Magic Mountain in Vermont.
From Vermont to California, skiers and snowboarders rank North America’s top mountains in categories including Most Challenging, Family Friendly, Best Value and More. Results reveal what thousands of passionate skiers and snowboarders say ski areas do best.
SAN FRANCISCO – The third annual Best in Snow Awards, Powered By Liftopia, have been unveiled, recognizing the top ski areas across North America. Liftopia – the largest online and mobile marketplace for lift tickets and mountain activities – presents the Best in Snow Awards rankings each year to bring uber-local, relevant and must-know intel to skiers and boarders of all levels and ages. For the first time, ski resorts in the Northeast took the top three spots in the 2019 Overall Best in Snow category. Resorts in other U.S and Canadian regions took top honors in categories including Snow Consistency and Quality and Most Challenging (High West) and Family Friendly and Beginner Friendly (Northeast). Full results can be found at bestinsnow.liftopia.com.
The Best in Snow Awards, Powered By Liftopia, is the first and only list that ranks the best big and small ski areas in North America based on feedback from thousands of skiers and snowboarders, combined with Liftopia's proprietary dataset, to uncover the true top ski areas from coast to coast. Combining fan feedback with Liftopia’s data levels the playing field between big and small resorts.
Best in Snow honors ski resorts from Vermont to West Virginia, and to Colorado, California and Canada, with seven categories including the Top 10 Best in Snow, Beginner Friendly, Most Challenging, Family Friendly, Best Snow Consistency & Quality, Least Crowded and Best Value. Via online surveys, general consumers and Liftopia customers identified these categories as factors that are most meaningful and useful when choosing where to ski or snowboard, regardless of ski area size. Winners are ranked in five regions: Northeast, West Coast, High West, Southeast and Midwest.
The top three winners of Overall Best in Snow – Magic Mountain (Vt.), Titus Mountain (N.Y.) and Mad River Glen (Vt.) – are all located in the Northeast. More 2019 Best in Snow highlights, including quotes from survey responders:
- Additional winners in the Overall Best in Snow category across North America are Mad River Glen, Vt. (keeping its spot at #3); Alta, Utah (#4); Powder Mountain, Utah (#5); Grand Targhee, Wyo. (#6); Snowbird, Utah (#7); Jackson Hole, Wyo. (#8); Jay Peak, Vt. (#9); and Big Sky, Mont. (#10)
- Magic Mountain in Vermont took first place in five categories, retaining its top position as the Overall Best in Snow in North America for the third year in a row and also kept its #1 position in Best Value, Most Challenging Northeast and North America, with customers saying that it is an “awesome community” that boasts an “uncrowded slopes” with “a great vibe,” with sought-after advanced terrain “because of the leave it natural policy” and “no lost kids because all trails lead to the lodge”
- Titus Mountain in New York made its debut on the Overall Best in Snow list at #2, and took Top Three in 11 national and regional (Northeast) categories for Beginner-Friendly, Family Friendly, Most Challenging, Least Crowded and Best Value. Voters consistently applaud its “great grooming” and note there are “always chairs available,” with a “perfect slope for beginners” and an “over-the-top family friendly” atmosphere
- Big Sky in Montana scored within the top ten in every category, placing ten times across Overall Best in Snow and regional lists
The coveted #1 spot for Best in Snow by Region awards go to Magic Mountain in Vermont for Northeast; Bryce Resort in Virginia, which makes its debut on the Southeast list; Alta in Utah for High West (retaining its #1 spot from last year); Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area in California for West Coast (which also kept the #1 spot for Least Crowded West Coast); and Treetops Resort in Michigan for the Midwest (its first Best in Snow by Region win).
The top ten winners in each of the seven categories are ranked by region, with select category winners including:
- Best Snow Consistency and Quality: Magic Mountain (Vt.) won for the Northeast; Mission Ridge (Wash.) for West Coast; Eagle Point (Utah) for High West; Canaan Valley (W.V.) for Southeast and Buck Hill (Minn.) for Midwest
- Most Challenging Ski Area: Bald Mountain (Idaho) took the top spot for the first time in High West
- Beginner Friendly Ski Area: Eagle Point (Utah) won High West, Canaan Valley (W.V.) won Southeast, Boyne Highlands (Mich.) jumped from #10 to #1 and Diamond Peak (Nev.) took top place for West Coast
- Most Family Friendly Ski Area: Bryce Resort (Va.) won its first #1 and Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area (Calif.) retained first place
- Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area swept four categories at the #1 spot for Best in Snow West Coast, Family Friendly, Least Crowded and Best Value
- Least Crowded: Using a formula calculating data from visits, skiable acreage, lift capacity and voter feedback, winners include Snow Ridge (N.Y.) for Northeast, Soldier Mountain (Idaho) for High West, Canaan Valley (W.V.) for Southeast and Dagmar Resort (Ontario, Canada) for Midwest
“We built Liftopia on a passion for growing an amazing industry, and the Best in Snow Awards were created to help skiers and riders easily discover their next favorite mountain, based on factors that matter most to them,” said Evan Reece, co-founder and CEO of Liftopia. He added, “For the third year, Liftopia’s Best in Snow Awards is the only ranking that levels the playing field between big and small resorts to uncover the top mountains that skiers and riders are most passionate about based on a variety of factors, from snowfall, snow quality and terrain to crowds, ambiance and variety of options for any ski enthusiast. We are excited for the ski resorts that made the list this year, and thrilled for our customers as they find new mountains to explore.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
