15 Great Snowy Getaways for an Epic Winter Vacation

No glitz, no glam. Just five cozy lodges, heart-pumping hikes, lauded runs, and hands down, the best (and most) snow in the West—a monstrous average of 545 inches. Even with the cushy remodel of the cozy-modern Snowpine Lodge—which reopened in January 2019 with hot tubs, fire pits, and a killer restaurant—Alta maintains its blessedly low-key vibe with a focus squarely on skiing.

Celebrate an old school Colorado winter with sleigh rides, ice skating, and hot chocolate surrounded by snow-covered peaks in Frisco. Located within close range of Breck, Keystone, Copper, A-Basin—and not too fair from Vail-area resorts—the small town benefits from the epic mountain scenery without the crowds and with a rocking local vibe. At Frisco Adventure Park, you'll go tubing, learn to ski on a beginner slope, and find snowshoe and cross-country trails. To top it all off, get your old-fashioned kicks with a sleigh ride that leads to a lantern-lit dinner in a backcountry heated tent. 

Mountains. Sun. Small-town fun. Outdoorsy types can’t get enough of this central Oregon town, where you can trail-run along the rushing Deschutes River in the morning and hit the snowy slopes of Mt. Bachelor in the afternoon, then put back a pint at one of several local breweries. To feel like you live here (and once you visit, you'll surely want to up and move), stay at the McMenamins Old St. Francis School, a Catholic school turned hotel with storybook-sweet cottages, some with wood-burning fireplaces and sunny porches.

In winter, there’s nothing like hitting the slopes in Jackson. However, there's more to this snowy valley than skiing: The wildlife viewing is off-the-charts. Mingle with the thousands of elk on the nearby National Elk Refuge by two-horse open sleigh with Teton Science Schools. The Wildlife Art and Sleigh Tour starts with a visit to Grand Teton and lunch at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, before ending with the up-close, scenic ride through the refuge, home to more than 11,000 beasts in winter.

This outdoors-loving town throws a great winter party―and there are plenty of snowy adventures in the nearby San Juans. Locals know that Purgatory Resort (a half-hour from town) has some of the best weather of any ski area in the country―with sun breaking out after snow-dumping storms and 300 days of shine annually. On a day off the slopes, the historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train takes you directly through the area's winter wonderland scenery on its THE POLAR EXPRESS ride.

New flights to Mammoth—along with new restaurants, mountain and village improvements, and a slew of events, tours, and classes—will revolutionize your ski weekend. With added flights from Denver, San Fran, and LAX on United last year, getting to SoCal's favorite (but distant) slopes even easier. The mountain is king at Mammoth, and pulling into Mammoth Lakes, 8 miles from the airport, is the proof. Since there’s no central downtown, it’s easy to have an “are we there yet?” feeling, but gems can be found if you look around. Be prepared to fall hard for Tamarack Lodge, a way-charming 1924 throwback hideout at Twin Lakes, where afternoons are made for sipping hot buttered rum in front of the fireplace, or strapping on cross-country skis and gliding right out the door into the forest. You’ll need a car to get here (it’s 2.5 miles from town), or hop on Mammoth’s free shuttle, which swings by every hour. Powderhounds can ski-in, ski-out at Mammoth Mountain Inn, located at 9,000 feet near the Main Lodge, or Juniper Springs Resort, by the Eagle Lodge ski lift.  

Start the new year by unleashing your inner Olympian in Utah. Park City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and is the home of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. It’s still a hot spot on the international race circuit for winter sports, and the cushy Deer Valley resort even offers sessions with Olympians. Despite the champion status and glitz of this area's resorts (the celeb-magnet Sundance Film Festival takes place at the outsize Park City Mountain), accessibility makes it a stellar ski resort for families: PCM is only 40 minutes from Salt Lake's international airport and has a lift directly in its retail-filled village.

Veer away from Tahoe traffic and head towards neighboring Royal Gorge, where you'll find North America’s largest cross-country ski “resort,” where a no-fuss lodge and a handful of warming huts barely disrupt this 9,000-acre winter wonderland. Rent a pair of affordable skis right on-site, and head out on your own to tackle groomed and well-marked beginner, intermediate, and expert tracks. Nordic newbies can test their skills on the scenic, mostly flat Lake Van Norden trails, while the hard-core prefer the challenge (and canyon views) of Point Mariah.

Just an hour from Portland, Hood River offers a buzzing restaurant scene and proximity to Mt. Hood, all at an affordable price. Steep and cheap is the name of the game at the Ski Bowl, where lift tickets go for less than $60. And smaller mom-and-pop hills have adult skiing for about 40 bucks. While Timberline is the big icon of the area—and the only ski-in/ski-out resort—Mt. Hood Meadows (pictured) is the largest with 2,150 skiable acres. Even here a day of skiing will often cost you less than $80. The resort has dynamic ticketing that changes as more people buy tickets for the day (a.k.a. book way early, and you'll lock in a sweet deal).

Have an indulgent snow vacation just outside of Denver. As far as wintertime activities go, it doesn't get much better than ice skating on a frozen lake—especially when it's framed by snow-dusted mountains, like in Evergreen. Skate the lake, snowshoe in the trees, then reward yourself with a cup of cocoa in the Evergreen Lake House. Plan on spending the night? Hole up at the Highland Haven Creekside Inn, where you'll find treehouses, romantic cabins, and hot tubs.

California's Bear Valley is not the biggest ski resort and certainly not the flashiest, but with 1,680 acres of downhill skiing, there’s room to roam on your snow vacation. And the runs have unbroken views across a beautiful mountainscape. This adds to the throwback feel at this underrated resort. It’s as if one of Tahoe’s resorts had been scooped up in the late ’60s (loopy I Love Lucy–style logo and all), suspended in ice, then plopped here for you to discover. The resort is kind of off-the-grid—but those who are in-the-know don't have trouble finding it down Highway 4. They go because it’s simpler and cheaper than going to Tahoe. And because nightlife here means coming in frosty-faced from the slopes for an epic game of Yahtzee in front of the fireplace and an early bedtime so they can get up, stretch their legs, and choose between another day of downhill or hitting the tranquil weave of cross-country trails.

Trade in ritzy Sun Valley for its budget-friendly neighbor to the south, which takes the bronze in number of kilometers of cross-country skiing in the States. Folks here have an eat local, live simply, and walk―or ski―everywhere attitude. Big Wood River runs through town, and five mountain ranges surround it—and you can enjoy it all, using the Wood River Inn as your basecamp.

Like sisters forced to share the same room, a little tension was inevitable when Moonlight Basin opened next to Big Sky Resort on Montana's Lone Mountain in 2003. But any frostiness melted away when Big Sky merged with Moonlight (along with neighboring Spanish Peaks Mountain Club) combining the resorts' 5,800 acres. The Moonlight area still hosts the epic 11,166-foot Lone Peak with some of the country's most intense inbounds terrain. And though construction is coming fast to this area—Moonlight Basin is expecting an uber-luxe One & Only resort in the next couple years—this skiers' mountain is still best described as "remote" and "gnarly."

Skip the scene in Taos for quiet serenity in this national preserve 60 miles north of Albuquerque. There are 35 miles of groomed cross-country trails―beginners may want to stick to Valle Grande. More experienced skiers can take South Mountain and History Grove trails to some of the most remote and beautiful areas of the preserve. Afterward, head to nearby Jemez Springs for a soothing soak in their hot springs.

If you want to avoid the crowds in Whistler this season—but still want a British Columbia ski experience—try a smaller, but often equally snowy, resort in the region's interior, like Sun Peaks Resort, Silver Star Mountain Resort, and Big White Ski Resort. Because the resorts require more effort to get to (Sun Peaks is a 4 1/2-hour drive from Vancouver), lift lines are short or nonexistent. And sun is plentiful, with Sun Peaks enjoying an average of 2,000 hours per year. While Whistler’s winter allure comes at a premium price, your dollars stretch further at smaller resorts. To top it all off, winter temps average 21 degrees, perfect for playing in the snow—whether you opt to ski or not. There’s also skating, dog sledding, tobogganing, sightseeing from a horse-drawn sleigh, or just curling up with a hot rum in front of a fireplace.