Why A Small Portion Of Utah Is Home To All Of Its Destination Ski Resorts

For a state as geographically diverse as Utah, most of the ski resorts are located pretty close to each other. Out of the fifteen public ski resorts in Utah, thirteen are situated in the northeastern portion of the state. As of 2023, all of the destination resorts are in a small portion of the state, specifically the Wasatch Range. This is in spite of Utah being the 12th biggest state in the country, and having many different mountain ranges. So why is this the case?

Last week, PeakRankings broke down the key reasons why the major ski resorts exist solely around the Wasatch Front. Some of the reasons include that some mountain ranges don’t get enough consistent snowfall, others don’t get sufficient snowpack except in the upper elevations, some potential ski area sites are too remote, and other areas are under Wilderness protections.

There are some ski resorts that exist outside of the Wasatch Range: Beaver Mountain, Brian Head, Cherry Peak, and Eagle Point. Beaver and Cherry, which are located near the city of Logan, are small to medium-sized mountains and aren’t destinations. In Southern Utah, both of these ski resorts are moderately sized. These two could become destination resorts though, as Brian Head will be significantly expanding in the coming years, and Eagle Point is continuously improving. For now, the major ski resorts exist solely in the Wasatch Range.

For a more comprehensive breakdown, PeakRankings’ video is down below.