The Canyons has great all around skiing and is best for intermediate skiers, but has a sufficient amount of the hard stuff to keep experts entertained. It is not a typical mountain for beginners as the green trails are at mid-mountain (accessed by gondola), its nice that makes beginning skiers feel like they have seen the mountain and are not stuck at the bottom of the mountain. Plenty of high speed lifts too and a Gondola connection to the Park City round out a really nice mountain ... which happens to have the most acreage in the US (2nd in North America behind Whistler).

Canyons area has a significant amount of ski in/out condos that will suit families well. We like the Hyatt Centric, which is a true ski in ski out and has a lift within 100 yards of the ski entrance. Hyatt also has a shuttle to Main Street that leaves every hour in the evenings, so there is plenty of nightlife.
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I visited last March. Canyons had already been combined with Park City Mountain, but I had so much fun on the Canyons side that I never even visited the Park City side! Let me start by saying: the snow wasn't that good. Coming to Utah we were expecting the legendary dry powder, but we only got snow on the final day of our five day visit (which was super dry!) Still, I think the fact that there WASN'T snow made me appreciate the resort even more. The terrrain was absolutely amazing. Even without much snow, the trees were probably the best I've ever skied. There are plenty of options: the spacing of trees and the pitch were all highly varied. I'm also a big bump skier- and I was not disappointed. Something about this mountain is so addicting. I've been to lots of resorts: Kirkwood and Heavenly I California, and even Vail. However, this was my favorite resort.
Recommendations: In general, stay on the lookers left side of the resort (towards the Park City side.) The Super Condor and Sun Peak lifts were disappointing. They had really sketchy snow quality and lots of wind. I enjoyed the Saddleback lift for short bumps and trees, the Iron Mountain and Dreamcatcher lifts to escape the crowds, and mostly the Peak 5 and 9990 lifts. I cannot recommend these two enough. They were uncrowded and had plenty of pitch to scare even experts. A great run not on the map that I found is a must. Take the Peak 5 lift and exit to your left, going away from the main part of the resort. Just before the traverse bends left, drop off for steep deciduous trees. Super fun!
Pros/Cons: Pros are the great lift system and terrain pus the outstanding food. Make sure to go to the Cloud Dine lodge on top of the Dreamcatcher lift. It had some of the best food I've ever had at a ski resort. Cons: Obviously this resort is quite expensive. Also, I would say that is not a great resort for beginners. The beginner terrain is few and far between. Finallly, the mountain's layout is pretty confusing. I didn't get the hang of it until my fourth day there.
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The take over of The Canyons by Vail Associates is the equivalent of the Evil Empire. I was so excited to experience the mega resort with the combo with Park City but have been disappointed at every turn.

I caught a great storm (12/12) and made it to the first lift only to have every square inch of trails groomed. No inter mountain connector open. Coupled with clueless staff, ski patrol wars, 30% of the mountain open with full lift ticket prices ($110 a day) and absolutely obscene prices ($5.47 for a 4 oz hot chocolate- $11 for a mini cup of chili, etc).

I love The Canyons terrain, but they have taken the soul of this hill. Really sad.
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Canyons is one huge ski resort with impressive infrastructure, lifts and facilities. The fall line terrain is perfect for all intermediates with groomers that range from mellow to delightfully steep, and advanced riders are really well catered for with great off-piste and superb tree skiing.

Minor shortcomings are that it gets really busy at times (including the lunch spots), there’s minimal nightlife (but this is Utah afterall!), and the village vibe lacks something. The snow quality is also potentially not quite as great as the “Greatest Snow on Earth” that can be found at other Utah ski resorts.

See our pros and cons on the Canyons overview page for more information.
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great Lifts, great skiing, great time, great employees
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The mountain itself has fun terrain, but you can get just as good terrain at other resorts like the ones in the Cottonwoods.
 
But they really need to learn how to treat their customers. We spend 100+ dollars for a day pass to get cut in line by a ski instructor (the ski school line was right next to our line) and then when we ask why this is okay, he turns around and says in the most smug voice possible "I have higher priority than you do." I didn't realize that I was paying so much to go ski at a resort where the customer isn't their highest priority. Go to one of the resorts in SLC (Snowbird, Alta, Solitude, Brighton), all the mountains have great terrain and they treat everyone like a local.
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My favorite thing about the Canyons is that it offers lift-access to tons of chutes and extreme skiing. While many resorts have this type of skiing options, the Canyons offers easy access to this. The resort is better suited to advanced skiers, as there are a lot more advanced trails. There are some intermediate runs that are sort of a pain to get to. Very few beginner runs, which is bad for beginners but is actually nice for the more advanced skiers. It's also less family oriented than some other Utah resorts.

The times I have been to the Canyons, the snow was sub par, but that's because I was going during a down season.

The 99-90 Express lift offers some great steep ski runs. The Aspens is one of the best runs on the mountain - lots of space and beautiful views.

The mountain is massive and a bit tricky to navigate. The upside to this though is that there are a bunch of trails and varied terrain. The lifts are good and generally fast. Although the Canyons bring a lot of people, the mountain is generally uncrowded as the mountain is so massive and spread out.
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The Canyons is a great mountain. The best lift is called the Orange Bubble. It has heated seats which are the best during cold days.
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I visit The Canyons about once a year, every year. I love this resort, but I would never pay full price for a ticket! Check out other online discount lift ticket websites and specials before dishing out the outrageous price.

Like another review, they are right.. you will need days in order to ski every run. They have all kinds of terrain from easy to extremely hard. I've skied a few of their double black diamonds which are quite thrilling and scary to be on such steep terrain!

The powder is good when there is some. But unlike some other Utah resorts, if you don't hit Canyons on the day of the storm.. it's going to be tracked out! (at least for the fun terrain)

The food is pretty good and fast, but a little pricey! There's a lot of close by restaurants if you can hold off to eat until after? Also, Park City is a lot different than the rest of Utah. You can find some cool bars and pubs here.
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The Canyons is an old sentimental favorite since I learned to ski there in my school ski clubs when it was Park West. I used to gaze at the upper peaks and think how cool it would be if they had lifts that went up that high. Well, now they do.

From my old favorites on the North "Park West" side to the challenge of runs off 9990 and everything in between stretching south to Dreamcatcher, you can find any kind of skiing you like. Cruiser runs, glades, moguls, and of course, famous Utah powder.

You can easily get away from the crowds or mingle with fellow skiers at the many mountain lodges. When the Cottonwoods are closed for avalanche control and you can't wait, head up I-80 and hit the canyons, you won't be disappointed.
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