Four ski days in the Cottonwood Canyons and one in the city, with honest notes on passes, the ski bus and parking reservations.
Photo: PalauanReich, CC BY-SA 4.0
Most ski guides start in a village. This one starts in a city of about 200,000 people, because in Utah the capital and the lifts are a canyon road apart. Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 by settlers led by Brigham Young, and the Mormon pioneers built it around a temple that took 40 years to finish. Silver ore was found at the head of Little Cottonwood Canyon in 1864, and the miners' town of Alta later became a ski area, whose first chairlift opened in January 1939. Snowbird followed in 1971. The 2002 Winter Olympics were held in this valley, and in 2024 the IOC awarded Salt Lake the 2034 Games.
Four resorts share two canyons. Alta is a skiers-only mountain, with no snowboards allowed, and it averages 543 inches of snow a year. Snowbird, next door, is steeper and has a cable car. Brighton and Solitude, in Big Cottonwood Canyon, are gentler. This is not one resort with a village at its foot: you ride a bus or drive up a mountain road each morning, and the road is the part of the trip that needs planning. Five days fits the shape of it, one day for each resort and a fifth in the city, where the Salt Lake Temple is still under renovation but the Tabernacle and a very good natural history museum are open. With more days, spend them at Alta and Snowbird.
The plan runs Monday to Friday: Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, then the city. Start on a Monday. The canyons ask for parking reservations on Friday to Sunday mornings, so you ski on the days when you don't need one, and Brighton is closed on Tuesdays this winter, which is why Snowbird is on Tuesday. Park City, 31 miles east, has its own plan: see 5 Days in Park City. More about the country is on the United States page.
Every stop from the plan below, colored by day. Pick a day to see its route.
A skiers-only day on Utah's old silver mountain: the first chairlift, the high Supreme side, lunch by the Collins lift and a ride back down the canyon.
Utah's cable car, a trip over to Mineral Basin, the longest run on the mountain and a dinner on the tenth floor.
The friendly mountain of Big Cottonwood: easy lifts, a steeper side and the option of skiing under lights until 9pm.
Utah's only unlimited Ikon mountain: groomers off Moonbeam, a day in Honeycomb Canyon, then a free evening with the Tabernacle Choir.
A day without skis: Temple Square, the Capitol, a walk through Memory Grove, a pastrami burger and mole for dinner.
Two valleys of snow sit side by side. Little Cottonwood Canyon holds Alta, a skiers-only mountain, and Snowbird, with the Aerial Tram; the Alta-Bird ticket covers both, and they connect on skis. Big Cottonwood Canyon holds Brighton and Solitude, gentler mountains that suit mixed groups. The figures below are for Alta-Bird together, as the two resorts publish them. Alta says 45% of its terrain suits beginners and intermediates, and Snowbird puts 68% of its runs at advanced or expert.
| Snowbird, 1 day, adult, from | 195 USD (175 EUR) |
|---|---|
| Snowbird, half day, adult, from | 166 USD (149 EUR) |
| Ikon Pass, adult 23+, March launch price | 1,349-1,399 USD (1,210-1,255 EUR) |
| Alta-Bird season pass, adult | 3,448 USD (3,093 EUR) |
Snowbird's are 'starting at' prices that rise on weekends and holidays. For Alta's day price, look at alta.com. The Ikon price is the March launch price (renewal and new), and it rises until sales end in December. The Ikon Pass has 7 days combined at Alta and Snowbird, 7 at Brighton and unlimited days at Solitude; the Ikon Base Pass is not valid at Alta.
Source: Alta-Bird pass page: 20 lifts, 256 runs, 5,114 acres, 3,240 vertical feet, 543 in of snow. The altitude fields are Snowbird's, 11,000 ft at Hidden Peak and 7,760 ft at the foot of the Baby Thunder lift, because 11,000 minus 7,760 is the published 3,240 vertical feet. No run split is published for the pair, so only the total is given. Snowbird alone: 140+ runs, 2,500 acres. Prices from Snowbird's ticket page, SKI Magazine and Alta's shop, checked 2026-10-28
Alta opens its lifts at 9:15am, and from Monday to Thursday you don't need a parking reservation after 8am (holiday periods excepted). Snowboards are not allowed at Alta at all, so if anyone in your group rides a board, swap this day with Snowbird. The road up is the trap: Highway 210 closes for avalanche work, usually overnight but sometimes into the morning, and has winter traction rules. Check UDOT's road report the evening before and again at breakfast, and take the bus if you can, because buses go to the front of the queue when the road reopens.
Alta has two base areas, Wildcat and Albion, joined by a transfer tow. The UTA 994 bus ends at Goldminer's Daughter Lodge in the Wildcat base area, which is also where the Collins and Wildcat lifts start, so most arrivals begin here. Alta tells strong skiers to use Wildcat and families with beginners or small children to use Albion; every lift and run can be reached from either.
The lifts are few and old in spirit: no terrain park, no heated seats, and traversing or hiking to reach parts of the mountain is part of the point.
The Collins lift is where Utah skiing started. The first chair here opened on 15 January 1939, the fourth chairlift in America and the first in Utah, built by Salt Lake businessmen from old mine trolleys and salvaged mine timber for 10,000 dollars. A ride cost 25 cents, or 1.50 dollars for the day.
Today's Collins is a four-person lift and, in Alta's words, the quicker and more fun way for intermediate and advanced skiers to reach Sugarloaf and Supreme from the Wildcat lot.
Sugarloaf and Supreme open the upper mountain, the part of Alta's 2,614 acres where the snow is deepest: the mountain averages 543 inches a year and calls it the Greatest Snow on Earth. It is also an old-fashioned mountain with few lifts and a lot of traversing, so a map, and a lap behind a stronger skier, help.
Supreme runs from 9:15am to 3:30pm, earlier than Collins and Sunnyside, so do this side before lunch. Alta says 45% of its terrain suits beginners and intermediates, which leaves the rest for strong skiers, so be honest about your level before you follow a local off a ridge.
The mid-mountain lodge near the top of the Collins lift holds two places under one roof: Collins Grill, a sit-down room on the third floor with a daily-changing chalkboard menu of small plates (open from December), and Watson's Cafe, a cafeteria. The spot goes back to Watson's Forest Lodge, which the Forest Service built near the top of the first chair so that skiers could get shelter and a warm meal.
Eat here if you want to keep skiing. Take the cafeteria for speed and the grill if you have a long lunch in you. At the base, the Rustler Lodge says its lunch is open to outside guests at an extra cost, and Alta Lodge may do the same; call ahead.
Albion is the beginner end of Alta. Alta's own advice is to use the Albion lot if you have beginners or need childcare or ski school, and the Albion Grill is here. The Sunnyside lift runs until 4:30pm, later than Supreme and Sugarloaf. If you spent the morning high up, finish the day on this side and ski or ride the transfer tow back to the bus at Wildcat.
Alta was a mining town long before it was a ski area. General Patrick Connor found silver ore at the head of Little Cottonwood Canyon in July 1864, and by 1873 there were about 2,100 mine claims and 5,000 to 8,000 people here in summer. On the evening of 13 February 1885 an avalanche buried the town under 50 feet of snow, killing 16 people and leaving seven buildings standing. When the mines failed, a man named George Watson was left as the only resident and declared himself mayor.
The Forest Service later hired Norwegian ski jumper Alf Engen to judge the slopes, and the ski area grew from there. Walk the base and read the lodge names: Alta Lodge, Rustler, Snowpine, Peruvian, Goldminer's Daughter.
Snowbird is the steep one: 68% of its runs are advanced or expert and only 8% are beginner, so this is the day for strong skiers. Snowboards are welcome, unlike at Alta. The traps are the canyon ones: closures for avalanche work, and the Interlodge, which Snowbird calls in a big storm and which means everyone at the resort must stay inside a building until it is lifted, which can take an hour or run overnight.
The Aerial Tram is Snowbird's trademark: a two-cabin cable car on a 1.6-mile cable that carries skiers up 2,900 vertical feet to Hidden Peak at 11,000 feet in about 7 minutes. It has run since Snowbird opened in December 1971. A ticket covers the Tram, the chairlifts and the conveyors.
Go up early. A queue is the price of a powder day. Snowbird says it has three areas, Peruvian Gulch, Gad Valley and Mineral Basin, and the Tram is the way into the top of all of them.
Chip's Run, at 2.5 miles, is the longest run on the mountain, and the longest descent is 3.5 miles, down Gad Valley. This is the lower part of Snowbird, served by the Gadzoom, Gad 2 and Mid Gad lifts. If the Tram line is long or the top is shut, this is where the day happens.
Two places are worth knowing. The Summit sits at the top of the Tram at 11,000 feet and serves pizza, paninis, salads and sandwiches, with local beers; Snowbird calls it Utah's highest restaurant, and it is a few steps from the Tram. Mid Gad, in the middle of Gad Valley, is the quick option for burgers, sandwiches, salads and soups.
The Snowbird app and the lift report show what's open on the day.
Chickadee is Snowbird's beginner lift, and for 2026/27 it has become a four-person fixed-grip chair with expanded terrain beneath it,. A Chickadee-only ticket costs far less than a full one, so there is a cheap way in for a first-timer in your group.
The Cliff Lodge is Snowbird's main hotel and it has the rooftop spa. After a day of Tram laps it is a sensible place to end: the spa first, then dinner. The Aerie, on the tenth floor of the Cliff Lodge, serves modern American gastropub dishes behind floor-to-ceiling windows, with dinner 5-9pm Tuesday to Saturday (reservations recommended).
Brighton has 1,050 acres, 1,875 vertical feet and an average of 500 inches of snow. It is closed on Tuesdays from this winter, which is why it is on Wednesday in this plan, and it runs night skiing from 4pm to 9pm on the other days. Parking reservations are required before noon Friday to Sunday and in the holiday periods (18 December to 3 January and the January and February long weekends), but not on other Monday to Thursday days.
Brighton has been in Big Cottonwood Canyon since 1936, and 2026/27 is its 90th season. It sits at the top of the canyon and calls itself the place where Utah learns to ski and ride. The Explorer lift next to the main lodge serves the beginner runs, and the next step up is the Majestic chair.
Park in the main lot (reservations are needed before noon on Friday to Sunday and in the holiday periods) and rent skis from the resort.
The Milly Express and Great Western lifts serve the steeper terrain at Brighton, the advanced and expert runs that Ski Utah points to. Brighton says it gets an average of 500 inches of some of the driest, lightest snow around, and this side of the mountain is where you will notice it.
The Milly side is also where you start if you want to link over to Solitude: a connector trail leaves from the Milly lift. Ask at the ticket window first, because lift access at both mountains needs a ticket that covers both. An Ikon Pass covers Brighton for seven days and Solitude for unlimited days.
The middle of the mountain is where most people spend the day. Majestic and Snake Creek Express serve green and blue runs that are intertwined, so read the signs, and Crest 6 Express runs above them. This is the best terrain for a mixed group: every lift line includes riders of all abilities, as Brighton puts it, and children, parents and a stronger skier can ride the same lifts and meet at the bottom. Brighton welcomes snowboarders, which Alta does not.
For 2026/27 the Milly Chalet at the base of the Milly lift becomes a quick-service Mexican restaurant, according to Brighton's own announcement. The point is good food fast enough to get you back on the mountain, without a trek across the resort to the main lodge. It is new this winter, so treat it as unproven.
Brighton runs night skiing on more than 200 illuminated acres, from 4pm to 9pm from Wednesday to Monday, and from this season it includes every Sunday. Four or five lifts spin after dark (Brighton's pages differ), and around 30 trails are lit. It is an easy way to add hours to a short winter day, when the sun sets at about 5pm in late December.
Night riding isn't available on the Great Western lift or on the surface lifts, and there is none on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year's Eve. Brighton is about 35 minutes from Salt Lake City, so dinner downtown afterwards is still realistic.
Solitude, 13 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon, has 1,200 acres, and it is the only Utah resort where the Ikon Pass is unlimited. It opens on 20 November 2026. This is a Thursday for a reason: the Tabernacle Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings.
Solitude's Moonbeam Lodge is the main base for day visitors, and its lot opens at 7am. The Moonbeam Express, Eagle Express and Link lifts leave directly from it, and the ticket office is in the Moonbeam base area.
Parking is free with no reservation after 11am. Before that, reservations are needed from 18 December on Friday to Sunday and on holidays, but from Monday to Thursday outside the holiday periods you can simply park.
The Apex Express feeds the intermediate terrain below Eagle Ridge, and the Moonbeam Express and Link serve beginner ground. The groomers are good for warming up before you choose between the bowls.
Don't mistake family-friendly for small. The mountain has 1,200 acres, a top at 10,488 feet and an average of about 500 inches of snow.
Honeycomb Canyon is the back of Eagle Ridge, a long valley with most of Solitude's bowl skiing. You reach it mainly from the Summit Express, and the Honeycomb Return quad brings you back up from the bottom. It is for strong skiers who read terrain well.
Before you drop in, check that the Honeycomb Return is running. It is the way back, and you don't want to find out at the bottom that it isn't.
Solitude has several places for a quick lunch. Last Chance Lodge is in the village, near the Link lift. Moonbeam Lodge, the cafeteria at the base, is the practical stop for day visitors, and Roundhouse, a lodge higher on the mountain, is a winter-only restaurant that Solitude also uses for its Ikon parties. Ikon Pass holders get 15% off food and drink, excluding alcohol, at five restaurants including Last Chance, Moonbeam Lodge and Roundhouse.
A shuttle runs continuously between Moonbeam Lodge and Solitude Village from 7am to 6pm if you want to eat in the village and then walk to the Inn at Solitude.
Solitude Village is the second base, with the Inn at Solitude, condos, a spa and restaurants. It is small and walkable. Solitude was a mining area in the late 1800s before it became a ski area in the 1970s.
The village lot is reserved for lodging guests and employees, and day visitors use Moonbeam; a few spaces open to the public at 1pm. For a day trip it's a place to wander, not a place to ski from.
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square rehearses every Thursday at 7:30pm in the Tabernacle, and the public can attend for free. It is one of the cheapest good evenings in Utah, and a run-through for the Sunday broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word, which goes out live at 9:30am on Sundays.
Solitude is about 29 miles from downtown, so leave the mountain by 5pm. The choir sometimes cancels a rehearsal, so check its site before you drive down.
This is a Friday, when the canyons want parking reservations, so you spend it in the city. The Capitol runs its tours on weekdays, the Natural History Museum is open 10am-5pm every day, and Temple Square is open daily. The Salt Lake Temple itself is closed for renovation, but the Tabernacle and the grounds are open.
Temple Square is a 10-acre block owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the whole city's street grid starts from its southeast corner, which is why Salt Lake addresses read "400 South" and "200 East". The Tabernacle, built between 1863 and 1875, is a long domed hall famous for its acoustics and its pipe organ. It is where the Tabernacle Choir has performed for more than a century.
As of early October 2026 the Tabernacle (Monday to Saturday, 9am-9pm), the Church History Museum (closed Sunday), the Visitors' Center (daily, 9am-9pm) and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building were open, while the Assembly Hall, Beehive House, Lion House and the Temple itself were closed.
The Salt Lake Temple took 40 years to build and was dedicated in 1893. Its granite came from a quarry near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, the same canyon you've been driving up all week. It closed for renovation and seismic work in 2019. The scaffolding has come down, and the Church plans free public open-house tours from 5 April to 1 October 2027, with timed reservations that opened on 1 September 2026.
Nearby is the Seagull Monument, placed on Temple Square in 1913 and believed to be the first monument to birds in the United States. It marks an event in 1848 when seagulls were seen eating the crickets that were destroying the settlers' crops.
The Utah State Capitol was designed by Richard K.A. Kletting and built between 1912 and 1916, a Neoclassical building on Capitol Hill that looks over the whole valley. A restoration that began in 2004 added a base-isolation system meant to let it survive a 7.3-magnitude earthquake, and the building resumed normal operation in January 2008. Free guided tours of about 40 minutes leave from the visitor center by the east entrance on the hour, 10am-3pm on weekdays, except 7 December 2026 to 1 January 2027.
Walk down from the Capitol into Memory Grove, a war memorial park laid out in 1924 at the mouth of City Creek Canyon, with a Pagoda, a pond and the Meditation Chapel built in 1948. A path leads on into the canyon, and a short stroll is the pleasantest break between sights.
Crown Burgers is a Utah institution, a small chain that Nick Katsanevas and John Katzourakis started in 1978. The signature is a cheeseburger topped with hot pastrami, an idea from a relative who had served it in Anaheim. There are seven branches, all in Utah, and one is downtown.
It is fast food of a very particular kind: a messy burger, onion rings and fry sauce.
The museum is part of the University of Utah, in a building called the Rio Tinto Center that opened in 2011 on the hillside above the city. Its focus is Utah and the Intermountain West, the geology, ecology and people of the region you have been skiing in all week. It is open 10am-5pm daily, with last entry 30 minutes before closing.
Seniors and young adults 13-24 pay 22.95 dollars and children 3-12 pay 20.95.
Red Iguana opened in 1985 on North Temple, on the west side of the city, with room for 18 diners. It is run now by the founders' daughter, Lucy Cardenas, and her husband, Bill Coker, who bought it in 2005. What it is known for is mole: a menu of sauces with chocolate, chiles and spice, including a black mole and a yellow one. It is on Visit Salt Lake's list of the 15 restaurants that define the city.
Places beyond the five days, ordered by driving distance from downtown Salt Lake City. Park City has its own guide, and the others are day trips in good weather.
Built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, this indoor speed-skating oval sits at 4,675 feet, and ten Olympic and nine world records were set there during the Games. It is expected to host long-track skating again in 2034. The Oval offers public skating on several days a week; call for the schedule and prices.
Getting there: About 14 miles (23 km) southwest in Kearns, around 25 minutes by car
Official website
Park City is a former silver-mining town on the other side of the ridge, with its own ski areas and its own plan. It is a guide of its own, not a day in this one: see 5 Days in Park City.
Getting there: About 31 miles (50 km), 45 minutes by car east of the city
Snowbasin is on the far side of the Wasatch Range and hosted the 2002 downhill, super-G and combined, and it is expected to host them again in 2034. It opened in 1939. Check which pass covers it before you plan a day there.
Getting there: About 44 miles (71 km), 1 hour by car north near Ogden
The largest of the ten islands in the Great Salt Lake covers 42 square miles and is home to bison, pronghorn and bighorn sheep. The bison were introduced in 1893. It is a day without skis; check the road and the lake level first.
Getting there: About 46 miles (74 km), 70 minutes by car north-west over a causeway
Robert Redford bought the area in 1968, and the resort grew into the home of the Sundance Institute. The film festival began in Salt Lake City in 1978, moved to Park City, and is moving to Boulder, Colorado, from 2027. Skiing on Mount Timpanogos began in 1944.
Getting there: About 51 miles (82 km), 65 minutes by car south on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos
A salt pan 12 miles long and 5 miles wide, with a crust almost 5 feet thick at the center, the remains of Lake Bonneville and the home of land-speed records. It is public land and open to visitors. It is a four-hour round trip, so it only fits if you add a day.
Getting there: About 123 miles (198 km), 2 hours by car west on I-80
Utah food is not one cuisine. It is the American canon, a few local oddities and, in Salt Lake City, a city that eats well across many countries. The mountains run on burgers; the best dinners are in town.
The pastrami burger is Salt Lake's own version: a cheeseburger with hot pastrami, from Crown Burgers, which opened in 1978. On the mountain, every base lodge has a burger, so you will eat several.
Where to try it: Crown Burgers, with about seven branches in Utah including downtown at 377 E 200 S (Monday to Saturday; reported closed on Sundays). Hires Big H, a drive-in dating from 1959 at 425 S 700 E (closed Sundays), is a good second place.
Utah isn't barbecue country, and the honest answer is a short list. Pat's Barbecue and R&R BBQ are the two to try.
Where to try it: Pat's Barbecue, 155 W Commonwealth Ave (Monday to Saturday, 10:30am-9pm, closed Sundays), or R&R BBQ, 307 W 600 S (hours differ between listings, so call first).
Fry sauce is ketchup mixed with mayonnaise, and in Utah it comes with fries the way ketchup does elsewhere. Hires sells its own in supermarkets around the state.
Where to try it: Any Crown Burgers or Hires Big H; Hires also sells it in bottles.
Utah pizza is big and cheesy, not a New York slice. The Pie Pizzeria, with an underground branch near the University of Utah, is known for oversized pies like the Wise Guy, and it is on Visit Salt Lake's list of restaurants that define the city.
Where to try it: The Pie Pizzeria, underground branch near the university; other branches around the valley.
Salt Lake has an unexpectedly good Mexican scene. Red Iguana has made mole its calling card since 1985, with a rotating menu of sauces: a black one, a yellow one and a sampler if you can't decide. Plan around the wait.
Where to try it: Red Iguana, 736 W North Temple, open 11am-9pm (10pm Fri-Sat).
Ruth's Diner in Emigration Canyon is known for its biscuits and its canyon-side patio. It is about 15 minutes from downtown and a pleasant breakfast stop on a city day.
Where to try it: Ruth's Diner, Emigration Canyon, about 15 minutes from downtown (breakfast 8am-4pm; its site says closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
Utah's draft beer is capped at 5% ABV, and anything stronger comes from a state liquor store, so the local style is lighter than you may be used to. Breweries can sell any beer without food, which makes them the easy places to try it.
Where to try it: A brewery rather than a bar; see the Visit Utah list of Wasatch Front breweries.
High West, in Park City, was the first legally licensed distillery in Utah since Prohibition ended. Its whiskey is worth looking for in bars, and Park City is 31 miles away if you want to see where it's made. It's in 5 Days in Park City.
Where to try it: Bars and the state liquor stores in Salt Lake; the distillery is in Park City.
Mahider is a city favorite for doro wat, chicken stew with injera, the sour flatbread you tear and eat with.
Where to try it: Mahider Ethiopian Restaurant, 1465 S State St, about 10 minutes from downtown by car (some listings show it closed Sunday and Monday, so check).
Feldman's Deli does hand-sliced pastrami, Reubens and matzo ball soup in a New York Jewish deli style, a good lunch on a day you don't want a burger.
Where to try it: Feldman's Deli, 2005 E 2700 S, about 10 minutes southeast of downtown (check hours before you go).
A Utah thing: soda mixed with cream, syrups or fruit juice, an alcohol-free answer to the cocktail. Swig, a drive-through chain that began in St. George in 2010, made it famous. It's very sweet; a small one is plenty.
Where to try it: Any Swig drive-through along the Wasatch Front.
Pick by how you want to reach the snow. Downtown is for restaurants and transit, the canyon mouths are for early starts, and the two slopeside villages are for people who want to ski first and sleep later.
Best for: A mix of skiing and city, with TRAX from the airport
The best base if you are doing the plan as written. You get hotels, restaurants and Temple Square on foot, and TRAX from the airport in 17 minutes. The catch is the commute: the canyons are 26 to 31 miles away, and the ski bus from here takes a train and a bus.
Best for: An early start at the canyon mouths without paying resort prices
The suburbs at the mouths of the two canyons, with the park-and-rides where the ski buses actually start. Ski buses and the canyon roads are close, so the morning is shorter than from downtown. The catch is that there is little to see here, and for an evening you ride TRAX into the city.
Best for: Strong skiers who want first Tram and a spa after
Snowbird's village has five lodging properties, from the Cliff Lodge hotel to condos at Iron Blosam. You can ski from your door to the Tram, and staying earns a 20-36% discount on lift tickets through Stay and Save. The catch is the road: you are in a place that closes for avalanche work, and in an Interlodge you can't leave the buildings.
Best for: Skiers (not snowboarders) who want a small old-fashioned ski village
Five independent lodges at the top of the canyon: Alta Lodge, Rustler Lodge, Snowpine Lodge, Peruvian Lodge and Goldminer's Daughter. All are ski-in/ski-out, and some serve meals in their dining rooms. The catch is that Alta is skiers-only, and a snowboarder in your group can't ski here.
Pinpoint USA: click each state on a blank map of America - inside the border for full points.
The practical stuff that makes the first day in Salt Lake City easier.
Prices in this guide are in US dollars, with euros in brackets at 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (ECB reference rate via frankfurter.dev, 27 October 2026). Cards work almost everywhere, even for small amounts. Tipping is customary in restaurants and bars, usually 18-20%, and staff are paid on the assumption that you tip. Sales tax is added at the till, so shelf prices are lower than what you pay.
Do the sum before you buy a pass. Snowbird's adult full day starts at 195 USD (175 EUR), and Alta's day price is on alta.com. An Ikon Pass was 1,349-1,399 USD (1,210-1,255 EUR) at its March launch, rising until sales end in December, and the Ikon Base Pass is not valid at Alta. Alta-Bird, Alta and Snowbird together, is 3,448 USD (3,093 EUR) for an adult season. Buying online two weeks ahead saves up to 15% at Snowbird. The Salt Lake Ski Super Pass is a multi-day pass for all four resorts with free UTA transit; ask Visit Salt Lake for current prices.
UTA ski buses serve all four resorts and cost 5 USD (4.50 EUR) a trip, free with an Ikon or resort season pass. Route 994 runs from Historic Sandy Station to Snowbird and Alta, route 972 from Midvale Fort Union to Solitude and Brighton, and canyon services CS1 and CS2 add runs to Alta and Snowbird. Last winter 994 ran every 30 minutes, 6am-7pm; from the airport you ride TRAX (Green Line to Arena, Blue Line to Historic Sandy), then about 50 minutes on the bus. Service starts in late November or early December and timetables change each season, so check rideuta.com or the Transit app. On a closure morning the bus goes to the front of the queue.
Utah law says to have snow tires on your vehicle or carry chains from 1 November to 1 May, and when UDOT sets the traction law, all-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive cars need M+S or snowflake tires on all four wheels, and two-wheel-drive cars need 3-peak snowflake tires or chains fitted. UDOT's free Cottonwoods sticker program pre-checks tires. Highway 210 into Little Cottonwood is 13 miles long, crosses about 64 avalanche paths and closes often for avalanche work, usually overnight from about 12:30 to 8:30am. Driving in a full closure is illegal. Snowbird's Interlodge, when everyone must stay in buildings, can run from an hour to overnight, and breaking it is a misdemeanor with a fine up to 1,000 USD (897 EUR). A gondola for the canyon has been planned but is not built, and UDOT has said buses and tolls could start as early as the 2028 winter season.
Alta needs a parking reservation Friday to Sunday and on holiday periods (18 December to 3 January, 18 January, 15 February) from 8am to 1pm, from 11 December to early April; it costs 25 USD (22 EUR), 10 USD with an online lift ticket, free for Alta pass holders, and a no-show costs 100 USD (90 EUR) after one warning. Brighton needs a reservation before noon Friday to Sunday and in the holiday periods; Solitude's Moonbeam lot needs one before 11am from 18 December on Friday to Sunday and holidays, and is free after 11am. Snowbird has free lots first-come, first-served, paid reservations and carpool spaces; remaining spots in reserved lots open at 1pm. The plan avoids all of this by skiing Monday to Thursday.
Downtown Salt Lake City is about 4,300 feet; Alta's base is 8,530 feet, and Snowbird's Hidden Peak is 11,000. The jump in one morning is real, so drink water and take the first day gently. In winter a temperature inversion can trap cold, polluted air in the valley for days, while the canyons above it are sunny. Sunset in late December is about 5pm, and US clocks go back on the first Sunday of November.
Draft beer and grocery-store beer are capped at 5% ABV; stronger beer, wine and spirits are sold at state liquor stores, which are closed on Sundays, or served in bars and restaurants. In restaurants alcohol is served only with food; breweries and bars don't need it. Everyone must show ID to buy alcohol, whatever their age, since 1 January 2026. You order one drink at a time, with no pitchers, cocktails use measured pours, bars close at 2am, and the drink-drive limit is 0.05%, the lowest in the country. Bringing alcohol into Utah from outside is illegal.
Salt Lake City is quieter on Sundays. City Creek Center is closed, and so are the state liquor stores. Addresses follow a grid: the southeast corner of Temple Square is the origin, so 400 South is four blocks south of it. The US uses 120 V and flat two-pin plugs (types A and B), so bring an adapter and check that your charger is dual-voltage.
It is enough for one day at each of the four resorts and a city day. If you only care about skiing, spend the fifth day at Alta or Snowbird, the bigger mountains. For three days, do Alta, Snowbird and one Big Cottonwood resort.
No. Alta is one of three ski areas in North America that does not allow snowboards on its lifts, and it also restricts split boards and snow bikes. Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude all welcome snowboarders, so a mixed group should spend the Alta day elsewhere.
No. TRAX runs from the airport to downtown, and UTA ski buses reach all four resorts, free with an Ikon or resort pass. A car gives you flexibility, but you must carry snow tires or chains, the canyon roads close for avalanches, and parking is by reservation on weekend mornings.
Brighton and Solitude. Brighton calls itself the place where Utah learns to ski and ride, and Solitude sells itself on family fun. Snowbird has a beginner lift at Chickadee and Alta has the Albion base, but both are steep mountains overall.
Often not, unless you ski elsewhere on it. Add up the four single-day tickets and compare them with 1,349-1,399 USD (1,210-1,255 EUR) at its March launch price. The Ikon Base Pass doesn't work at Alta. The pass pays off over a longer trip.
Not yet. It has been closed for renovation since 2019. The Church plans public open-house tours from 5 April to 1 October 2027, with reservations made through templesquare.org. The Tabernacle and parts of Temple Square are open now.
Regularly, for avalanche work, most often overnight. On big storms Snowbird also calls an Interlodge. Check UDOT and the resort apps the evening before, leave early, and use the bus if you can.
Yes, with rules. Beer up to 5% ABV is sold in supermarkets and on draft. Stronger drinks come from state liquor stores, closed on Sundays, or from bars and restaurants. Everyone buying alcohol must show ID, and the driving limit is 0.05%.
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