This review is now very outdated. See the review "Christmas Ski Week and Las Vegas" for current info.
With the closure of Elk Meadows ski resort, this isn’t quite the trip it used to be, although most skiers from Las Vegas prefer Brian Head to Elk Meadows, so maybe I’m misjudging it, but here is how Ski Las Vegas works today.Day 1: Fly to Las Vegas. Enjoy yourself.Day 2: Going skiing, we would fuel up at one of the casino buffet breakfasts, usually at Circus Circus. Then we headed north on I-15. At Parowan, we left I-15 to take the road some 4,000 ft up the mountains to Brian Head Ski Resort. This drive takes 3-4 hours. We plan to arrive about 1pm, when the red
...Read More
With the closure of Elk Meadows ski resort, this isn’t quite the trip it used to be, although most skiers from Las Vegas prefer Brian Head to Elk Meadows, so maybe I’m misjudging it, but here is how Ski Las Vegas works today.
Day 1: Fly to Las Vegas. Enjoy yourself.
Day 2: Going skiing, we would fuel up at one of the casino buffet breakfasts, usually at Circus Circus. Then we headed north on I-15. At Parowan, we left I-15 to take the road some 4,000 ft up the mountains to Brian Head Ski Resort. This drive takes 3-4 hours. We plan to arrive about 1pm, when the reduced price half day lift tickets go into effect. Skiing a half day on the first day of ski week will tire you out, and is a good start on ski week.
After an afternoon of skiing, we drove back down the mountain to I-15 North another 3-4 hours. This is decision time. Sometimes we would stop for the night in the Provo-Orem area. Usually we continued another hour to Heber City or Park City by Orem Exit 800 North(stay in the left lane until 800 N deposits you on US 189) or continue on I-15 to Salt Lake City.
Staying in Heber City put us within 40 minute drive from four of northern Utah’s famed ski resorts: Sundance, Deer Valley, Park City, and The Canyons. By the time we started skiing Las Vegas, we had settled on Deer Valley as our favorite ski resort, so we usually stayed in Heber City (see journal).
Staying in Park City put you within a 20 minute drive of all these but Sundance, which is about 50 minutes.
Staying on I-15 north to Salt Lake City puts all the above ski areas plus Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, and Brighton within a hour drive and Snowbasin and Powder Mtn. are about 90 minutes away.
Days 3-?: Skiing the Greatest Snow on Earth in Northern Utah. Climatic conditions in northern Utah produce the best recreational skiing conditions in the world, until global warming ruins it in 20-30 years.
Last day -1: After skiing, drive back to Parowan for the night.
Last day: Ski Brian Head. Then drive back to Vegas and take the midnight red-eye home or whatever stays in Vegas.
Quick Tips:
Do you think we would be living in Utah for the last 10 years if could find skiing as good anywhere else? This is a great ski trip.
Flying through Las Vegas saves a lot of money, on both the flight and rental car. Staying in Heber City or Salt Lake City also saves a lot over staying at one of the resorts or in Park City town. All this skiing and Las Vegas makes for a great vacation, but it can get even better. I-15 passes within a couple hours drive of two of the country’s best National Parks, Bryce Canyon and Zion. Both parks are open year round and at their most spectacular when there is snow on the red rock ledges. Snow is common at Bryce in winter, rare in Zion. To do both, exit I-15 at UT Rt 20 about 20 miles north of Parowan to Bryce. From Bryce, take UT Rt 12 east, US 89 south, and then UT Rt 9 into Zion. Rt 9 then connects Zion to I-15 at St George. Although this is the most scenic way to go, it can be done in reverse direction.
I know you want to go skiing, but if you have never seen Bryce and Zion, you will find it well worth forgoing a couple ski days. If you have seen them before, it is still the thing to do to see Bryce with snow. Best Way To Get Around:
You need a car to do this. If you stay in Park City, you can use the free bus to get around town and to the ski areas (Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons).
If you stay in Salt Lake City, you can take the city ski bus, about rt, to Alta, Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude, all of which are technically within Salt Lake City’s city limits because the winter snows provide summer water.
I-15 runs across the desert, and weather is usually good. However, a big storm can put snow on the road. If bad weather hits, the problem spots on the road are the hill between St George and Cedar City (it goes up 3,000 ft.) and between Beaver and Fillmore (named after Pres. Milard Fillmore). Snow fall decreases as you move away from the mountains. The mountains are to the right driving north, and several times we have seen the snow cover the land between the mountains and I-15 but have a clear road and no snow in sight on the left side of the highway.
We did hit a bad storm on one trip. They closed I-15 between Cedar City and St George 20 minutes after we made it up the hill, but we encountered only minor problems after that. We never worried about the weather, and never regretted it, except once after we moved to Utah when we couldn’t make it up our driveway after returning from Las Vegas in early November.
If you are staying in Heber City or Park City and want to ski Snowbasin or Powder Mtn., go east on I-80 to I-84 west bound to UT Rt 132. Figure about 90 minutes. If you are staying in Heber City or Park City and want to ski Snowbird, Alto, Brighton, or Solitude, you must take I-80 west to Salt Lake City, then I-215 south to the market ski resort exit. Allow 60-65 minutes. A decent snow storm usually closes the road to Alta/Snowbird for a few hours. A big one can
close it for a couple days. Read Less