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Deer Valley has never been known for glade skiing, but that may change this winter after the biggest terrain expansion in the world. Re Wikstrom Photography Last year I went out to Utah to take an advance look at the biggest expansion in skiing in my lifetime, and the preview was very impressive. But now the real thing has arrived and if you love skiing, it is incredible, a true paradigm shift. In a Winter Olympics season and a year that has the most notable new luxury ski hotel openings in decades, here and abroad, it is hard to stand out above all that is going on in winter sports, but let’s be blunt: what is happening at Deer Valley is unrivalled, simply the world’s biggest ski resort expansion. In fact, Deer Valley claims it is the largest expansion in the entire history of ski resorts, and that’s hard to argue with. The World’s Biggest Ski Resort Expansion The current project is modestly called “Expanded Excellence,” and just since last December, the ski resort (Deer Valley is one of just three remaining notable resorts that forbids snowboarding) has added 10 new lifts and more than doubled in size. That would be easy if Deer Valley had been tiny, but it wasn’t. As I noted in my story on the forthcoming expansion last year, Deer Valley was ranked as the 15th largest resort in the nation with just over 2,000 skiable acres. It now has 4,300 acres and has catapulted into the top five in size (with still more to come down the road). The resort now features 31 total lifts, 202 ski runs, and 4,300 skiable acres. The size of the new terrain is staggering, so big it is hard for most visitors to the resort, especially first-timers, to even comprehend. But to put it in perspective, Deer Valley was already a world-class resort drawing skiers from around the globe, and just the new terrain opened in the past year is bigger than the entire resorts of Telluride, Sun Valley, Beaver Creek, Alta or Crested Butte—all of which are wonderful legitimate destination ski resorts. For further perspective, the last expansion at Deer Valley was 15 years earlier, adding one lift and 200-acres. This is ten times those numbers. In any given season most major ski areas add no lifts and no terrain, and even one new chair is big news, let alone ten. The one things that has not changed here is the ban on snowboarding, so if you are a family or group that has riders in your pack, there is one other major U.S. resort finishing a huge multi-year expansion and improvement of note, the only thing out there rivalling Deer Valley, complete with new luxury hotels. That would be Big Sky, MT which I just did an in-depth feature on here at Forbes. Back to Deer Valley: three of the new lifts were operational part of last winter, and seven all news ones are getting ready to spin in the coming weeks, including a very high-speed, state-of-the-art 10-passenger gondola. MORE FOR YOU Multiple peaks with over 200 trails catapults Deer Valley into the 5 largest U.S. ski resorts this winter Deer Valley Resort There is a new base area that opened last winer at the bottom of the new terrain called Deer Valley East Village, much of which is still to come, and currently includes some temporary structures. It has the basics, including food, ski rentals and 1,200 much needed new parking spots, along with a large new Grand Hyatt hotel that opened last winter. This remains the main new lodging, with a nearby luxury Four Seasons under construction and anticipated for the following season, winter 2026-2027. One major new highlight for this winter is the Deer Valley East Village Gondola, nearly three miles long, one of the largest gondola systems in the country. It links the new East Village Base Area with Park Peak and has heated seats, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and cabins arriving every 12 seconds. Another notable addition is the Pinyon Express chair, linking popular Flagstaff Mountain with all-new high alpine beginner-friendly trails near Park Peak. It is the second 6-passenger bubble chair (with pull down bubbles and heated seats to shield skiers against bad weather) in Expanded Excellence, similar to the Keetley Express which opened for the new East Village base last winter. Deer Valley joins Big Sky as one of the only larger resorts with multiple bubble chairs. The new lifts and coming hotels are impressive, as are some of the less obvious parts of the project, including greatly expanded snowmaking capacity. But where visitors to Deer Valley are really going to notice the difference this season is the new terrain. And because it is all opening ahead of planned new hotels and more residential development, this will likely be the least crowded and lowest density season ever for the 200+ trails, though Deer Valley remains one of the few ski resorts that caps skier capacity daily to manage crowds and stops selling lift tickets when it hits that threshold, part of its luxury experience. It's doubled in size, but Deer Valley is still a family friendly ski resort Deer Valley Resort If there was a knock on Deer Valley until now, it was that the resort had limited expert terrain, and was especially lacking in glades, compared to its peers of similar size. This was always a bit unfair, as Deer Valley had good black and double black skiing, including some of the most easily accessed hike-to chutes in the country. But while there were bowls and chutes and some trees, it lacked a lot of “regular” expert runs, and the advanced trails were out of sight and mind of many guests who came for the famously perfect grooming, corduroy cruisers, and the white glove, high-touch luxury reputation that increased Deer Valley’s perception as a “soft” mountain. Not anymore. Vast New Expert Terrain Until now, almost all of Deer Valley’s expert black and double black skiing has been in three areas, the Daly Chutes, Daly Bowl, and Lady Morgan. But I saw the new north-facing, off-piste expert terrain coming this winter and it is remarkable. It is also as big as the three zones mentioned above—combined. But in this case, size isn’t everything. What is so great about the new advanced terrain is that is highly “lappable”: you can ride a new high-speed lift to a ridge off of which one expert trail after another drops steeply down, and just ski them one after another, bang, bang, bang, down the ridgeline, until your legs give out. It is a lot of excellent new terrain but it also has excellent flow, which makes for more skiing in less time. This area is served by the new Revelator Express chair, and there is also a large new expanse of gladed tree skiing, one of the most significant terrain additions. More Skiing For Everyone While the black and double black runs fill the biggest void at the resort, much of the expansion is for all abilities, and there are lots of new green and blue trails, including some extremely long cruisers. If you like non-stop skiing, there will now be a continuous descent from the top of Bald Mountain and Park Peak all the way to East Village, nearly five miles long with a drop of more than 3,000 vertical feet. Not only is there a lot more skiing for every ability, but it is all well spread out and located so that there is little clash between expert and novice skiers, or anyone in between, a problem at many resorts. Almost all of the first phase of Expanded Excellence terrain that opened last winter was green and blue as well. Where To Stay The Forbes 4-Star St. Regis Deer Valley has a prime ski-in/out location, as a major trail runs right by the swimming pool, next to which is the luxury ski valet. St. Regis Deer Valley There are going to be several new hotels at Deer Valley—eventually. Right now, the major project underway is the Four Seasons, scheduled to open for winter 2026-2027. The good news is that there are plenty of existing options, as Deer Valley has the biggest collection of top shelf luxury hotels in American skiing, including two of just six Forbes 5-Star ski hotels in the nation, the Montage Deer Valley and Stein Eriksen Lodge. There are also two Forbes 4-Star options, including the Chateau Deer Valley and my personal favorite the St. Regis Deer Valley, the only one that also has a 4-Star Spa and 4-Star restaurant, RIME Seafood + Steak. For this season, RIME, ranked Best Of Utah 2025 by Salt Lake Magazine, is upping its competitive ante by unveiling a new daily ‘Skier’s Buffet’ lunch with emphasis on seafood flown in in daily from Nantucket, Maine and Hawaii, plus ultra-premium cuts of meat. This is especially signifcant at Deer Valley, because the luxury skier’s buffet at the Stein Ericksen here has long been one of the most famous meals in American skiing. The St. Regis also has a Forbes 4-Star Spa and 4-Star restaurant, RIME, focused on steaks and seafood. St. Regis Deer Valley But all of the restaurants at the St. Regis are appealing, which is one of the reasons I like the triple 4-Star hotel so much. It has a standout Italian place, La Stellina, that was new last time I visited and very impressive, the region’s biggest wine cellar, more than 10,000 bottles, and a French Brasserie, all in addition to the flagship steak and seafood spot, a lot of variety under one roof. But the most unique food and beverage amenity is The Vintage Room, a seasonal trailside greenhouse of sorts that has been the hottest après ski spot in Deer Valley since it opened a few years ago. Open only in winter, it is located at the resort’s “ski beach” above its awesome ski valet, and the heated 1,600-square foot space has a high-energy vibe and showcases small bites including full raw bar, fresh shucked oysters and sushi, along with and champagne and cocktails, especially the famous signature Bloody Mary’s for which the St. Regis brand is known (The original Bloody Mary was invented at the St Regis New York, and now every hotel has its own special local version, a globally unique hotel cocktail program about which I wrote an article here at Forbes). With its slopeside raw bar and signature cocktails, the Vintage Room has become the hottest apres ski spot at Deer Valley. St. Regis Deer Valley Outside of the great ski resorts of the French Alps I don’t know many places where you can enjoy trailside raw bar, and the scene at the Vintage Room is a big enough draw to get fans of the après ski experience to stay here. But in addition to the Bloody Mary’s, the resort has all the signature touches of the St. Regis brand, including butler service and a champagne sabering celebration with complimentary tasting every evening. The ski valet is as good as they come, including very high-performance demo skis like Stockli, and in my opinion the hotel has the best location of any of the luxury options at Deer Valley, just above the main base lodge area to which it is conveniently connected by private funicular, the closest to charming downtown Park City, and as ski-in/ski-out as any hotel can be, right on the trail. Throw in the stellar spa and it is a pretty complete package, down to the complimentary hot chocolate in the lobby for kids of all ages. Deer Valley Unveils The World’s Biggest Ski Resort Expansion But the other top hotels at Deer Valley are all standouts in their own right, and as Deer Valley unveils the world’s biggest ski resort expansion this winter, with more than twice the terrain, no matter where you stay you should expect a fantastic ski vacation. To make this experience even more appealing, Park City is the easiest major ski destination in North America to get to, less than 40 miles and under an hour from the large, new, Salt Lake City airport. The facility is a major Delta hub that is also served by many other major carriers, has non-stop or one-stop connectivity to just about every large city in the U.S. plus international routes, and is historically relatively unaffected by winter weather. I mentioned that this is an Olympic Winter, and as an added bonus, Deer Valley has the most robust “Ski With An Olympian” program of any U.S. resort, a nice special private day (or half day) out on the slopes. Deer Valley is part of the popular nationwide Ikon Pass program. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
