Big Sky, Montana
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The Best Ski Resorts in the U.S. and Canada: 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards
For our 32nd annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey—yes, more than three decades—a record 600,000 registered voters weighed in. They were hot to share their thoughts on the best hotels in the world and best cities in the world, but also on the best skiing. From Montana to New Hampshire, Nevada to Quebec, these ski resorts were picked by our readers as the best in the world for their trails, lifts and lines, and spots for après-ski. Whether you consider yourself an expert on the moguls or someone just there for the scene, these ski resorts ticked all the boxes for you.
23. Big Sky, Montana
It’s called “the biggest skiing in America” for good reason: The first thing you register when you buckle in at Big Sky is the complete lack of crowds. With 5,850 skiable acres (which adds up to about an acre per skier on the busiest day), you almost never see a lift line. The mountain has the most consistent powder dumps in the Northern Rockies, which blanket a drop of 4,350 vertical feet from Lone Peak (there are more than 2,300 acres of beginner and intermediate slopes, too); thanks to the $150 million Big Sky 2025 investment initiative, it also has some of the most technologically advanced chairlifts, with heated seats and weatherproof bubbles. The recent debut of Vista Hall delivers a much-needed upgrade to the base area dining scene with stations for sushi and ramen, tacos, and stone-fired pizza. It might not be the most happening place at night, but you’ll be too wiped from all of that shredding to care. And now it’s easier than ever to get to nearby Bozeman, with nonstop flights from 17 U.S. cities.
Where to stay: Huntley Lodge in Mountain Village is right by the lift area. The Wilson Hotel, Big Sky’s first branded hotel (Marriott) is walking distance to Big Sky’s growing Town Center shops & restaurants. New One&Only and Montage hotels are slated to open at neighboring Moonlight Basin and Spanish Peaks in the next couple of years.
Stats: 38 lifts for 300 named trails. One-day lift tickets range from $55 to $168; on the Mountain Collective Pass.
Montage opens alpine wellness retreat amid Rocky Mountains of Montana
Montage Hotels and Resorts has unveiled a luxury all-season alpine resort in Southwest Montana, complete with a signature Spa Montage. Developed in partnership with Lone Mountain Land Company, Montage realised the 139-key ski-in ski-out resort with an 11,000sq ft spa, six dining venues, 39 residences and 12,000sq ft of meeting space. The destination is situated […]
The Neighbors are Animals: Meet the Grizzly Bear
Don’t poke the bear is, of course, sage advice, but when it comes to the grizzly bear, there are plenty of other important things to know, for their safety and yours. If you’re lucky, you will never meet a grizzly bear while skiing Big Sky. But then again, you just might. Every inch of Big […]
Links Living: Spanish Peaks
Set amid the Montana wilderness, this private golf and ski community is adding to an already impressive slate of four-season amenities At Spanish Peaks Mountain Club in Big Sky, Mont., they say the adventures are as endless as the landscape. That’s not hyperbole. With the namesake range towering in the background, Yellowstone National Park less […]