Washington, D.C. (January, 2025) — From family-friendly slopes nestled amid picturesque villages, to resorts perched on some of the world’s highest mountains, the USA offers a wonderful variety of destinations for skiing and snowboarding — along with stunning landscapes, warm hospitality and fun apres-ski options.
“Whether you’re skiing under sunny skies in the Colorado Rockies, or heading to Utah, where you can get from the airport to the slopes in an hour, the USA is home to some of the world’s finest skiing,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of Brand USA, the nation’s destination marketing organization. “Other iconic locales include Lake Placid, New York, which twice hosted the Winter Olympics; charming New England ski towns like Stowe, Vermont, and unique destinations like Taos, New Mexico, known for challenging terrain and an artsy, multicultural community.”
You can ski in 37 of the USA’s 50 states. Smaller, under-the-radar ski areas like Boone, North Carolina, or Canaan Valley, West Virginia, are typically more affordable, family friendly and perfect for introducing kids and first-timers to snow sports — from downhill (Alpine) skiing and snowboarding to cross-country (Nordic) skiing, snowshoeing, snow-tubing, ice skating and snowmobiling.
For skiers who prefer to have the slopes to themselves, the USA has three resorts where snowboarding is not allowed: Vermont’s Mad River Glen and Utah’s Alta and Deer Valley.
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Skiing Lessons And Private Guides
Most U.S. resorts offer lessons for all ages and skill levels, starting with “bunny hills” for kids and other beginners. Lessons can start at age 3 or 4, but many resorts also offer childcare and “snow play” for their youngest guests. Some places, like Telluride in Colorado, can arrange for multilingual instructors. Others, including Park City in Utah, offer adaptive skiing for guests with disabilities.
Advanced skiers who are up for a challenge might consider hiring a guide for backcountry adventures or even heli-skiing (where helicopters transport you to a mountaintop) in places like Alaska’s Chugach Mountains, home to the Alyeska Resort.
Springtime Skiing
Skiing in the USA is not just a wintertime activity: Many resorts stay open until mid- to late April. Springtime visitors can expect uncrowded slopes, shorter wait times, lower prices, milder temperatures and more daylight. Some resorts end the season in April with festivals, parties and other fun events. One late spring tradition is “pond-skimming,” where costumed skiers race down a slope, then try to glide across a pond without falling in.
Accommodations And Apres-Ski
Accommodations run the gamut from hostels charging as little as $32 a night to five-star luxury hotels like The Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado. In between you’ll find a range of hotels, charming country inns, Airbnbs and other condo, home and apartment rentals, along with chalets and ski in/ski out options.
Many lodges have cozy fireplaces where you can curl up in a comfy chair after a long day outdoors and relax with a cup of hot chocolate or chili, a favorite wintertime stew. But if you’re up for more fun, apres-ski and off-slope offerings in many destinations include spas, shopping and dining, dance clubs, bars and live music, horse-drawn sleigh rides and dog-sledding. For gaming, consider the Heavenly resort on the California-Nevada border, located near casinos in South Lake Tahoe and Stateline, Nevada.
Passes
The Epic and Ikon passes offer significant discounts for multi-day lift tickets, lessons, lodging and food at dozens of resorts around the USA (as well as in other countries).
Cross-Country Skiing
You don’t need a mountain to go cross-country skiing. You just need snow. Cross-country (also known as Nordic) skiing is a great alternative for folks who want an energetic outdoor activity without the thrills of downhill skiing. (It’s usually more affordable, too.) Many mountain regions known for downhill skiing have nearby cross-country trails, such as Lone Mountain Ranch in Big Sky, Montana; Tamarack in Mammoth Lakes, California; Bretton Woods in New Hampshire; and Aspen Snowmass in Colorado. Snowshoeing is another low-impact way to experience the serene magic of traversing a valley or forest blanketed with sparkling snow.
You can also cross-country ski in a number of national parks, including Glacier National Park in Montana, Yosemite National Park in California, and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Montana.
Regional Guide To Skiing In The USA
Here are some details on skiing in the USA by region. Note that snow and ski conditions can vary tremendously due to the weather; check before booking.
Colorado And Utah
Colorado is the USA’s best-known ski destination, renowned for perfect, powdery snow, hundreds of miles of varied terrain, lots of sunshine and clear blue skies. It’s home to more than two dozen ski resorts, including four of the world’s highest: Breckenridge, Loveland, Telluride and Aspen, all above 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) in the Rocky Mountains. Many resorts have shuttle service from the Denver airport. You can also fly direct from various U.S. cities to regional Colorado airports. For example, fly into Eagle if you’re heading to Vail Mountain, or fly into Hayden/Yampa Valley for Steamboat Springs. An Amtrak train runs from Denver to Winter Park Resort through March 31.
Utah has 15 ski resorts, 10 of which are within an hour’s drive of the Salt Lake City airport, where you can rent a car or take a bus or shuttle to the slopes. You could even stay in downtown Salt Lake City and head to a different resort each day. Among them: Park City, the USA’s largest ski resort and host to the 2002 Winter Olympics, and Sundance, the rustic resort founded by actor Robert Redford, where the Sundance Film Festival is held each January. Utah has trademarked the slogan “The Greatest Snow on Earth” to describe its light, fluffy snow.
Elsewhere In The West
Outside Colorado and Utah, a dozen resorts in other Western states routinely rank among the USA’s best ski destinations. They include Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Schweitzer and Sun Valley in Idaho; Big Sky and Whitefish Mountain in Montana; Angel Fire and Taos in New Mexico; Mammoth and Palisades Tahoe in California; and Heavenly on the California-Nevada border. And don’t forget the Arizona Snowbowl, a three-hour drive from the Phoenix airport, and Mount Bachelor in Oregon.
Many of these Western destinations — like Sun Valley and Whitefish — are known for authentic local vibes and a friendly, laid-back ambience. Others, like Taos and Jackson Hole, are beloved by expert skiers for challenging terrain. Mammoth and Big Sky are among those that get high marks for the apres-ski and party scene, while family-friendly destinations include Mount Bachelor and Angel Fire.
The Northeast
Skiing in New England isn’t just about getting down a mountain. It’s also about cozy lodges, picturesque towns, historic covered bridges and red barns by the side of the road. Off the slopes, see how maple syrup is made; learn to play cribbage, a traditional card-and-board game, or hire a guide to go ice-fishing on a frozen pond.
Vermont is the Northeast’s premier ski destination, with 25 resorts including Killington, Stowe, Sugarbush, Okemo and Stratton. Many resorts are a three- to four-hour drive from Boston, or fly nonstop to Burlington, Vermont, from more than a dozen U.S. cities. There’s also bus, shuttle and Amtrak train service from New York and Boston. Off the slopes, check out the famed Vermont Country Store, the charming village of Woodstock, and the Trapp Family Lodge, whose family history inspired the classic film “The Sound of Music.”
New Hampshire is home to 18 downhill ski areas, including Cannon Mountain Ski Area, where Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller grew up, and historic Bretton Woods, the state’s largest resort with 63 trails. In Maine, fly into Portland and head to Saddleback or Sunday River. Maine’s beloved Sugarloaf, the largest ski area east of the Rocky Mountains, is the only place in the region to offer above-tree line skiing. En route to the slopes, go shopping in Freeport, Maine, home to the legendary L.L. Bean outfitter and dozens of outlet stores for major brands.
New York State has more than 50 ski areas. They range from Hunter Mountain and Belleayre Mountain, about a three-hour drive from New York City and perfect for families and beginners, to Whiteface Mountain, known for a 3,430-foot (1,045-meter) vertical drop and challenging terrain, including Black Diamond and Double Black Diamond trails. Nearby Whiteface, you can experience Olympic history in the picturesque village of Lake Placid, which hosted the 1932 and 1980 Winter Games.
Mid-Atlantic, Southeast And Midwest
You’ll find plenty of smaller resorts in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast region, most within a day’s drive of New York or Washington, D.C. They include Blue Mountain, Camelback and Seven Springs in Pennsylvania; Canaan Valley, Snowshoe and Timberline in West Virginia; and Wintergreen and Massanutten in Virginia. The town of Boone, located in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, is a jumping-off point for several popular ski areas, including Sugar Mountain, Beech Mountain and Appalachian Ski Mountain.
In the Midwest, consider Mount Bohemia in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a favorite for backcountry skiing and other adventures; Wisconsin’s biggest and highest resort, Granite Peak; and Lutsen Mountains in Northeast Minnesota, with four interconnected peaks overlooking Lake Superior.
About Brand USA
Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, was established by the Travel Promotion Act as the nation’s first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. travel policies and procedures to worldwide travelers. The organization’s mission is to increase international visitation to the United States in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the United States worldwide. Formed as the Corporation for Travel Promotion in 2010, the public-private entity began operations in May 2011 and does business as Brand USA. According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past 11 years, Brand USA’s marketing efforts have generated 8.7 million incremental visitors, nearly $28.8 billion in incremental spend, more than 36,800 incremental jobs supported each year, $8.3 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, and early $63 billion in total economic impact.
For industry or partner information about Brand USA, visit TheBrandUSA.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter. To discover more about the USA and the boundless diversity of American travel experiences and authentic, rich culture, please visit Brand USA’s consumer website VisitTheUSA.com; follow Visit The USA on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram; and watch travel shows on GoUSATV.
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