The Best & Most Affordable Ski Resorts In The US

Planning a ski vacation is always exciting, from the prospect of whooshing down the trails to warming up in the lodge with a piping cup of hot cocoa to warm you right up. The one thing that could hold back all this joy is the final price tag. There’s no other way to put it, but ski trips can truly end up costing a fortune. But it doesn’t always have to be that way: you can visit these top affordable ski resorts that will allow you to enjoy your trip without having to worry about breaking the bank.

Sugarloaf, Maine

Sugarloaf Mountain is the second largest ski resort east of the Mississippi and second longest in New England. The ski resort boasts over 60 miles of marked trails and thirteen chairlifts that can carry more than 20,000 skiers in an hour. The season at Sugarloaf begins in mid-November and runs until early May.

Winter Park Resort, Colorado

Winter Park Resort is located in the Rocky Mountains at Winter Park, about an hour and a half drive from Denver. It’s known for being home to several notable skiers including Olympic silver medalist Elizabeth McIntyre, Ryan Max Riley, Ryan St. Onge, and Michelle Roark. The report is open year round and during the summer you can enjoy mountain biking, hiking, and sightseeing here.

Powder Mountain, Utah

Powder Mountain is located east of Eden, Utah (no connection to John Steinbeck here!) and is about 55 miles from Salt Lake City Airport. It’s the largest ski resort in the US in terms of skiable acreage, boasting 154 trails and nine lifts.

Mission Ridge, Washington

Mission Ridge Ski Area is found near Wenatchee. Here, it averages about 200 inches of snow per year with about 300 sunny days making it perfect for skiing. Its skiable area spans over 2000 acres aided by six lifts. 1984 Winter Olympics gold medalist Bill Johnson trained at the Mission Ridge Ski Academy when he was a teen.

Mount Hood Meadows, Oregon

Mount Hood Meadows is located in northern Oregon, about 67 miles east of Portland and is the largest ski resort of the mountain. It has 11 chairlifts and 87 trails, mostly made up of intermediate blue trails but with a significant amount of double-black diamond expert trails.