’t tell anyone!)

If you’re coming solely for the skiing—from the wide, well-groomed boulevards of Elk Ridge to the powdery chutes of Lone Tree—Snowbasin will deliver. It has preserved its local vibe while offering the amenities of far more expensive resorts. In other words, it’s got something special. One aficionado said it best: “The first look at the mountain as I turn off Trapper’s Loop gives me in the feels every time!”

Room for Improvement (According to Readers): Snowbasin isn’t a true destination resort, because there’s nowhere to stay at the base. The closest lodging is about ten miles away in tiny Huntsville, and the nearest hub, with hotels, dining, and an après scene, is 30 minutes downvalley in Ogden.

Where to Stay: The boutique Compass Rose, in Huntsville, has 15 modern-farmhouse-inspired rooms, as well as a complimentary light breakfast every morning. Families with kids will love the room configuration—two pairs of bunk beds plus a queen. From $289 on Expedia

Dining and Après: Hit the Angry Goat Pub and Kitchen in downtown Ogden for the expansive menu of spruced-up American pub fare, unique house cocktails, and 200 craft beers.

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2. Mad River Glen, Vermont

Strengths: Value, challenge, guest services
Weaknesses: Grooming, nightlife, parking
Price and Pass: Adult lift tickets are $115. (Mad River Glen isn’t on any of the multi-resort passes.)

Why Skiers Love It: Any resort scoring ahead of all the others in the categories of overall satisfaction and likelihood to return is obviously doing something right. Those who love Mad River Glen (known fondly as MRG) will tell you that it’s an incredible place to progress as a skier and that it rewards the advanced with the best expert terrain in the East. (It took top marks in challenge and terrain variety, too.) “By learning at Mad River Glen, I can comfortably and confidently say I can ski any mountain in the world,” one MRG lifer said.

Mad River is also family- and beginner-friendly. It runs weekly ski-school sessions and a junior race team for locals, as well as drop-in lessons for out-of-towners and telemarkers. The Practice Slope and Birdland chairs zip skiers up to plenty of novice terrain. With 115 acres of trails, 800 acres of tree skiing, and just five lifts, groups who spread out are quickly reunited at the central base area.

The resort enjoys 228 inches of annual snowfall and does little grooming. The result is more a mountain made for jump turns and thigh workouts in the bumps or between the trees, and less a resort for folks who like to drop an edge.

Also beloved is the unusual Single Chair lift. Yes, it’s more than 5,000 feet long, takes almost ten minutes to ride, and tends to have long lines on any weekend with decent conditions. But skiing a technical masterpiece like Fall Line by yourself is worth it when the snow is weighing down the pines and all you hear are the distant whoops of fellow skiers. “It’s my absolute number one happy place,” said one reader.

Room for Improvement: Snowboarding isn’t allowed at MRG, a rule the Mad River Cooperative has no plans to change. More than one reader voiced frustration about the scarcity of parking, especially on powder days.

Where to Stay: If you’re going for an old-school Vermont experience, make reservations at the Yellow Farmhouse Inn. Each room has its own woodstove (and hot tub), and the breakfast eggs come right from the coop. From $219 on TripAdvisor

Dining and Après: Stark’s Pub at the resort base is where the action is, with Lawson’s Finest Liquids pouring from the tap and a band playing in the corner. When your belly starts to grumble, drive five miles east to Waitsfield and fill up at the Mad Taco.

3. Aspen Snowmass, Colorado

Strengths: Grooming, terrain variety, lifts, nightlife
Weaknesses: Value, access, parking
Price and Pass: Adult lift tickets from $179, or use your Ikon or Base Plus Pass.

Why Skiers Love It: It’s fair to say that this resort’s glitzy reputation precedes it. But don’t buy into the idea that Aspen Snowmass is one-dimensional or only for the rich. The truth is, the town and its four mountains—all served by a single lift ticket—offer an incredibly well-rounded ski vacation, with terrain for all skill levels and amenities that fit most budgets. “I’ve been going to Aspen for 60 years,” said one fan. “It’s the standard by which any other ski vacation is judged.”

Count on a diverse experience here, between the sustained steeps at Aspen Mountain, family-friendly groomers at Snowmass, hike-to bowl skiing at Aspen Highlands, and beginner runs at Buttermilk. And growth continues. Snowmass has benefitted from several seasons’ worth of upgrades, both on the slopes and in the village below, and last winter Aspen Mountain opened new terrain called Hero’s, with 153 acres of expert chutes and glades.

The Aspen faithful revere the Highlands, whose marquee hike-to Highland Bowl is a bucket-list experience for experts. That kind of quality extends to the resort’s food. “The on-mountain ­dining was not shockingly expensive relative to other ski resorts, and was way better,” said one reader.

Room for Improvement: Flights into the small Aspen/Pitkin County Airport can be hit-or-miss when heavy weather rolls in. The alternative is a four-hour drive from Denver on potentially snowy roads. That said, those hurdles tend to keep the crowds in check.

Where to Stay: Mollie Aspen opened downtown a year ago with 68 understated rooms, a massive lobby hearth, and a rooftop hot tub under the shadow of Ajax (a.k.a. Aspen Mountain). It’s already a big hit. From $294 on TripAdvisor

Dining and Après: Taco Pina offers fresh, filling, and affordable (for Aspen) Mexican staples, with a cocktail menu featuring some of the best margs in town.

4. Saddleback, Maine

Strengths: Local flavor, lifts, parking
Weaknesses: Access, nightlife, après
Price and Pass: Adult day tickets are $135, or use your Indy Pass.

Why Skiers Love It: Saddleback is great for families whose idea of nightlife is Disney+ back at the condo, but also for powder nuts who want to churn bumps until their legs fall off. You won’t hear many complaints about the conditions, the crowds, or the lifts, and the high-speed quads are brand-new. Private-equity money spurred ­development of slopeside lodging, a refreshed and homey base lodge, and newly cut woods that are easy to run laps through. (Still favored, however, are the expert Casablanca Glades: “The single best spot on any mountain in America,” said one reader.)

The top of Kennebago Quad affords a breathtaking view of western Maine’s lakes and hills, along with drop-in after gnarly drop-in. Want to let ’em rip? Tight Line is among the steepest, straightest trails in the East.

“An amazing large mountain that has a small-mountain feel,” summed up one happy Saddleback skier. “It’s like the East Coast ­version of A-Basin.”

Room for Improvement: The hourlong drive up from Farmington is winding and bumpy, which is probably why the mountain’s likelihood-to-return rating was mediocre.

Where to Stay: Complete the throwback experience with a few nights at the historic Rangeley Inn and Tavern, on Haley Pond, and enjoy a Maine microbrew in front of the fireplace. From $155 on TripAdvisor

Dining and Après: You’ll be comfortable in your helmet hair and sweaty long johns at the Shed on Maine Street. Order the pulled pork.

5. Banff Sunshine, Alberta

Strengths: Snow quality, value, local flavor
Weaknesses: Dining, nightlife, après
Price and Pass: Adult lift tickets from $147, or use your Ikon, Ikon Base, or Mountain Collective Pass.

Why Skiers Love It: Banff Sunshine’s setup gives this Canadian Rockies resort a particularly remote vibe. From the large parking lot, skiers board an eight-person gondola for a 20-minute ride just to the base village. There’s only one hotel there—the 84-room Sunshine Mountain Lodge—so book ahead to enjoy the swimming-pool-size hot tub and star-filled sky after you arrive, and to nab first tracks the next morning (from $148 on Expedia). Whether or not you’re staying the night, you can expect refreshingly short lift lines; readers appreciated Sunshine’s dearth of crowds, which translates to long days lapping the mountain’s 3,300 skiable acres.

“I love how varied the terrain is,” said one. “There are great beginner slopes and insane expert slopes. Everyone can find something.” Perhaps you’ve heard of Delirium Dive—it’s so steep, you need to sign in with ski patrol before descending. Snow quality also received high marks. Coverage is 100 percent natural and abundant, resulting in one of the region’s longest ski seasons, running from November through May.

Room for Improvement: Limited amenities preserve the ski area’s authentic feel, and it’s downright sleepy once the sun sets. Fortunately, the iconic ski town of Banff is only a ten-mile drive east (with free shuttle service daily) and chock-full of hotels, restaurants, shops, and bars.

Where to Stay: Downtown Banff’s quirky Moose Hotel and Suites is a fun base camp, with one- and two-bedroom suites, a sauna, a rooftop pool, and an outdoor lounge with a fire pit. From $304 on Booking.com

Dining and Après: Post-schuss, gather at Park, home to the only distillery within Canadian national-park boundaries, for a large selection of cocktails, beers, and house-made spirits, paired with a meat lover’s cuisine.

6. Jay Peak, Vermont

Strengths: Challenge, snow quality, terrain variety
Weaknesses: Access, lodging, grooming
Price and Pass: Adult day tickets this season are $109, or use your Indy Pass.

Why Skiers Love It: Quite simply, substantial snow is the reason skiers travel the length of Vermont to spend a day at this hill. More than 350 inches fall here annually—attributed to a storm system known locally as the Jay Cloud—and no other total in the East stacks up. Combine that snowfall with plenty of steeps (Face Chutes will test even the most technical skier), 81 total trails that range from cruisey (including Ullr’s Dream, a three-mile intermediate thigh burner) to challenging, and a tram that shows off views of four states and Quebec on a clear day, and you’ve got an exceptional place. “It’s a true skier’s mountain,” said one reader. Not to say that Jay Peak doesn’t accommodate nonskiers; those folks can spend their time at the resort’s indoor water park, skating rink, movie theater, and spa.

Room for Improvement: The tram to the 4,000-foot-elevation Sky Haus and its 120-seat restaurant is slow. The lifts in general at Jay Peak ranked poorly for speed and could use an upgrade. The place changed hands two years ago; perhaps the new ­owners will oblige.

Where to Stay: Jay Peak is the remotest resort in the East, so you’ll want to stay slopeside. Respondents liked the Tram Haus Lodge’s three-bedroom suites for family fun. From $119 on Booking.com

Dining and Après: Parker Pie in West Glover is a destination for a reason—pizzas with locally sourced ingredients. Or finish your day with a Hill Farmstead beer at The Drink on the top floor of the water park, and watch the kids frolic.

7. Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico

Strengths: Challenge, value, local flavor
Weaknesses: Access, après, grooming
Price and Pass: Adult lift tickets from $95, or use your Ikon or Mountain Collective Pass.

Why Skiers Love It: There are many colorful ways to describe this state’s biggest and best-known ski area. “Taos is a four-letter word for steep!” was one reader’s phrase of choice. Another summed it up as “real old-school skiing.” The 1,294-acre resort took the top ranking in the challenge category, with many readers delving into details of some of the toughest in-bounds skiing on the continent, notably the big-mountain vertical along Highline Ridge and the hike-to technical terrain in the West Basin. “Every time we rode the chairlift, we were pointing at more steep lines we wanted to boot up to and check out,” said one skier.

Still, Taos is surprisingly family-friendly, with European-style programming and all-inclusive Ski Weeks, and the Bavarian charm of its slopeside Blake Hotel (from $319 on Expedia) continues to captivate readers. Also well worth visiting, said many, was nearby Taos Pueblo, a Unesco World Heritage site home to one of the oldest inhabited Indigenous settlements in North America. It’s this southwestern mix—“alpine village meets Land of Enchantment”—that makes Taos a perennial favorite.

Room for Improvement: Skier amenities are not a selling point, unfortunately. The small mountain village has limited beds and only a few restaurants.

Where to Stay: Accommodations at Alpine Village Suites range from queen bedrooms to loft suites that sleep up to eight, so large families and groups have ample space to spread out. From $140 on TripAdvisor

Dining and Après: The year-old Golden Piñon is a go-to spot for all-day breakfast. The huge breakfast burritos are stuffed with ­scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, cheddar, and beans, and ­smothered in red or green chile sauce.

8. Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

Strengths: Snow quality, grooming, guest services
Weaknesses: Challenge, terrain variety, nightlife
Price and Pass: Adult day tickets this season are $129, or use your White Mountain Super Pass.

Why Skiers Love It: While plenty are happy with a beer, a slice or two of pizza, and a dorm bunk, Bretton Woods is where you go for that old-time resort feel for the whole family. Staff may call you ma’am or sir, and you can get gussied up and enjoy a fancy dinner at the venerable Mount Washington Hotel (readers had good things to say about guest services, dining, and lodging).

The mountain’s snow quality and grooming ranked number one in the East. Nestled amid the White Mountains, Bretton Woods sees the best snow (roughly 200 inches) of any resort in New Hampshire, and it prides itself on grooming. Travel up the classic gondola, admire the magnificent peaks, grab a waffle with the kids, and lay down an edge in early-morning corduroy. Simple pleasures abound.

Room for Improvement: Bretton Woods is wider than it is tall. While its West Mountain has interesting steeps and glades, the runs don’t last that long. But a trip here is about the whole experience.

Where to Stay: If the ritzy Mount Washington Hotel is too pricey, staying at the Four Seasons Motor Inn in Twin Mountain is like visiting 1957, in all the best ways. From $300 on Booking.com and $119 on Booking.com, respectively

Dining and Après: Don’t miss Rek-Lis Brewing in Bethlehem—the wraparound bar and taps are worth the quick drive.

9. Alta, Utah

Strengths: Snow quality, terrain variety, challenge
Weaknesses: Family friendliness, parking, nightlife
Price and Pass: Adult lift tickets from $164, or use your Ikon, Ikon Base Plus, or Mountain Collective Pass.

Why Skiers Love It: The quality of snow here is incredible, from the light, fluffy flakes of the Wasatch to the sheer amount of it—the annual average is 546 inches. “I’ve never experienced that much snow,” noted one happy skier. Good thing there’s top-notch terrain to enjoy it in, with 2,614 skiable acres.

Although Alta has a reputation as an expert’s hill, many readers called that out as a misconception, going on about how its ­copious intermediate cruisers are often empty, with everyone chasing powder on the steeps, in the bowls, and on “lots of hidden runs.” Several skiers remarked on the amazing feeling of solitude on Alta’s slopes, an asset that adds to the overall satisfaction of guests. “Felt like we were back at what skiing is all about,” said one.

Room for Improvement: Skiers are frustrated by parking congestion and the miserable traffic in Little Cottonwood Canyon—the only access to the ski area. Unless you’re overnighting in one of Alta’s five slopeside lodges, plan to contend with both on weekends, holidays, and powder days. Despite the slog, readers ranked Alta number one in the likelihood-to-return category.

And just like Mad River, no snowboarding is permitted at Alta. Not even legal action could overturn this old-school policy.

Where to Stay: To ensure that you don’t get stuck on the wrong side of a canyon closure during a powder day, book a room at the ski-in, ski-out Snowpine Lodge. Perks include a movie theater, spa, and pub. From $228 on Expedia

Dining and Après: Make time for proper lunchtime fueling at the Collins Grill on the third floor of the summit-top Watson Shelter. The menu changes daily, with a focus on sustainable, local, and organic ingredients.

10. Smugglers’ Notch, Vermont

Strengths: Lodging, family friendliness, value
Weaknesses: Lifts, dining, après
Price and Pass: Adult lift tickets this season are $95. (The ski area isn’t on any multi-resort passes.)

Why Skiers Love It: If you’re looking for the sketchiest, steepest, tightest lift-served skiing in the East, this is where you’ll find it. And some of it is right under the chairlift, including drops where you can earn oohs and aahs from riders above. Readers rightly ranked Smuggs third and fourth in the terrain variety and challenge categories, respectively. The Black Hole run, designated with three diamonds for a reason, is one example.

But the beauty of Smuggs is its wide range of appeal. The ski school is renowned in New England as a place to bring young learners, and the resort has invested in multiple nearby tubing areas, a skating rink, an indoor pool, and a large snowshoe and nordic-trail system for those seeking off-slope diversions. Readers grumbled about the meh cafeteria fare and muddy parking lots, but some skiers viewed such shortcomings as a trade-off for what they’re really after. “It’s quiet and challenging and definitely not a money grab,” one said of the place. How refreshing.

Room for Improvement: Skiers lamented the seemingly prehistoric lifts. The worst thing about Smuggs is that first chair up Madonna, the tallest peak at the resort—you haven’t warmed up yet, and it’s a 13-minute ride on a lonely two-seater, so come dressed in warm clothing.

Where to Stay: Smuggs is the ideal condo spot, but if you’re feeling adventurous, the cabins at Sterling Ridge Resort, tucked away in the woods, are authentically Vermont. From $259 on Expedia

Dining and Après: Bootleggers is the on-mountain hangout for après-ski, and you won’t find much better without driving to Burlington. For dinner, get a steak at Martell’s at the Red Fox in nearby Jeffersonville. It hosts live music most nights.

11. Grand Targhee, Wyoming

Strengths: Snow quality, parking, local flavor
Weaknesses: Lodging, access, nightlife
Price and Pass: Adult lift tickets from $135, or use your Mountain Collective Pass.

Why Skiers Love It: Scores of readers ­described Grand Targhee as a “local hill,” and while the area takes pride in the welcoming atmosphere, it offers 2,600 skiable acres—not exactly a mom-and-pop rope-tow operation—and fantastic snow that visitors return for time and again.

Grand Targhee’s fans rave about its vast bowls, excellent glades, and miles of groomers with Teton panoramas. It’s no Jackson Hole, but that world-class ski area is just over Teton Pass. “A hidden gem,” said one ­Targhee skier who’d like to keep the place that way. “Do not come here.”

Room for Improvement: Skiers dinged this area for its lack of expert terrain (it ranked number 23 in the challenge category), but there’s hard stuff if you know where to look. A hint: go poke around in the glades and technical steeps off Mary’s Nipple.

Where to Stay: The mountain village is tiny, but the nearby town of Driggs, Idaho, has you covered. The Lincoln Log–style abodes at the Teton Valley Cabins check all the boxes for cozy, convenient, and cowboy-inspired lodging. From $99 on TripAdvisor

Dining and Après: Citizen 33 Brewery, an airy space on Driggs’s main drag, utilizes only Idaho ingredients in its beers. Its menu is also heavily local.

SKI Stats

35%

of skiers spent less than $1,000 on their resort vacation.

30%

of skiers enjoyed more than 30 days on the slopes last winter.

43%

of skiers bought a local pass to their hometown hill last year. The most popular multi-mountain option was the Ikon.

82%

of SKI readers consider themselves advanced or expert skiers.

Samantha Berman is SKI’s executive editor. She lives in Denver and battles I-70 traffic most winter weekends to take her three sons to the slopes. Sam Pfeifle lives in Gray, Maine, where he teaches skiing at Pleasant Mountain when he’s not writing or playing bluegrass.

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