Utah is quite possibly mecca for snowboarders. A combination of incredible snow (the greatest on earth), proximity to airports and a major metropolis(seven resorts within an hour's drive from Salt Lake City), concentration of professional riders and industry veterens, as well as some of the most amazing terrain on earth make it the greatest snowboarding destination on earth.
Utah Snowboarding Resources
Start by deciding what areas you want to visit. Salt Lake and Park City are the two main areas, but you can easily hit both in one trip, as they are only 20-30 minutes apart. These resources will make planning your trip easier and more rewarding.
- Map of Salt Lake Ski Resorts
- General Location of Salt Lake's ski resorts
- Map of Park City Ski Resorts
- General Location of Park City's ski resorts
- Trail Maps
- Trail maps for all 16 ski resorts.
- Ski n' See
- A decent ski and snowboard shop that has discount day passes to most Salt Lake and Park City resorts. They have a few locations.
Resort Rundown
What all the major Utah resorts are known for. Click on the resort's name to go their Web site.
- Brighton - In Big Cottonwood Canyon. Overall, my favorite resort. It has a good park, great natural terrain and some of the best and easiest accessible backcountry. Downside is that it is somewhat small compared to some of the other resorts. Head to Harmon's grocery store for discount day passes. Head to Millicent or Great Western for the best in-bounds terrain. Keep an eye out for pros too as they are regular sights here.
- Snowbird - In Little Cottonwood Canyon. The most techinically challenging resort in Utah, Snowbird is where you want to go if you want to freeride or use natural terrain as your playground. More steep and deep than anywhere else, try Mineral Basin (Especially the chutes of Baldy), you'll never run out of things to jump off of.
- Park City Mountain Resort - In Park City. A park rat's dream come true. This is where the Olympic halfpipe competition was held and Park City has kept the pipe in tip-top shape since then. Consistently rated one of the best parks in the world, it has terrain features to keep riders of every level busy. More rails, kickers and park terrain than you can shake a stick at. To get a break from from terrain park bliss, head to Jupiter bowl. Day passes are expensive though, but Utah's only apres-ski scene helps make up for the steep price. THey do have great discounts on tickets through Ski N See
- Snowbasin - Up and behind Ogden canyon. Owned by the same guy that owns Sun Valley, Snowbasin has had more improvements made to it than any other resort in the last 10 years. It was the location of the skiing events in the Olympics. It has a huge amount of fun, lift accessible terrain. Downsides are it doesn't get as much snow as the Cottonwood Canyons resorts and gets windier than any other Utah resort. HEad to John Paul And Strawberry for the best terrain.
- Solitude - In Big Cottonwood Canyon. A great resort to get away from the crowds and enjoy the amzing views Utah resorts have. Solitude. Head over to Honeycomb Canyon for some fun powder riding.
- The Canyons - In Park City. One of the biggest resorts in Utah, The Canyons is great if you're going with the family. It has a decent park, a ton of groomers, and some decent backcountry. Head to Ninety-Nine Ninety and head for the backcountry access gates or head to the south chutes off Super Condor(only on powder days).
- Sundance - In Provo canyon. A little resort owned by Robert Redford. Upper portion of the mountain can be fun on powder days if you get there REALLY early, but otherwise it's too small and doesn't get enough snow to be worth it.
Snow Reports
It's good to check a number of snow reports since each of them are updated at different times and post different kinds of information.
- Ski Utah Snow Report
- Ski Utah is also a good place to check for lodging deals. I've had friends get killer deals through them
- OntheSnow Snow Report
- Check out OntheSnow's resort cams for up-to-the-minute conditions
- Forecasts for each Resort
- Weather forecasts for each resort in addition to snow reports.
Utah Backcountry Tips
The Wasatch front has some of the greatest and easiest accessible backcountry in all the world. Here are some spots to hit and other resources. The links on the locations link you Google Maps satellite images of the location.
- Caution - Utah's combination of fluffy and light powder and an abundance of beautiful, bluebird, sunny days between storms makes for a large number of avalanches. Every year that i can remember, people have been killed in slides here. Before heading out for backcountry riding(whether it be from a resort, hiking, or on snowmobiles), make sure you are comfortable riding the terrain you may encounter. Also never go alone and always wear a transciever. You can even buy little ones that fit in your jacket these days.
- Grizzly Gulch - In little Cottonwood Canyon. Grizzly Gulch is the place for relatively accessible backcountry. Drive up Little Cottonwood canyon until you get to the second Alta lodge. On the North side (opposite of Alta) is a large gulch to hike up. You should be able to find boot pack to follow. You'll hike about a mile until the gulch open's up to the world's greatest place to build kickers. This is where the famous Chad's gap is(The gap Travis Rice kills in Pop). Check out the link to the Google Maps satellite image.
- Park City Powder Cats and Heli-ski - Snowcat boarding in the Uintah Mountains, so pristine and amazing that there aren't even any resorts there.
- Wasatch PowderBirds - The best heli-boarding. Leaves from Snowbird. Pricey though.
- Parley's Canyon - Up I-80 on the way to Park City. Just get off the freeway at Parley's Canyon halfway up and go up the canyon. There are all sorts of places to stop and hike. Check out the link to the Google Maps satellite image.
National Weather Service Utah Weather Advisories
Know when and where it's snowing in Utah.
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