Best Cities for Skiers in the U.S.

Best Cities for Skiers in the U.S.

riding a ski lift in one of the best cities for skiers in the US

According to OnTheSnow, there are over 450 ski resorts in the country – but where are the best cities for skiers to live to take advantage of them? If you live in New Orleans like us, then you’re probably going to have to find a cheap flight or go on a long road trip to reach any of them. However, by basing yourself in any of these destinations, you’ll have access to some of the very best cities for skiers in the U.S.

Denver, Colorado

Family skiing around Brainard Lake in the Arapaho Basin near Denver, Colorado
Colorado is famous for its powder, and Denver is one of the best cities you can possibly be to take advantage of everything from budget-friendly family ski resorts to world-class ski areas. Time to start searching through those Denver houses for sale, right?

Only an hour west of the Mile High City, Loveland Ski Resort offers an uncrowded experience and more affordable lift tickets too, with most visitors passing it by for the more famous resorts like Vail or Aspen. You’ll be within 90 minutes of Eldora Mountain near Nederland which also offers great affordable skiing and few lift lines, as well as Arapahoe Basin, renowned for its deep, fluffy snow. And when you do want to reach those ultra-luxe resorts and countless others a little farther away, they’re easily doable on weekends and holidays.

With over 450 ski resorts, it isn't hard to find some of the best cities for skiers in the U.S. So if shredding sick slopes is on your bucket list, then check out a few hot destinations for skiers right now! #skier #skiing #skitrip Click To Tweet

Salt Lake City, Utah

Park City Utah 2002 Winter Olympic Ski Resort
Utah hosts some of the top skiing destinations in the nation as well. By basing yourself in Salt Lake City, you’ll be just a 40-minute drive from Park City Mountain Resort, which hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. It boasts over 7,300 skiable acres as the largest ski and snowboard resort in the entire country. Snowbird Ski Resort is only 45 minutes away and is a locals’ favorite with especially long ski seasons, while nearby Alta is for skiers only, providing a more traditional experience.

South Lake Tahoe, California

A bunch of Skiers at Heavenly Resort near South Lake Tahoe in California
You’ll be spoiled for choice in South Lake Tahoe, with the Heavenly Ski Resort gondola leaving right from the center of town to bring you to some of the best skiing in the U.S. It’s the largest resort in a region filled with them, and you can even ski in two states as it straddles the California and Nevada border. Plus, when skiing here you’ll be able to enjoy breathtaking views of the biggest alpine lake in North America along with a thriving nightlife scene, complete with big-name music venues, casinos, nightclubs and après ski parties. While just about everything you need can be found right here, when you want to get to the big city, California’s capital, Sacramento is just a couple hours away, and Reno can be reached in a little over an hour.

Boise, Idaho


Boise is becoming an increasingly popular place to move to, offering an affordable high quality place to live that’s close to a wealth of outdoor adventure, including skiing. In fact, only 16 miles from the city, Bogus Basin offers alpine and Nordic skiing as well as snowboarding and other snow sports at affordable prices. This is because it’s run by the town as a 501(c) organization, collecting donations to keep the costs down. There’s even a ski bus that travels from downtown to the mountain. Laid-back skiing is available 100 miles east at Soldier Mountain and world-famous Sun Valley is less than three hours away for fun weekend ski trips.

So with these four cities, it is easy to see why the United States has great ski destinations to keep you shredding for years. But is there a certain city in the U.S. that we are missing that you recommend? Where do you think is the best city in the United States for skiers? And what about you snowboarders? Are there better places to board or do these cities also fit the bill? Either way, let us know in the comments below!

Don’t forget to Pin this to your favorite Bucket List Board! Pinterest Picture of a ski lift taking skiers to the top of the mountain

33 thoughts on “Best Cities for Skiers in the U.S.

  1. I’ve always heard Tahoe is spectacular both in the summer and winter. I’m not a winter sports kind of woman, since I broke my wrist snowboarding and have been scared ever since….but I do still enjoy the outdoors in the winter. I am fine with just sledding while my friends go skiing 🙂

    1. When I lived in San Diego, we went up to Tahoe several times during the summer for various reasons! It is such an easy trip from SoCal in general and that Lake is mind boggling Blue! So though you may not want to shred, there is still tons to do there in any season!

  2. Although I don’t ski myself, I have friends who do and I will share this excellent post with them. After seeing all these marvellous locations, I do wish I did ski!

    1. Haha, well, I am probably one of the worst skiers ever but I have to say even if I have to drag you around in a Flexible Flyer Red Sled, I would think about checking out any of these cities during winter months for yourself too!

  3. I must admit it has been many years since we skied. But I love the atmosphere in ski resorts. And of course, we will never pass on apres ski in front of a fire! With all of these great options, it is certainly easy to see why the US is a great ski destination. Sure puts the ski hills at home in Ontario to shame!

    1. Well, I will say you guys up North have tons of great skiing too & not just out west near Alberta or BC. In fact, I learned to snow ski for the very first time in Quebec! Also, there is no shame at sitting round the fire with a good toddy just enjoying the snow and watching the skiers. One year I tried snowboarding in Mammoth, California. I was awful. But I did personally love watching the good snowboarders do all their tricks while I sat on the warm out door porch and the Lift Lodge!

  4. I’ve never been skiing (only snowboarding on an indoor slope once!), but these places all seem amazing! And definitely make me want to learn to ski!

  5. I haven’t been to any of these places, but they all sound amazing for ski enthusiasts! Imagine living that close to the snow and being able to ski every weekend (in season) without it being a major adventure just to get to the powder. Denver would be awesome to visit.

  6. I’ve got a trip booked for Denver soon. Will have to check out some of the other places on this list!

  7. Funny enough i am going skiing myself in two weeks in Deep Creek Maryland. Should be fun! I’ve gone once before. I’m sure it doesn’t compare to those slopes.

    1. My Family is form Northern Virginia and I believe that they have gone to Deep Creek before. Don’t worry, just because it didnt make our Best Cities for skiers list, I think you will definitely have a blast.

  8. Reading this makes me miss traveling a lot. I hope everything will be back to normal so we can travel again. Looking forward to visiting Denver in the future too.

  9. I don’t know anything about skiing but this is so insightful. Oh my goodness, all these cities look so cold but beautiful. Denver colorado is for sure one I want to go to in the winter months. Thanks for sharing.

  10. I’ve only ever skiied in Killington. It looks like I’ve got a lot more trips to the US for skiing. I have to say I haven’t been skiing probably for about 15 years now 🙈 which would you say is the best to go taking that into consideration?

    1. To be honest Cati, I am the worst Skier ever so dont fret. I think if you are getting back into it, perhaps start with South Lake Tahoe. Dont get us wrong, its still one of the best cities for advanced skiers. But they dont always have the big crowds that Denver and Salt Lake City have. Plus, I found that seemed to have more options with their beginner slopes for skiing or snowboarding.

  11. This is a great SHREDDING article. I wanted to use that word for the first time because it sounds really cool. I’ve only been to Denver out of these, and I’ve ALWAYS wanted to go to Lake Tahoe in Boise. This really sells it. Also, cool to see so many poeple moving to Boise.

    1. Haha, well we love that we totally shredded this article, haha! Yeah Idaho is secretly one of the best places to ski in general but most people head to Denver perhaps because it is easier to fly to. But Boise is definitely rocking!

  12. These are great! I lived in Salt Lake City for 6 years and loved every second of it. Crazy enough, I was working with a professional ski team at the time, so I hit the slopes everywhere EXCEPT Utah, ha! Some hidden gems up in the northeast like Bethel, ME, Stowe and Killington in VT, etc.

    Happy travels 🙂

  13. South Lake Tahoe looks incredible! I’ve just started skiing, but we stay in Italy. I’d like to check out these US sites one day. It makes me realise just how many places and states I’ve yet to see!

  14. I am not a skier but I can imagine how fun it would be to visit these places. I have always wanted to try skiing but have not got a fair chance. So when in US, I am surely going to visit Denver or Salt Lake City or South Lake Tahoe or Boise to enjoy skiing.

  15. Great to read about these best cities for skiers in the US. You have so much choice over there for skiing. Here in the UK we have to cross our fingers for snow for skiing even in Scotland.

  16. Unfortunately, I do not know how to ski but I do enjoy other snow activities such as tobogganing and tubing in the snow. Some of these cities you’ve mentioned look pretty awesome and I would love to specially visit Denver and Lake Tahoe out of these. Maybe I can take a ski lesson sometime 😉

    1. In Pennsylvania? Oh yeah. I’ve heard that they have some good skiing from my family on the East Coast. Are the Poconos your favorite spot for skiing?

  17. I used to be an avid skiier so this list would have been amazing back in those days for me. Now, I like pretty winter scenery, so Boise, Idaho and Denver, Colorado look like they’d be fun winter towns to visit. Maybe one day I’ll put the skis on again and hit this list.

  18. I have heard so much about Denver, Colorado but as I live in a different continent, I haven’t even known there are ski pistes. The scenery looks awesome and I would enjoy very much skiing there one day. How many kilometers of ski pistes are there?

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