Snowbird — Attraction in Cottonwood Heights

Not for All Levels. Intermediate will Stretch; Expert will Enjoy. Beginners will Struggle.|If you're an east coast skier, adjust these ratings.||Review from a married-into-a-ski-family wife. Been skiing about 25 years. Our family has taken a ski trip out west most years. We've been lucky enough to try lots of great places: Aspen/Snowmass; Park City; Alta; Jackson Hole; Steamboat; Big Sky; Heavenly; Breckenridge. We also ski West Virginia and the Appalachian Mountains 2-4 times a winter. Grew up skiing the dunes & icy slopes of Michigan/the Midwest. We're now in our late 40's, so at this point I'm a blue/black skier, but can stretch to double blacks. Definitely not an expect/back country/mogul skier, but can usually hold my own and follow the family down most runs.||I'd agree with anyone who says Snowbird is a stretch for intermediate skiers and really not a resort to travel to as a beginner (maybe if you were local trying out area resorts, but not as a one time destination). The main factor is the steep vertical drop of over 3,200 feet, and many long, steep runs. And changing weather conditions with little grooming. I honestly think some of those runs were about 3 miles to the bottom, and with the slope, you are truly working to slow yourself, maintain control at times, and keep that endurance level. Often we would ride up to the top and it would be all day before heading back to the village. This is the only resort I took a day off of from just not having it in my legs again.||We came during a late spring break and got a lot of good snow/powder days while there. Unfortunately, our teen daughter had a knee injury at the time. That did allow us to explore the center of the village bunny slope (they just had the one), and the far right of the mountain green's area for our first day to ease her in. That |Green area had a lot of thick powder, making it more challenging than usual Greens despite having lower hills. Signage was not always visible in the snow, you had to traverse far right from the village to get there, and at one point we veered into a moguls run under the lift where signage was easy to miss. Our teens are experienced skiers, so we were able to navigate without issues, but there is much beginners would struggle with. She was able go up the mountain to handle the blue runs with her knee brace on, but also needed days off. Rest of the family are black skiers who grew up clacking many hours skiing. They loved the difficult terrain.||It was a beautiful mountain. And we like skiing a new place each time, so we weren't disappointed. But we've done several past trips with friends and younger kids who are beginner-intermediate, and I would just not recommend Snowbird for that level. There's just too small of an area of easier terrain. And with variable snow conditions, there's a lot of unpredictability. If you go up the mountain, you're committed to hard blues and blacks. There was a section of shorter runs close to the top, but still higher level. There were greens that traversed the hill down, but due to conditions, length, and steepness of slope, and some quick switchbacks, all that was definitely more blue than green. There was really no easy way down.||As for the entire resort, it had a good fun vibe. Accommodations are all price ranges and close to the village. Some of the restaurants were upscale with great meals, some middle of the road. The village was smaller and crowded at times, but they also had good live music & events that caused the crowds. which is common for a ski area. In between powder days were some great blue skies. Parking was an issue there, and certainly seemed worse for day pass folks. Luckily our hotel had a valet service and a shuttle to restaurants. One somewhat scary thing that we weren't used to is the potential for avalanches. The mountain patrol seemed really on top of that though. Definitely morning/evening blasts set off to contain, lots of signage & weather/mtn reports, and they had a big rescue program. Last issue was with the snow dumps, they did close roads often. Day skiers would up and leave if there was word of a road closure. We had to check reports & keep checking the day we checked out/flew out of Salt Lake, but ultimately things worked out.||Overall, Snowbird is a fun, casual resort for good skiers. Would be a great guys trip. Our teens liked it. The Cliff is the upscale lux accommodations and spa, vey swanky. There were budget friendly options in the main village too. Our place was a 2-story apartment with 2 bedrooms, 1 up & 1 down, and loft space for the teens, 2 BA, living room & kitchen. Older but nice. The Lodge. Can't beat a heated pool/hot tub under the slopes after a long ski day. For anyone who skied Utah during the Winter Olympics and had issues getting alcohol, those problems were long gone. The bar scene wasn't big, but you could enjoy a drink when you wanted. We had hoped to explore Salt Lake more, but the resort was too far up the mountain to make that feasible. I'd probably give the overall resort a 3 compared to some other amazing resorts out there, but the skiing, scenery, and ski family fun...

Snowbird Summer & Ski Resort is a picture of a postcard.

It’s located in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Sandy Utah. From the mouth of the canyon up to Snowbird depending on weather condition, and if there is a bike-a-thon race going on, in general, it is about 8 miles up the canyon within 20-23 minutes. Snowbird is a wide-open attractive gem. A gem that is not hidden.

There are four (4) hotel accommodations; Iron Blosam Lodge, The Cliff Lodge, the Lodge at Snowbird, and the Inn at Snowbird. As with hotel industry, the nightly rates are always shifting, and the rates are different based on weekdays-weekends. It’s ever changing like hotel businesses.

If you are a traveler on business and/or both (business-pleasure), it is highly encouraged to visit the annual Oktoberfest at Snowbird for fine food, burger-fries (on the upper 2nd level Plaza, food court) where you could also take advantage of riding the tram.

If you are interested in riding the gondola, the ticket booth office is located on the 2nd floor level of the Plaza. You have the option of purchasing a regular ride (indoor tram seats) or pay $10 more to get on the outdoor open deck of the tram to get a bird eye’s view of the spectacular mountain fresh air and a 360 panoramic view of the mountains (take note when it is an outdoor deck, it can get windy at times being in the element) of you’ve no fear of heights.

The tram ticket prices vary depending on on-peak or off-peak season. It is best to check on Snowbird’s tram ticket prices based on adult/children ticket prices.

The annual Oktoberfest is held every year on the 2nd weekend in October. Various handcrafted vendor products, silversmith fork-spoon handcrafted rings, unusual jewelry-handcrafted soap bar booths, unique Indy-Peruvian-Native America wool jackets/coats, native countries of wood crafted goods, gifts of all sorts. Snowbird food trucks, pretzels-garlic fries’ tents.

Inside the large white dome tent, live German music, dancing, 6-layer rich German chocolate cake, delicious apple strudels, drinks, soda, beer, bottled water and the large dome is decorated very festively with lights, making it lively, food-fun.

And while Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, Snowbird is equally the happiest place on Earth!

Don't forget to take some amazing photos of the creeks, river streams, the mountains, aerial scenic/videos when you come up to Snowbird and take home some memories with you! Prost ! Auf die Gesundheit! Cheers and...

Here's a true review of an out-of-towner! This was our first time in Utah so I was very unfamiliar with what to expect. If you have family or want to do a variety of things during your stay or prefer a more upscale accommodation, do NOT come here! Stay in Park City.

The skiing at Snowbird is a disappointment not only because you have to do a lot of walking in the snow to get to the decent lifts but because the lifts often shut down due to loss of electricity or some maintenance issue that causes the few lift lines that are open to get backed up or closed down while you stood in line. This causes you to have to spend way too much time in long lines instead of skiing!

The runs are great for experts but if you simply enjoy great views, the beauty that comes from skiing across the mountain without a major adrenaline rush every single time then you'll also be disappointed. There isn't one run that was my favorite as an intermediate skiier who has skied multiple places around the world.

For almost 1000 dollars a night, the rooms and accommodations are unacceptable. They don't have decent robs, shower caps, toiletries, etc. The house keeping is a bit lazy and will not do a thorough job. We stayed on the spa level and still it was lackluster.

I had no idea what I was walking into but we couldn't tolerate spending Christmas tat Snowbird so we spent 4 nights at the Waldorf Hotel in Park City where we received top notch accommodations and luxury treatment. There is more to do in Park City and I wish our entire stay was here. We are disappointed that we have another 5 days in Snowbird so don't come to Snowbird with your family unless you're familiar with what you're walking into....