BEST SKI RESORTS NEAR LAYTON, UTAH

Utah has numerous excellent ski resorts along the Wasatch Front. A number of them–Alta Ski Resort, Snowbird Ski Resort, Brighton Resort, and Solitude Mountain Resort–are located in Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood, close to Salt Lake City. They tend to be crowded, very crowded. In contrast, the Layton and Ogden areas have excellent ski resorts without massive crowds.

Snowbasin Resort, Powder Mountain, and (especially) Nordic Valley tend to have much smaller crowds and great snow. We've listed the details for each of these resorts below.

SNOWBASIN RESORT

• Location: 3925 Snowbasin Rd, Huntsville, UT
• Hours: Daily, 9:00 a.m until 4:00 p.m
• Contact: 888-437-5488
• Distance from us: 19.6 miles

Snowbasin Resort, located on Mount Ogden, is one of the oldest ski resorts in the United States. The resort was the location for the 2002 Olympics downhill, combined, and super-G events. Compared to Park City and the Cottonwoods, Snowbasin is a relatively uncrowded ski area. It's an excellent resort, with runs suitable for beginning to advanced skiiers.

Snowbasin Resort has over 3,000 skiable acres. It has a base elevation of 6,400 feet and a summit elevation of 9,350 feet. The resort gets an average of 300 inches of snowfall a year. Snowbasin has 106 runs and a total of 12 lifts (3 gondolas/trams, 1 high-speed six, 2 high-speed quad chairs, 3 triple chairs, and 3 surface lifts). About 7% of Snowbasin's runs are beginner runs, 37% are intermediate runs, and 56% are advanced or expert runs. The longest runs is 3.5 miles.

POWDER MOUNTAIN

• Location: 6965 E Powder Mountain Rd, Eden, UT
• Hours: Daily, 9:00 a.m until 9:00 p.m
• Contact: 801-745-3772
• Distance from us: 30.2 miles

Powder Mountain, located just east of Eden, Utah, covers close to 8,500 acres and is the largest ski resort in the United States. When you ski at Powder Mountain, you'll find the slopes relatively uncrowded: The resort has stringent caps for day passes, as well as season passes. The result is about three acres of skiable terrain per skier.  About 3,000 acres is served by traditional lifts, with groomed trails and powder runs. The other 5,500 acres or so is pure powder. (If you're interested in accessing the back country, but are uncomfortable doing so, the resort offers affordable backcountry tours.)

Powder Mountain has almost 8,500 acres of skiable terrain. Base elevation is 6,900 feet, and summit elevation is 9,422 feet. The mountain get and average annual snowfall of around 500 inches. The resort has 154 runs, with 9 lifts (4 quad chairs, 1 high-speed quad chair, 1 triple chair, and 3 surface lifts). About 25% of the runs are beginner runs, 40% are intermediate runs, and 35% are advanced runs. The longest run is 3.5 miles.

NORDIC VALLEY

• Location: 3567 Nordic Valley Way, Eden, UT
• Hours: 10:00 a.m until 7:00 p.m
• Contact: 801-745-3511
• Distance from us: 30.3 miles

Nordic Valley is located just east of Ogden, Utah on a beautiful eastern slope in the Wasatch Range. It is a small, secluded ski resort that specializes in offering some of the best night skiing in Utah. In fact, 80% of the mountain is covered by lights at night. Nordic Valley is also well known for being family friendly and for it's excellent ski schools. All in all, it's a great place for skiers of all ages and abilities.

Nordic Valley has close to 500 skiable acres. It has a base elevation of 5,400 feet and a summit elevation of 7,600 feet. The area gets an average of 300 inches of snow a year. The resort has a total of 42 runs, with 5 lifts (1 six-person, 3 doubles, and 1 surface lift). About a third of the Nordic Valley's runs are beginner runs, 23% are intermediate runs, and 45% are advanced or expert runs. The longest run is less than a half mile.

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