Salt Lake has more ski resorts within an hour of downtown than almost any city in the country, and our crew is out there every chance we get. Here's our 2026–27 guide to the ski resorts near Salt Lake City: target opening days, which pass gets you in, the new parking reservation rules, and the canyon tips we wish someone had told us our first season.
Opening dates are resort targets and always depend on snow.
Ski all day, then find something to do at night. The SLC Weekender sends 60+ weekend picks every Thursday. Free, and 7,500+ locals read it.
Little Cottonwood Canyon
Alta
Target opening: Nov 20. Passes: Ikon (7 days shared with Snowbird), Mountain Collective. About 40 minutes from the airport.
Skiers only, legendary snow and an expanded Albion Day Lodge this season. Parking: reservations are required Friday–Sunday and holidays, 8am–1pm, from Dec 11 through Apr 4. It's $25, or $10 if you buy your lift ticket online. No-shows are charged $100 after a first warning, and parking without a reservation is a $150 fine.
Snowbird
Target opening: Thanksgiving week. Passes: Ikon, Mountain Collective. About 35 minutes from the airport.
Big, steep terrain and the tram, plus the Chickadee lift is now a quad. Parking: mostly free and first come, first served, with optional paid reservations and carpool-only spots for 3+ people. Passholders get one free rolling reservation for Upper Gad Valley.
Big Cottonwood Canyon
Solitude
Target opening: Nov 20. Pass: Ikon. 13 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Parking: reservations are required before 11am on Fridays–Sundays and holidays, Dec 18 through Mar 28. It's $35 for 1–3 people and free for 4+ (you still need the reservation). It's free for everyone after 11am.
Brighton
Opening: date TBA (last season it opened Dec 2). Pass: Ikon. About 45 minutes from the airport.
Brighton celebrates its 90th season with night skiing Wednesday–Monday, 4–9pm (closed Tuesdays). Parking: reservations before noon on Fridays–Sundays and holidays; $25 for 1–3 people, $10 for 4+. Free Monday–Thursday and after noon. Tip: weekend reservations drop Mondays at 6pm.
Park City
Park City Mountain
Target opening: Nov 20. Pass: Epic. About 40–50 minutes from the airport.
The largest ski resort in the US by skiable acreage. New this season: the 10-person Canyons Village Skyway replaces the Cabriolet, and there's a new superpipe for January's Snow League event.
Deer Valley
Opening: Dec 5. Pass: Ikon (7 days, reservations required).
Skiers only. The new Hail Peak Express adds about 200 acres for 4,500 total. Tip: carpools of 3+ park free at the Jordanelle base.
Woodward Park City
Opening date TBA. It's known for tubing, terrain parks and an indoor action-sports hub with a skate park, foam pit and trampolines, which makes it a great rainy- or bad-snow-day backup.
Ogden Valley and Sundance
Snowbasin
Target opening: Thanksgiving week. Passes: Ikon, Mountain Collective. About 45 minutes north of Salt Lake.
Powder Mountain
Opening: Dec 11. The new DMI lift adds more than 1,000 acres. Note that part of the mountain is private terrain for members.
Sundance
Opening: early December. About an hour south of Salt Lake, and a beautiful, smaller mountain for a mellow day.
Nordic skiing near Salt Lake
Mountain Dell (Parleys Canyon): 10 km of trails, $10 day pass, under 18 free
Solitude Nordic Center: about 20 km, plus snowshoe trails around Silver Lake
White Pine Touring (Park City): 2026–27 passes on sale now
Getting up the canyons
Know the traction law. When the beacons are flashing, you need at least 5/32" of tread. AWD and 4WD vehicles need M+S tires at minimum, and 2WD vehicles need 3PMSF tires or chains. UDOT runs checkpoints at the canyon mouths.
Take the bus. UTA's ski buses serve both Cottonwood Canyons. Route 994 to Alta and Snowbird runs mid-November to mid-April, and Route 972 serves Brighton and Solitude. The fare is $5, and it's free for Ikon holders and Alta, Snowbird, Solitude and Brighton passholders.
Carpool. Several resorts discount or waive parking for 3–4+ people.
Heading into the backcountry? Check the Utah Avalanche Center forecast at utahavalanchecenter.org before every tour.
More winter guides
Powder days and plans for after. Get our weekend picks every Thursday morning.