Mountain Review: Arapahoe Basin
While it doesn’t offer the same mountain infrastructure and skiable acreage as its best-known competitors, this high-alpine Colorado resort competes with the best in snow quality and leads in extreme terrain.
Mountain Review: Schweitzer
Despite its remote location and modest size, this Idaho panhandle resort offers a few solid advantages for destination-goers, especially during peak times.
Mountain Review: Whitefish
This northern Montana resort isn’t the biggest out there, but as far as independent ski resorts go, it’s hard to beat.
Mountain Review: Breckenridge
This high-elevation resort offers diverse terrain, including conveniently accessible alpine bowls—and an enhanced beginner footprint for 2023. However, the altitude and navigation logistics will be overwhelming for some.
Mountain Review: Sundance
This modestly-sized Utah mountain boasts a striking, rustic feel, but most other competitors offer better overall values.
Mountain Review: Brian Head
This under-the-radar southern Utah destination offers striking terrain at an affordable price.
Mountain Review: Hunter
High-speed lifts, reasonably varied terrain, and proximity to New York City make this Catskill mountain an appealing choice on paper. However, poor crowd management really hurts the overall experience.
Mountain Review: Windham
This Catskill resort can’t beat out the true East Coast destinations in snow, acreage, or terrain diversity, but it lacks some of the major issues that plague nearby competitors. Peak ticket values are among the worst of any North American ski area.
Mountain Review: Gore
New York State’s largest ski resort stands out with excellent glade terrain, but it can’t match the snow quality or on-mountain infrastructure of the best East Coast mountains.
Mountain Review: Bolton Valley
This Vermont mountain is too small and undeveloped to compete with the state’s most popular destinations, but its combination of local, uncrowded slopes and strong natural snowfall may do the trick for some.