< Back

The Best Ski Resorts in the U.S. and Canada: 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards

BY: Jen Murphy and Nina Kokotas Hahn | NOVEMBER 29, 2019

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.

VIEW FULL ARTICLE ON CONDE NAST
FEBRUARY 15, 2022

The Best Ski Resorts in the United States

With world-famous runs, top-notch facilities, and sustainability efforts that make a difference, these are the ski destinations to put on your list this year, next year, and every year. Winter’s great consolation prize is the ski vacation: Waking up under thick down comforters and opening the curtains to sublime views of powder-covered peaks; strolling down […]

Read More >
JANUARY 7, 2022

Big Sky, Montana, is a winter sports mecca — and it just got its first luxury ski-in/ski-out resort

Southwest Montana has long attracted skiers and snowboarders; now, with the arrival of the ski-in/ski-out destination Montage Big Sky, which started welcoming guests near the Spanish Peaks and Big Sky Resort’s mountain village last month, it’s about to become even more of a hot spot for travellers of all types. The backstory: This is Big […]

Read More >
APRIL 8, 2022

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 […]

Read More >