Brighton Ski Resort Utah

Brighton was the first Utah ski resort and is one of the oldest in America. Brighton Ski Resort might be old, but it’s far from old-fashioned. It was the first Utah resort to allow snowboarding, and it continues to be popular with funky snowboarders who make the most of the terrain parks, natural freestyle hits and the abundance of powder. Brighton Utah doesn’t have any of the trimmings, but the atmosphere is incredibly family-friendly, and it offers good value skiing and snowboarding so it’s very popular with local families and teens on the weekends.

Unlike high profile resorts such as Snowbird and those around Park City, Brighton Ski Resort doesn’t get much attention from out-of-towners. With very limited lodging on-mountain, Brighton UT isn’t much of a destination resort, but rather a great spot to visit for a day trip from adjoining Solitude or from Salt Lake City.

Ski Brighton: Pros and Cons

Pros

• Brighton Ski Resort often gets dumped on with quality Utah dry snow, and it has the second highest base elevation of the Utah ski resorts.
• For strong intermediates and up, the Brighton ski area is connected with the fantastic Solitude.
• The lift tickets and ski rentals are inexpensive compared to the high profile UT ski resorts, kids 10 and under ski and ride free, and it's accessible on the Ikon Pass.
• There is very good sidecountry and backcountry accessible from the resort.

Cons

• There is very limited lodging on-mountain and no village with evening restaurants, bars and shops.
• Brighton activities are pretty much limited to skiing and snowboarding.
• The terrain size is rather small compared to some of the other resorts around SLC.
• In comparison to the other Cottonwood Canyon resorts, there is only a small amount of in-bounds terrain for experts.
• The Brighton ski area is somewhat crowded on weekends, especially compared to Solitude (but it’s reasonably quiet on weekdays).

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• Brighton Utah is very close to SLC, but traffic up the canyon can be ridiculous on weekends.

Ski Brighton Utah - Terrain

There are two main sides to the Brighton Resort. The Majestic side consists of forested areas with plenty of opportunities for tree skiing along with beginner and intermediate trails, whilst the Millicent side has more open spaces, bowls and drop-offs for advanced and expert riders.

The spread of terrain for ability levels makes it attractive for families and others learning to ride, and all of the terrain is accessible via high speed chair lifts. For many shredders, the multiple terrain parks are the highlight of Brighton Utah. You can also ski Brighton at night, which includes illumination of the park and pipe areas.

The Brighton Ski Resort is reasonably compact with only 66 trails and 1,050 acres (425 hectares) of ski and snowboard terrain. However with an open-boundary policy there is also plenty of accessible sidecountry and backcountry terrain, and Brighton is interconnected with Solitude ski resort which provides another 1,200 acres (486 hectares).

Brighton Snow

The locals are happy that very few out-of-towners know about Brighton, so they can have all the abundant dry Utah powder for themselves. Brighton Ski Resort scores a massive 500 inches (12.7 metres) of snow on average per season.

Where is Brighton Ski Resort?

Brighton Utah is located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, just next to Solitude Ski Resort (2 miles away by road) and only 31 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and 36 miles from the SLC airport.

Brighton Ski Resort Lodging

In regards to Brighton lodging, there are some very affordable accommodations at the slopeside Brighton Lodge, nearby Brighton Chalets, and private vacation rentals, but that’s about it.

Brighton Lodging Listings

You can stay in Solitude accommodations and ski Brighton via the inter-connection (or catch a bus between the two resorts). Alternatively you can stay in Salt Lake City hotels and commute via the UTA buses or car.

Facilities

Whilst Brighton has reasonable facilities such as a few eateries, ski school, equipment rental and a retail shop, Brighton can generally be described as a low frills resort.