Top Ten Ski Resorts in the USA

16th November 2020

Last modified on May 13th, 2021

And the winner is…. Park City in Utah.

Research by Koala has examined the offerings of more than 450 ski resorts.

It has taken into account factors such as annual snowfall, length of runs, the cost of an adult ski pass and review ratings to create a ranking of the best resorts in America.

Koala ranked each ski resort giving each a normalised score out of 10 for each factor, before taking an average final score across its criteria..

Koala used Skiresort.info, Instagram Hashtags, On the Snow and Climate-Data.org to provide the facts and information for its research.

Here are its conclusions:

Top Ten Resorts in the USA

“I can definitely see why Park City is the best ski resort in America,” said the CEO of Koala, Mike Kennedy.

Koala is an accommodation provider that connects holiday makers with timeshare owners.

“As America’s largest ski resort, it boasts 348 of trails and over 7,300 skiable acres, meaning you’ll never get bored,” continued Mike Kennedy.

“Not only home to world-class skiing and snowboarding, the village’s lively main street is renowned for its après-ski, with nightly live music and dancing.

“For those looking for alternative winter activities, the resort offers unique entertainment such as zip-lining and even a mountain roller coaster, which all the family are guaranteed to enjoy.”

To view the full research please click here.

Now everyone will have a view but we find it hard to disagree.

PlanetSKI’s editor, James Cove, visited Park City last season, January 2020.

Park City is certainly one of the best ski towns in the USA.

Full of character, life and surrounded by some fabulous resorts.

“Park City is a genuine and authentic ex-mining town with a historic Main Street. It has no fewer than 47 historic buildings,” said the director of sales and marketing, Chad Wassmer, to PlanetSKI.

‘We have Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley on our doorstep, plus there are plenty of other resorts nearby – Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitide and of course Sundance.

There’s snowshoeing, cross country skiing, the Olympic bobsled and you can even make your own gin in the distillery on Main Street.

So, we tried them all on our visit.

Check out our daily blogs from our base in Park City:

• On arrival in Utah

• From snow shoeing to Olympic bobsled

• A day in Deer Valley

• A day in Park City and a night making gin

• PlanetSKI hits Sundance

• Final Day in Utah

Park City, Utah

Snow is currently falling in some ski resorts in the USA with resorts opening – under strict Covid-19 rules.

See here for our latest story:

Snow Falls as More US Ski Resorts Open

Meanwhile here are the resorts that made the Top Twenty.

11 – Killington, Vermont

12 – Beaver Creek, Colorado

13 0 Mammoth Mountain, California

14 – Steamboat, Colorado

15 – Snowbird, Utah

16 – Copper Mountain, Colorado

17 – Grand Targhee, Wyoming

18 – Taos, New Mexico

19 – Alta, Utah

20 – Wolf Creek, Colorado

But our strongest recommendation at PlanetSKI, for the USA and anywhere else, is don’t get too swayed by such lists.

The best times we have had in the USA and Canada are on our road trips where we visit the small resorts that are well-off the beaten track.

We hit fantastic resorts, often in deep snow, and experience the real America.

Take our one to Idaho back in 2018.

Idaho ski road trip. Image © PlanetSKI.

Idaho ski road trip moves on

We took in Bogus Basin, Brundage Mountain, Tamarack and Schweitzer.

Ever heard of them? No, neither had we.

Idaho ski road trip. Photo credit – PlanetSKI

Idaho ski road trip. Photo credit – PlanetSKI

See here for a round-up with links to all our blogs from Idaho.

That’s All Folks!

Idaho ski road trip. Photo credit – PlanetSKI