15 Best Ski Resorts in USA

With the terrain spanning two distinct mountains and the nearby town of Ketchum, Sun Valley, tucked away in its own icy nook, provides everything you need for the ideal ski getaway.

From the immaculately groomed slopes with astonishing views of the Wood River Valley to the charming yet elegant Ketchum, dotted with hip eateries, stores, and bars, Sun Valley is like stepping into a winter wonderland that is just off the usual route to have its own enchantment.

With excellent service both on and off the hill and a variety of housing alternatives from the renowned Sun Valley Lodge to the chic Limelight Ketchum, it's a destination that genuinely feels like a vacation.

The legendary Smugglers' Notch Resort ski mountain, which is owned and run locally, has endured throughout the years thanks to its excellent skiing, welcoming surroundings, and, as fate would have it, a respectable amount of natural snowfall.

Smugglers' Notch perfectly captures all the wonderful aspects of skiing. It has a lot of different terrain, is both family-friendly and expert-friendly, has amazing vistas, and isn't so far away that a caravan is required to get there.

Due to its independent ownership and significant community involvement, the absence of a high-speed lift is easily overlooked.

Needless to talk about its renowned groomers, on-mountain cuisine, and customer service, Deer Valley offers some of the greatest tree-skiing in the area, along with some significant steeps.

Although Deer Valley is known for being an extremely elite place, anyone who has been will tell you that, owing in large part to some of the warmest and most welcome personnel in skidom, it doesn't seem that way at all.

It is also known for serving some of the greatest meals in the business, and we can tell with certainty that this is the case. Speaking of reputations, the groomers in Deer Valley are excellent, but so are the glades. For some incredibly fun and frequently empty steeps on Empire Mountain, avoid sleeping on Daly Chutes.

This little mountain in western New York is powerful for its size. The skiing is a lot of fun, and everyone is made to feel welcome by the welcoming atmosphere. Holiday Valley manages to effortlessly style the trade of sheer vertical for laps.

A surprisingly high degree of variation for a mountain with only 750 vertical feet of elevation rise is provided by the 60 routes spread across 290 acres. This is one of the greatest places to ski in the East because of the great lodging, food, and relaxed atmosphere.

Holiday Valley skiers may soon find their favorite slopes swamped by Vermonters and Coloradans who come to see what all the commotion is about if they don't exercise caution and stop boasting about how amazing their conditions are in Western New York.

With four unique mountains and a well-known ski town that lives up to its name, Aspen Snowmass has more to offer than meets the eye. Aspen Snowmass is one of the world's top ski destinations because it has four mountains, a ton of different kinds of terrain, and a fantastic ski town.

This resort will keep skiers of all skill levels interested and amazed with everything that has to offer, from the family-friendly atmosphere of Ajax and its excellent tree skiing to the famous steep, wide bowl skiing of Aspen Highlands.

Although Aspen is perhaps the quintessential ski town, Snowmass Village has seen the majority of recent improvements and is well worth a visit for new off-slope activities, food options, and housing, particularly if you have children with you. And Highland Bowl is definitely something you should put on your bucket list if you're a skilled skier and haven't been there before.

The large mountain, Killington, has changed throughout time to suit the growing number of visitors attracted by its diverse landscape and top-notch apres-ski culture. The resort often stays open later than other East Coast locations and powder days are frequent in the middle of the winter.

Killington has a mountain-west feel to it because of its more than 1,500 acres and comparatively high elevation. There are some scary steeps, lots of fantastic cruisers, and fun trees. In recent years, management has worked to improve local restaurants, housing, and pubs to balance the entire experience.

An authentic Western ski town, breathtaking vistas, and amazing and diverse terrain make up Telluride's triple treat. At 8,750 feet (2667 meters), it is tucked away in the San Juan Mountains, making it a terrific, less-crowded ski destination.

Telluride is the whole package: a proper, Old West-inspired town with some of the greatest places to dine and stay in the ski area; a mountain with all-terrain skiing for all skill levels, including excellent backcountry and hike-to access; and endless vistas of the San Juan mountains.

Telluride's Western charm draws a friendly local population, and the town is renowned for its excellent dining and welcoming accommodations. Start your day with coffee and freshly baked pastries at the historic Baked in Telluride, and end it off with some tasty and reasonably priced Thai food at Siam.

Mad River Glen is a historic mountain that prioritizes authentic, in-depth skiing experiences over anything else. It's a rugged mountain with lots of diversity and a welcoming, always-enthusiastic crew. Despite being regarded for its most difficult terrain, Mad River Glen is a surprisingly amiable mountain.

The friendly atmosphere at Mad River is evidence that people from Vermont are generally less tense than those from other New England states. Perhaps because it's difficult to have a terrible day on a mountain this beautiful, the after-ski atmosphere is refreshingly honest.

This hill serves as the backdrop for many families' treasured ski experiences. Mad River Glen will always be a skier's mountain to ardent enthusiasts—a must-see for any Vermonter who identifies as a real skier.

Taos is a must-see destination because of its distinctive and unique Southwestern culture and some of the continent's steepest and most extreme skiing. when you want a ski holiday that's a bit more adventurous than what the regular resort has to offer.

In addition to the incredible red and green chile sauces at Orlando's in town, it has the topography, amenities, and culture to keep you interested on all fronts. You may walk Highline or West Basin Ridge or ski anything off the Kachina Chair to experience the area's extremely rugged terrain.

Taos Ski Valley has managed to transform into a friendly, top-notch ski resort that will make every visitor happy. Although Kachina Peak's high terrain can still get raucous, particularly during the annual Freeride World Qualifier 4-Star event, upgrades made to the remainder of the ski area have made it more accessible to families and intermediate skiers.

Jay Peak is situated between Jay, Vermont, and Montgomery Center, Vermont, in the northern Green Mountains. With a vertical drop of 2,153 feet (656 meters), it ranks seventh in Vermont and ninth in New England.

Along with a history of skiers pushing some of New England's hardest tree lines, it is the beneficiary of mountains of natural snow. The terrain presents skiers with well-earned turns, particularly during the coldest winter months.

Jay Peak is nearly in Canada due to its extreme northern location. It can produce snow for days at a time, creating some of America's greatest tree runs. Despite growth over the years, the region has maintained its tough vibe and is still a popular spot for experienced skiers.

Situated on the back side of the Wasatch Range in Weber County, Utah, 53 kilometers northeast of Salt Lake City, lies the Snowbasin Resort, a ski resort in the western United States.

It is one of the oldest continuously running ski resorts in the United States, having opened 85 years ago in 1939 as part of the city of Ogden's efforts to rehabilitate the Wheeler Creek watershed. Aaron Ross was one of the first owners.

With an authentic landscape, top-notch day lodges, and fewer tourists, it more than makes up for the lack of a genuine community or overnight amenities (yet). With so many well-known resorts offering slopeside accommodations and all the amenities a skier could want, Snowbasin appears more like a mom-and-pop destination since it lacks a mountain village or town of its own.

Whiteface Mountain, one of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains, is situated in the town of Wilmington in Essex County and is the fifth-highest peak in the U.S. state of New York. Unlike most of the other High Peaks, the summit provides a 360-degree panorama of the Adirondacks and, on a clear day, views of Vermont and Canada, including Montreal.

Whiteface's setting near Lake Placid is so breathtaking, that many ski mountains take pride in their natural beauty. The mountain is popular among experienced skiers since it throws everything at you. The famous slopes of Whiteface Mountain appear unnaturally steep from a distance.

Although the terrain isn't very challenging, you should still bring your best equipment when you come to ski here. The ski-it-if-you-dare reputation of this Adirondacks staple is counterbalanced by lodging and food options in neighboring Lake Placid.

Located on Big Mountain in northwest Montana, Whitefish Mountain Resort is a ski resort. 4 miles (six km) from Whitefish, sixteen miles (twenty-six km) west of Columbia Falls, and twenty-one miles (thirty-four km) north of Kalispell, it is located in the Flathead National Forest, west of Glacier National Park.

Big Mountain was inaugurated on December 14 by Winter Sports, Inc. (WSI), a public firm founded 77 years ago in 1947 by local stockholders. At the age of sixteen, future Olympic champion Andrea Mead of Vermont won all three women's championships in the U.S. Alpine Championships held there in early March 1949. Chairlifts were erected in 1960 and 1968 to replace the mountain's original single T-bar.

The ski area had grown to include 10 chairlifts by the time it was renamed "Whitefish Mountain Resort" in June 2007 after sixty years. Whitefish, formerly a lesser-known resort in the northern parts of icy Montana, has recently drawn skiers of all stripes seeking friendlier faces and smaller crowds.

Cannon Mountain is a 1,240-meter (4,080-foot) summit in New Hampshire's White Mountains. It is well-known for its skiing at Cannon Mountain Ski Area and its challenging rock and ice climbing on its sheer face. Before the collapse of that structure on May 3, 2003, it was also the location of the Old Man of the Mountain.

Cannon Mountain is renowned for its magnificent trees, breathtaking vistas of the surrounding mountains and exquisite diversity of terrain. There is enough natural snowfall in the region that, if you can locate it, local secrets are frequently ready to ski. Cannon is a medium-sized mountain with a lot of great terrain.

Known for its wilderness past, Mittersill is now accessible via lift. For skiers who have the opportunity to find their flow via the woods, its intermediate glades are also well-known as a right of passage.

Situated on Sugarloaf Mountain in the Carrabassett Valley in western Maine, Sugarloaf is a resort and ski facility. With a continuous vertical drop of 2,820 ft, it is the second largest ski resort east of the Mississippi in terms of both skiable area and snowmaking percentage (95%); Killington's 3,050 ft is the longest in New England.

In the 2005–2006 season, it received 352,000 skier visits, placing it second among Maine resorts and eleventh in New England. Sugarloaf boasts some of the nicest terrain in the East and is a sight of unspoiled natural beauty. Additionally, it is a little remote, which may contribute to its allure or make it appear excessively remote.

Although it welcomes skiers of all skill levels, it is best suited for individuals who like to challenge themselves in any situation. With its crazy weather, amazing terrain, and breathtakingly beautiful vistas, this is East Coast skiing at its most authentic.