Iconic Ski Resorts
Legendary mountains for winter. 23 places, mapped and ready to build a trip around.
Plan a trip on Trailwind →Zermatt
SwitzerlandBestJulCurrencyCHFLanguageGermanZermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Niseko
JapanBestMay, Sep, OctClimate14–79°FCurrencyJPYLanguageJapaneseNiseko is a resort area located in Hokkaido, Japan. Officially called the Niseko Tourism Zone (ニセコ観光圏), it consists of three towns: Kutchan Town, Niseko Town, and Rankoshi Town at the foot of Niseko Annupuri.
Whistler Blackcomb
CanadaBestJul–SepClimate23–75°FCurrencyCADLanguageEnglishWhistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. By many measures, it is the largest ski resort in North America and has the greatest uphill lift capacity. It features the Peak 2 Peak Gondola for moving between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains at the top. Attendance at Whistler Blackcomb often surpasses two million visitors a year.
Jackson Hole
United StatesBestMay–OctClimate12–79°FCurrencyUSDLanguageEnglishJackson Hole is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County. The term "hole" was used by early trappers, or mountain men, as a term for a large mountain valley. These low-lying valleys, surrounded by mountains and containing rivers and streams, were and are good habitat for beavers and other fur-bearing animals.
St. Anton am Arlberg
AustriaBestJun–SepClimate21–68°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanSankt Anton am Arlberg, commonly referred to as St. Anton, is a village and ski resort in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It lies in the Tyrolean Alps, with aerial tramways and chairlifts up to 2,811 m (9,222 ft), yielding a vertical drop of 1,507 m (4,944 ft). It is also a popular summer resort among trekkers and mountaineers.
Chamonix
FranceBestAug–SepClimate25–73°FCurrencyEURLanguageFrenchChamonix-Mont-Blanc, more commonly known simply as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics, held in 1924.
Aspen Snowmass
United StatesBestMay–OctClimate9–81°FCurrencyUSDLanguageEnglishAspen Snowmass is a winter resort complex located in Pitkin County in western Colorado in the United States. Owned and operated by the Aspen Skiing Company it comprises four skiing/snowboarding areas on four adjacent mountains in the vicinity of the towns of Aspen and Snowmass Village. The four areas collectively form one of the most famous winter resorts in the world and are annually the destination for visitors from all over the world.
Big Sky Resort
United StatesBestDec–MarCurrencyUSDLanguageEnglish5,850 acres and the Lone Peak tram, with lift lines that barely exist.
Cortina d'Ampezzo
ItalyBestDec–MarClimate19–72°FCurrencyEURLanguageItalianThe Queen of the Dolomites, 1956 Olympic host and co-host again in 2026.
Courchevel
FranceBestDec–AprClimate25–75°FCurrencyEURLanguageFrenchThe polished end of the Trois Vallees, the largest linked ski area in the world.
Hakuba
JapanBestDec–MarClimate23–82°FCurrencyJPYLanguageJapaneseTen resorts across one valley in the Japanese Alps, and the powder that made Japan a pilgrimage.
Kitzbuhel
AustriaBestDec–MarClimate21–73°FCurrencyEURLanguageGermanThe Hahnenkamm downhill is the most feared race on the World Cup circuit. The town is medieval and knows it.
Lake Louise Ski Resort
CanadaBestDec–AprCurrencyCADLanguageEnglishBanff National Park terrain with the Victoria Glacier across the valley.
Mammoth Mountain
United StatesBestDec–MayClimate14–72°FCurrencyUSDLanguageEnglishA volcano on the eastern Sierra that holds snow into June in a good year.
Palisades Tahoe
United StatesBestDec–MarClimate16–75°FCurrencyUSDLanguageEnglishHost of the 1960 Winter Olympics, with steep terrain above Lake Tahoe.
Park City Mountain Resort
United StatesBestDec–MarClimate16–81°FCurrencyUSDLanguageEnglishUtah's biggest, 35 minutes from a major airport, which is the real luxury.
Revelstoke Mountain Resort
CanadaBestDec–MarClimate19–81°FCurrencyCADLanguageEnglishThe greatest vertical drop in North America at 1,713m, and serious interior BC snowfall.
St. Moritz
SwitzerlandBestDec–MarCurrencyCHFLanguageGermanWhere alpine winter tourism was invented in 1864, and still where the Cresta Run drops.
Telluride Ski Resort
United StatesBestDec–MarCurrencyUSDLanguageEnglishA box canyon, a free gondola between town and village, and no crowds because it is hard to reach.
Vail
United StatesBestDec–MarClimate9–75°FCurrencyUSDLanguageEnglishSeven Back Bowls, 5,300 acres, and the largest single-mountain ski area in the United States.
Val d'Isere
FranceBestDec–AprClimate16–66°FCurrencyEURLanguageFrenchLinked with Tignes as the Espace Killy, snow-sure into May, and the Face de Bellevarde is a genuine test.
Valle Nevado
ChileBestJun–SepClimate21–59°FCurrencyCLPLanguageSpanishAn hour from Santiago in the Andes, and open in July and August when the north has none.
Verbier
SwitzerlandBestDec–AprClimate19–70°FCurrencyCHFLanguageGermanFreeride capital of the Alps and home of the Xtreme finals on the Bec des Rosses.