Snowbasin Ski Resort Review

Snowbasin Utah is one of the oldest ski resorts in the United States, yet there are no remnants left of a bygone era. Much of the lift infrastructure is quite modern and the Snowbasin Ski Resort has extravagant day lodges, which look similar to those at sister resort Sun Valley. Despite the fancy trimmings for day trippers, Snowbasin is not a destination resort and there is no village or lodging at the ski area.

The Snowbasin Ski Resort is not a household name like other Utah ski resorts such as Park City or Snowbird so it doesn’t attract quite the same crowds, although it’s still pretty busy.

Pros and Cons of Snowbasin Utah

Pros

• The ski area is a decent size.
• Snowbasin Ski Resort has some fun speedy groomers.
• Snowbasin has excellent terrain for advanced riders. 
• Significant investment has been made into the lift infrastructure and a decent proportion of the lifts are efficient.
• The day lodges are very fancy.

Cons

• Snowbasin Ski Resort receives a respectable amount of snow, but it’s considerably less than some of the other Utah ski resorts. A significant amount of the ski area has fake snow which can get really icy, in part due to lots of skier traffic.
• Snowbasin Utah used to be under the radar, but as most other Utah ski resorts have become really busy, more people have spilled over to Snowbasin.
• Parking your car on the weekend can be a time consuming process unless you get there at the crack of dawn, and shuttle services between Ogden Valley lodging and Snowbasin are underdeveloped.
• Any après ski scene at the mountain is very limited and nightlife in the Odgen Valley is also sedate.
• There are better ski hills for beginners.

Pro or Con Depending On Your Perspective

• There is no on-mountain lodging, but the upside is that lodging in the Ogden Valley is very affordable, as is dining out.
• Snowbasin Resort is accessible off the Ikon Pass.

Snowbasin Ski and Snowboard Terrain

The Snowbasin ski area is large with 2,950 acres (1,145 hectares) of terrain, 106 designated runs, and 2,915 vertical feet. That Snowbasin Ski Resort hosted the 2002 Olympics for the Downhill, Combined and Super G says a lot about the terrain – plenty of vertical and fantastic wide runs with lots of pitch.

The terrain has a major bias towards the black run skier and snowboarder, but in recent years the Snowbasin Resort has changed the trail statistics to downplay the amount of black and double black terrain. The trail stats used to be 7% beginner, 37% intermediate, 47% advanced and 9% expert. Without adding any more trails, the stats magically changed to beginner 20%, intermediate 50% and advanced 30%, which sounds like a lot of hog-wash, because in reality there is only a little bit of beginner terrain and significantly more black than blue terrain.

The Snowbasin Ski Resort has 11 lifts which includes 2 fast gondolas, a small tram, a high-speed 6-pack chair lift, and 2 express quad chairs, so it’s easy to rack up a lot of vertical in a day. 

Snow

Mother Nature does a decent amount of work, with an average of 300 inches (7.6m) of snowfall per year. To prop up her efforts, Snowbasin has vast snowmaking facilities that cover about 20% of the terrain. The Snowbasin snow quality is very good but it’s not the same as the “Greatest Snow on Earth” at Alta, Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude. 

Where is Snowbasin?

Snowbasin is located in Weber County in the Upper Ogden Valley area of Utah, 42 miles north of Salt Lake City, 19 miles east of Ogden, and 15-20 minutes drive from Eden at the base of the Powder Mountain Ski Resort. 

Snowbasin Lodging

On-mountain lodging is not available at Snowbasin, with accommodation options available in nearby Ogden Valley in Huntsville or Eden, or a greater choice is available in Ogden (45 minutes away). See the Snowbasin lodging page for more information. 

Ski Resort Facilities

The opulent day lodges were built in time for the 2002 Olympics, and they seem to suggest that Snowbasin wanted to pose to the world. The buildings have sun decks offering jaw dropping views, chandeliers, grandiose fire places, and incredibly swanky dining chairs. The day lodges are so nice that you feel bad walking in with your ski or snowboard boots on.