This U.S. Ski Resort Has Excellent Snow, No Crowds, and Lift Tickets Under $50—All Near 2 Iconic National Parks
I’d been dreaming of visiting two of Utah’s most iconic national parks—Zion and Bryce Canyon—but what I didn’t expect was to stumble on a hidden ski gem that gets buried in powder, has virtually no lift lines, and offers some of the most affordable ski passes I’ve ever seen.
Brian Head Resort felt like a skier’s dream come true. Sitting at the highest base elevation in Utah at a whopping 9,600 feet, the mountain boasts ideal snow conditions and averages around 360 inches of snowfall each year.
I visited the area in February 2025, and as an avid skier who tracks storms like it’s my second job, I knew Brian Head was expecting about a foot of fresh snow over the weekend. So, naturally, I made it my mission to ski that following Monday. It turned out to be one of my favorite ski experiences in Utah.
Having skied at most of the state’s big-name resorts like Snowbird, Alta, and Brighton, I was surprised by how great the snow was and how empty the mountain felt. As Linda Thompson, manager of Brian Head's Winter Sports School, put it, “Brian Head is much less crowded than most other Utah resorts. One of the main reasons is our location—it takes a little more time to get here.”
Most of the popular Utah resorts are within an hour of Salt Lake City International Airport, making them convenient but busy. Brian Head, on the other hand, is hours away from any major airport. The closest is a small regional airport in Cedar City, so you don’t get waves of out-of-state skiers flying in. Instead, the resort draws mostly locals and people from southern Utah who want to avoid the long haul to Salt Lake City. Because of this, Brian Head sees fewer crowds, more fresh tracks, and a laid-back, truly local atmosphere.
While Brian Head is considered a smaller resort with 650 skiable acres, the mountain still offers an impressive 71 trails, eight chairlifts, and a wide range of terrain for experts, intermediates, and beginners alike. And because the crowds are so minimal, you actually have the space and the time to enjoy every bit of it.
But I can’t talk about my love for Brian Head without highlighting one of its best qualities: its genuine commitment to being one of Utah’s most family-friendly ski destinations—a difference you feel the moment you arrive. Beyond the warm, welcoming vibe, the prices are almost unheard of these days, with most lift tickets under $50 and some dipping as low as $14 this season. And as a mom, one of my favorite perks of all is that kids 12 and under ski free.
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Where's Alta the Big Ape???