Many Utah ski areas have made improvements or additions in anticipation of the 2025-26 season. Now all they need is some snow storms to cover the slopes. (Adobe Stock image)
New lifts, base area developments and elevated guest experiences highlight some of the improvements and enhancements at Utah ski resorts for the 2025-26 season. As Ski Utah noted, “the industry is looking not just at what’s next but at what’s never been done before.”
Changes at the resorts this season include, in alphabetical order:
Alta Ski Area
At press time, a project to realign the Supreme chairlift was on track for completion in time for the 2025-26 season. This summer, Alta Ski Area broke ground on an expansion to the existing Albion Day Lodge. Projected for completion in the 2026-27 ski season, the expansion will provide additional dining space for skiers, a new home for the Alta Java coffee shop, administrative offices and employee housing. Four new Wyssen towers installed in the Devil’s Castle and Sugarloaf Peak area will assist Alta Ski Patrol with avalanche mitigation.
Beaver Mountain
A brand-new day lodge will debut this season. Known as Marge’s Cabin, the facility honors Beaver Mountain matriarch Marge Seeholzer and incorporates the original lodge’s historic fir siding.
Brian Head Resort
The resort is investing more than $1.4 million in upgrades for the 2025-26 season. Enhancements include expanded snowmaking, new gladed runs, upgraded rentals and new ski patrol equipment.
This year, expanded snowmaking on Navajo Mountain will allow more beginner and intermediate terrain to open earlier and stay open later. Guests will also discover new gladed terrain on Navajo Mountain. Rental services are being refreshed with more than 400 new skis and 250 snowboards.
Snowmaking and grooming improvements allowed Brian Head last winter to set a record with 181 skiable days.
Brighton
Brighton’s enhancements include the Waffle House, a new slopeside stop, which will dish out waffles and warm drinks in the base area. The Snake Creek Gondola Cabins outside Snake Creek Lodge will offer guests private outdoor seating and heated interiors. Snowmaking capabilities in the Snake Creek zone have also been enhanced. Guests also can look forward to the Holiday House, a mid-mountain Christmas-themed cabin near Crest 6, with food and beverage service and indoor seating.
Deer Valley Resort
Deer Valley skiing has more than doubled in size and this winter will debut seven new chairlifts — including the East Village Express, a 10-passenger gondola linking the new East Village to Park Peak. Since December 2024, Deer Valley has added 10 new lifts and now features 31 total lifts, 202 ski runs and 4,300 skiable acres. An automated snowmaking system and an average of 300 inches of annual snowfall ensure consistent snow coverage across the expanded terrain. The Deer Valley East Village will offer 1,200 day-skier parking spaces this ski season. The changes are part of Deer Valley’s “Expanded Excellence” initiative, which encompasses more than doubling the resort’s skiable terrain, upgrading key infrastructure, and reimagining Snow Park.
Eagle Point
The addition of the upscale Polestar condominium buildings provides direct trailside access just above the Tunnel Vision underpass. A fitness center at Canyonside Lodge is new this season. The fitness center is available to all guests, with complimentary access for those staying at Eagle Point Resort-managed properties.
Nordic Valley
The resort has begun a complete tune-up of its snowmaking system to maximize the current infrastructure, build a better base, and give guests more days on the mountain. The activity will also provide more coverage for better access to the Nordic Express. The eight-week kids program will return for the 2025-26 season, with the same instructor each week and eight total sessions.
Park City Mountain
PCM will debut the Sunrise Gondola, a high-speed, 10-person lift that will streamline the ride to Red Pine Lodge and the resort’s improved beginner terrain. Guests can also enjoy the launch of Orange Bubble Bite, a new signature treat available at select mountain dining spots. Snowmaking improvements include the replacement of about 1,400 feet of old snowmaking pipe and adding about 700 feet of new pipe throughout the resort.
At Red Pine Lodge, a reimagined Ski & Ride School zone features a new beginner area with varied terrain, playful features, and two magic carpets for a seamless learning progression. Just steps away, a new children’s lunchroom inside Red Pine Lodge offers a dedicated space to recharge between runs.
Powder Mountain
The resort’s major perks for 2025-26 passholders include eight half-price Buddy Tickets with no blackout dates and early-morning lift access off Hidden Lake on select dates. Passholders will also enjoy 20 percent off lessons, rentals, retail and dining, plus a free OpenSnow account, UTA Ski Bus access and unlimited skiing from 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
The resort is in the planning and construction stages of a new triple lift in Wolf Canyon that will offer lift access into the “DMI” area for the first time. The new lift will add 900 acres of lift-served and 147 acres of hike-to access, for a total of 1,047 acres of public advanced terrain. DMI will not open this season.
Powder is also expanding its learn-to-ski offerings, with affordable first-time group lessons and private evening lessons under the lights on the Sundown lift.
Snowbasin Resort
Snowbasin has executed a full replacement and enhancement of one of the resort’s legendary chairs, Becker Lift, originally installed in 1986. The now-high-speed, detachable quad will reduce ride time from 12 minutes to under seven and have the ability to transport around 1,800 riders every hour. As part of this project, the bottom terminal of Becker will be relocated closer to Wildcat Express.
To further enhance beginner and family skiing and riding, Snowbasin will complete a major regrade of the Bear Hollow trail, which will result in a widened trail base, improved visibility, expanded usable space and promoting safer interactions between guests of varying skill levels.
The upcoming season will mark the debut of RFID gate access across all base-area lifts at Snowbasin. The hands-free system is compatible with all Snowbasin season passes, day tickets, Mountain Collective and Ikon passes and aims to streamline lift entry, reduce wait times by up to 25 percent, and minimize congestion at base zones.
Snowbird
A new mid-mountain restaurant, The Nest, aims to offer even more amazing views than its predecessor. Featuring Swiss floor-to-ceiling glass windows on three sides, The Nest also offers expanded seating and a single-level layout.
Solitude Mountain Resort
Solitude has invested $4.5 million in snowmaking improvements, installing a new pipeline to import water for its snowmaking system. Solitude has also added four new Wyssen avalanche towers to Fantasy Ridge, doubling the number of towers. The towers allow patrol to remotely mitigate avalanche hazards in extremely difficult terrain, improving patrol safety and allowing them to open terrain more quickly. Solitude also is offering free mid-week parking for the 2025-26 season. Solitude has also partnered with Brighton and the town on parking reservation dates to make it more seamless for Ikon Pass holders visiting Utah.
Sundance Mountain Resort
The Inn at Sundance Mountain Resort will open this winter, with 63 ski-in/ski-out hotel-style rooms located near Outlaw Express in the heart of the Resort Village. A covered bridge spans a river running between the two wings. The Inn will also boast an art gallery, intricate woodwork and architecture, and a rustic throwback vibe. The Wellness Center will offer daily yoga classes, and skiers can use the ski valet and boot room to store their equipment.
Sundance is embarking on a two-year mountain expansion, culminating with a new high-speed quad, Electric Horseman Express, that will be installed for the 2026-27 season and 165 acres of new terrain, including a new alpine bowl adjacent to Bishop’s Bowl. This winter, guests can ski 60 acres of new terrain in the Far East area, as well as a new 1,800-vertical-foot ridgeline run that offers 360-degree views of the Heber and Utah valleys.
Woodward Park City
The new Mountain Park Season Pass offers unlimited skiing and riding all winter long (holiday blackout dates apply), starting at $449. WPC also offers evening access seven nights a week. Seasonal multi-week programs across ski, snowboard, skateboarding, scooter, parkour and biking return this year.