4 Best Winter Destinations in the Western US

Looking for the perfect winter destinations? Try the Western US!! You can’t argue with the greatest snow on earth! And a 360 mountain? Just take my word for it and check out these awesome locations, NOW!

• 1. Park City, UT

  

The Greatest Snow On Earth! At least that’s what anyone who lives in Utah will tell you. And they may have a point! According to The Daily Herald Utah gets a lot of perfectly fluffy snow. Something about the location of the Pacific Ocean and the Great Salt Lake make the snow denser. That’s what makes for the perfect blend of powder, wet snow, and heavy snow underneath.

Other than the amazing snow, another reason to visit Utah in the winter is that there are 11 ski resorts within an hour of the Salt Lake International airport. But the reason that Park City is the best, in my opinion, is because of the size of it!

The mountain itself is over 6 miles wide with 7,300 acres of skiable land. It has 41 lifts to ensure access all over the mountain and it has over 300 trails. There are also has 8 different terrain parks for the advance skiers and boarders as well as 6 natural half pipes. Want more? It

even has one super pipe and one mini pipe.

The town of Park City itself is pretty small but that doesn’t mean there is a lack of things to do when you’re not on the mountain. It is home to dozens of art galleries that have won awards on their variety of art. They also have a live theater that puts shows on 3 times a week.

The food there is almost all local places that are to die for! There’s a nice little bar scene for anyone who enjoys the nightlife and the coffee shops have a great view of the mountain in the morning

• 2. Denver, CO

  

Denver is this super beautiful city with great mountains for snowboarding and skiing, plus other awesome winter activities. But the best part about it? It averages 300 sun shining days every year! That’s only 65 days of clouds, rain, or snow. So you have a pretty good chance of awesome weather when you plan your trip there!

Denver has three main mountains that are close to the airport. Echo Mountain, Loveland, and Winter Park. Each of these mountains gets a fair amount of fresh snowfall each year making the powder to packed snow ratio pretty dang perfect! BUT Make sure you spend a day acclimating to the elevation in Denver before making your way to the top of a mountain. Especially if you are coming from somewhere near sea level!

Denver also has your other typical winter activities but something unique to the Denver area is the Icelantic’s Winter on the Rocks. This is an awesome winter concert in the Red Rocks Amphitheater! Not very many outdoor venues such as this one do concerts in the winter months so this is totally an opportunity to take advantage of!

• 3. Bend, OR

  

Bend isn’t a big town but it is home to the third best mountain for snowboarding in the US! That makes it a must for winter destinations. Mount Bachelor is about 12 miles outside of bend and one of the only mountains that has slopes 360 degrees around the mountain. If you are into snowboarding, visiting mount bachelor is a must!

And a bonus? Mount Bachelor has a daycare center for kids! And if you are taking kids with you check out this post for kid friendly winter activities in this area!

The other awesome thing about Bend is that it is the “big city” surrounded by resort towns such as Sunriver and Sisters. So if you are in the area staying in a ski resort I highly recommend going into Bend for groceries, food, and other essentials!

If you’re not into skiing, biking is another fun thing to do there year round! It may not seem like it but considering that Sunriver is among the most friendly bike towns in America with over 30 miles of bike trail it makes sense that they have year round options!

Something that I thought was awesome was cosmic tubing! Just outside of Bend there is this little tubing hill that at night turns on black lights and colorful neon lights and plays music that brings the hill to life as families and friends tube until midnight!

• 4. Sun Valley, ID

Sun Valley is home to skiing, ice skating, ice shows, and the occasional celebrity! That’s right, Sun Valley/ Ketchum is the vacation home choice for many celebrities including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, and many more. Oh and Jared Padelcki of Supernatural got married in the snowy hills of Sun Valley. Pretty cool, right?!

But even if you don’t meet anyone famous, Sun Valley is one of the most adorable, quaint, little ski towns I’ve ever been to. Next to both Bald Mountain and Dollar Mountain the ski resorts are top notch luxury! Sun Valley is one of the more expensive mountains to ski on but it has great options for both downhill and cross-country skiing that you can’t find in some areas. The culture and vibe of the town is totally worth the cost because it is so classy, upscale, but family friendly!

The ice skating rink in Sun Valley is one of my favorites! There is nothing extraordinary about it except for the view. With an open sky concept and a view of the lodge and all the little shops of the area you feel like you are in a snow globe or some sort of winter wonderland! It is too magical to just pass up.