Top 10 ski destinations in North America for 2024
There are over 800 ski resorts in North America and while everyone has their favorite, here are the ones that have made it to the top of enthusiasts’ lists.
Old man winter has already begun delivering snow to swaths of North America. And while for some that means the dreaded cold of the season, for those who like to hit the slopes, it’s music to their ears.
From coast to coast, the continent boasts prime geography for wintertime alpine activities. There are more than 800 ski resorts in North America and just over 9,500 miles of trails for skiers and snowboarders to enjoy. While everyone has their favorite, for those planning a vacation, these are the ones that have made the top of enthusiasts’ lists.
Top 10 ski destinations in North America for 2024
There are several factors that go into choosing which ski resort will make the right destination for you. SKI Magazine sent a survey to 200,000 people on its mailing lists last spring asking them to rate resorts on 15 criteria from the skier-centric to the resort amenities.
For their 2024 guide they switched things up. Following reader and respondent feedback, instead of evenly weighing each category they gave more weight to “the core ski-related categories of Snow, Challenge, Terrain Variety, Grooming, and Lifts.” The result moved several resorts much further up their top ski resort lists for the East and West and resulting in two new No. 1 resorts for each.
Powder Mountain Resort near Salt Lake City, Utah was catapulted from Number 18 on the list to the top spot in the West. While in the East, Mad River Glen Cooperative, less than a hour southeast of Burlington, Vermont ousted fellow Green Mountain State ski resort Smugglers’ Notch from the Number One slot.
Here are the top ten ski resorts in the East and West according to SKI Magazine.
Best ski resorts in the East
- Mad River Glen, VT
- Smugglers’ Notch, VT
- Sugarloaf, ME
- Bretton Woods, NH
- Killington, VT
- Sunday River, ME
- Cannon Mountain, NH
- Gore Mountain, NY
- Jay Peak, VT
- Sugarbush, VT
Best ski resorts in the West
- Powder Mountain, UT
- Snowbasin, UT
- Sun Valley, ID
- Aspen Snowmass, CO
- Taos, NM
- Mammoth Mountain, CA
- Alta, UT
- Jackson Hole, WY
- Deer Valley, UT
- Big Sky, MT
SKI Magazine realizes that your opinion may differ from the above mentioned resorts as “surveys are an imperfect tool” and “no one resort is the ultimate ski destination for every single person.” But hopefully the information will help you when planning your ski vacation.
And the media outlet that “covers just about everything that happens on snow” offers that you put in your two cents and take their survey next year.