At Liftopia, we understand every ski area is awesome in its own unique way. With the help of thousands of skiers and snowboarders, the Best In Snow Awards were created to help you easily discover your next favorite ski areas.
“The Best in Snow distills the relative passion people have for ski areas of all sizes. This year’s rankings have again revealed what skiers and riders are saying about the snow, terrain, ski schools and the real reasons that make these mountains their favorites,” says Evan Reece, co-founder and CEO of Liftopia.
How are the Best In Snow Awards different from other ski awards?
We curated data from more than 12,000 skiers and snowboarders. Respondents took into consideration factors like cost, snowmaking, size, accessibility, and activities. Responses were then combined with Liftopia’s unparalleled dataset to determine the best in each category: Best Overall, Most Beginner Friendly, Most Family Friendly, Least Crowded, Most Challenging, Best Value and Best Snow Consistency and Quality.
Other lists tend to award top spots to only the largest resorts, and in some cases are based on a small set of expert opinions. Our approach is much different – We, instead, set out to find the ski areas with the most passionate customers, regardless of their size. For example, you likely won’t see a medium-sized ski area in New England show up on other national top 10 lists, but because a large number of people who ski there love it more than any other place, this resort would rank high in the Best in Snow Awards.
What’s new for 17/18?
This year, we received even more responses and votes than last year! We also improved the Best In Snow Awards site, adding maps and better visuals to help make your decisions easier. Lastly, in order to create a more complete picture of the best ski areas, we added Best Overall by Region and Best in Category for all of North America.
Below is a quick summary of our regional winners. We hope that our hard work compiling the Best In Snow Awards will help you decide where to take your next adventure!
PHOTO CREDIT: Revelstoke Mountain Resort
Best Overall in North America: Magic Mountain, VT
“Best kept secret in VT. This mountain has a great old-school vibe and a great mountain community.”
#1 in the North East: Magic Mountain, VT
#1 in the High West: Alta, UT
#1 in the South East: Canaan Valley, WV
#1 in the Midwest: Mount Bohemia, MI
#1 in the West Coast: Revelstoke Mountain Resort BC, CAN
See all winners for best overall ski areas.
PHOTO CREDIT: Grand Targhee Resort
Best Beginner Friendly in North America: Bretton Woods, NH
“Amazing variety of terrain and phenomenal views of Mt. Washington.”
#1 in the North East: Bretton Woods, NH
#1 in the High West: Bald Mountain, ID
#1 in the South East: Canaan Valley, WV
#1 in the Midwest: Cascade Mountain, WI
#1 in the West Coast: Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area, CA
See all winners for top beginner friendly ski areas.
PHOTO CREDIT: Arapahoe Basin Ski Area
Best Family Friendly in North America: Titus Mountain, NY
“Titus is a great confidence builder! They keep safety first and have incredible snow conditions.
#1 in the North East: Titus Mountain, NY
#1 in the High West: Bald Mountain, ID
#1 in the South East: Canaan Valley, WV
#1 in the Midwest: Cascade Mountain, WI
#1 in the West Coast: Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area, CA
See all winners for top family friendly ski areas.
PHOTO CREDIT: Homewood Mountain Resort
Least Crowded in North America: Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area, CA
“Easygoing, beautiful hill, affordable prices, great teachers.”
#1 in the North East: Snow Ridge, NY
#1 in the High West: Soldier Mountain, ID
#1 in the South East: Canaan Valley, WV
#1 in the Midwest: The Whitecap Mountains, WI
#1 in the West Coast: Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area, CA
See all winners for least crowded ski areas.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jay Peak Resort
Most Challenging in North America: Magic Mountain, VT
#1 in the North East: Magic Mountain, VT
#1 in the High West: Jackson Hole, WY
#1 in the South East: Canaan Valley, WV
#1 in the Midwest: Mount Bohemia, MI
#1 in the West Coast: Revelstoke Mountain Resort BC, CAN
See all winners for top most challenging ski areas.
PHOTO CREDIT: Alta Ski Area
Best Value in North America: Magic Mountain, VT
#1 in the North East: Magic Mountain, VT
#1 in the High West: Bald Mountain, ID
#1 in the South East: Canaan Valley, WV
#1 in the Midwest: Mount Bohemia, MI
#1 in the West Coast: Anthony Lakes, OR
See all winners for top ski areas for best value.
PHOTO CREDIT: Killington Ski Resort
Best Snow Consistency and Quality in North America: Alta, UT
“Best snow in the USA. They have snow when others don’t.”
#1 in the North East: Bretton Woods, NH
#1 in the High West: Alta, UT
#1 in the South East: Canaan Valley, WV
#1 in the Midwest: Cascade Mountain, WI
#1 in the West Coast: Anthony Lakes, OR
See all winners for top ski areas with best snow consistency and quality.
No snowboarding allowed at Alta. They should be disqualified from any awards.
I agree.
No way. Snowboarding ruins powder, gets in the way of skiers, and don’t belong at Alta. A skier’s resort.
I’ve never heard that snowboarding ruins powder — everything ruins powder, no? I’m happy to not go to Alta or any other resort that is skier specific but don’t agree about the pow.
Skiers get in the way of skiers too. I skied before snowboarding caught on and it wasn’t a land of endless powder prior to snowboarding. Lots on ice, lots of moguls and lots of other skiers in my way.
Boarders have Brighton. The closest thing to an “all boarding” mountain you’ll find.
Awesome stuff guys
Thanks Rob!
Interesting that some others of the most renowned ones did not make it at all. Is it because they do not subscribe to Liftopia?
Hi Serge. If you look at the sheer number of votes, all the well-known ski destinations that we know and love (like Whistler Blackcomb and Park City) are mentioned. However, customers told us they want a ranking system that is new and different and doesn‘t simply reward the same, large resorts year after year. So, we layered lots of ski industry data (like skier visits, skiable acres, etc) to determine the resorts people are most passionate about. Check out our methodology here: https://bestinsnow.liftopia.com/#/methodology
So if I understand you skewed the questions to get the results you wanted. I still have some issues with this as I think it meets your needs but does not represent reality. No question that some of the areas that you have listed are great.
WHAT are u guys Smoking w Magic Mtn topping 2 charts. With all the mtn talent in VT & you pick Magic?? Think u forgot to mention it’s been closed for a good chunk of last 30 yrs. And I like the place….when it snows…
Hi CV… The Best In Snow winners were determined by the votes of 12,000 skiers and snowboarders. We then layered Liftopia data like skier visits, skiable acres, and other data points to level the playing field between large and small resorts. Check out our Methodology and FAQ section for more details.
Picture of the Sherwins on the cover, but no mention of Mammoth…
Hi Tony! Mammoth actually won #10 Beginner Friendly in West Coast, #7 Most Challenging in West Coast, and #5 Snow Consistency and Quality in West Coast. Feel free to dive into each region and category using the navigation on the left hand side.
glad mammoth isn’t any good
Hi Avi – We love Mammoth and so do skiers and snowboarders who voted in the Best In Snow! Mammoth won the following awards: #10 Beginner Friendly in West Coast, #7 Most Challenging in West Coast, and #5 Snow Consistency and Quality in West Coast.
Really surprised that Grand Targhee didn’t make any of these. Fabulous runs, all of Jackson’s snow plus, not crowded, family friendly…
Hi Sarah! Grand Targhee scored a ton of awards: #9 Beginner Friendly in High West, #9 Family Friendly in High West, #5 Snow Consistency and Quality in High West, #6 Snow Consistency and Quality in North America, #8 Best Value in High West, and #8 Overall Best in Snow in High West.
Neither of my favorite least crowded resorts are on here so they will remain least crowded
No Big Sky?
Hi Tim. Big Sky won in the following categories: #7 Most Challenging in High West, #10 Best Value in High West, and #9 Overall Best in Snow in High West.
best overall in Vermont? Please. Ridiculous east coast bias. Credibility lost.
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