Ski Resort Rankings

By Todd Anderson

Sep 26, 2013

It is September 25th and the first snow of the year has hit Park City! No, it will not stick around, and the weekend should see highs pushing 70. Still, seeing snow falling and a white blanket visible on the mountains is a not so subtle reminder that winter is on the way.

There have been other reminders that winter will soon be here; the red leaves on the Gambel Oaks, recent yellow of the Aspen leaves, gear guides reviewing the new equipment and clothing for the season and of course the annual Ski Resort rankings.

The Park City area resorts earned rankings very similar to last year. Each year SKI Magazine readers are polled and rank ski resorts in 20 different categories to determine the “Best Resort” in North America. Deer Valley earned the number 2 spots for the second year in a row after 5 years in the number 1 spot overall. In garnering the 2nd overall spot, Deer Valley was ranked number 1 in the categories of Grooming, Service, Lodging, On-Mountain Food, Dining and Family Programs. Deer Valley also earned top ten rankings in seven other categories. Park City Mountain Resort fell one spot to the number 5 overall ranking for best resort. Park City Mountain Resort earned number one rankings for Access, Off-Hill Activities, and Terrain Parks plus a #2 ranking in the Family Vacation category. Canyons Resort once again was ranked as the #10 overall best resort in North America. The Canyons ranked in the top ten in 3 categories including Access, Dining, and Lodging.

The annual Ski Magazine survey polls more than 140,000 (with 40,000 responses) skiers and snowboarders review nearly every aspect of winter alpine skiing and snowboarding resorts. The complete list of rankings is listed in SKI Magazine’s October issue, which is on newsstands now.

Interesting notes about the rankings; The Park City area earned #’s 1, 2 and 5 in the Access category. Also, while other resorts have seen a yo-yo effect depending on natural snowfall, the Park City are Resorts have remained consistently in the top ten Best Overall despite less than normal snowfall totals the past two years.

Having all three Park City area resorts in the Top Ten is a great benefit when it comes to marketing Park City; no other town has this. The effect on visitor nights and real estate values isn’t quantifiable, but it is undeniable.

The other resorts rounding out the Top Ten Ski Resorts in the West are: 1. Jackson Hole, 3. Vail, 4. Sun Valley, 6. Whistler, 7. Telluride, 8. Steamboat, 9. Snowmass.

Tags: canyons, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, Ski Magazine, top ten
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Ski Resorts Adding Value to Season Passes

By Todd Anderson

Aug 03, 2013

Four of Utah’s best ski areas have teamed up to add value to their season ski passes. Alta, Snowbird, Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley announced this week that qualified season pass purchases at each resort will include shared lift privileges at the other participating resorts.

With the purchase of a season pass (qualifications vary between the four resorts) you will also receive access to ski the other three resorts three times each during the season. Limitations apply during peak holiday weeks. Considering an average lift ticket price of $94 between the four resorts, this is an $800 plus value that is being added to a season ski pass for the 2013/2014 ski season.

Season Pass Specials at Alta, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and Snowbird

It is often hard to break away from your home resort where you have a pass as the idea of paying $100 to go to another resort is tough when you have a pass that is paid for already. And what a bonus for when friends from out of town are in and a season pass holder can go ski the resort next door or take a short trip up one of the other canyons to ski.

The announcement comes on the heels of Vail Resorts taking over operations at Canyons in Park City and making them part of the Epic pass which allows skiing privileges at all Vail Resorts on one season pass. The big difference for Deer Valley, Snowbird, Alta and Park City Mountain Resort is that these are all a short day-trip away.

Season pass sales at all Park City area resorts are on sale now with early season pricing specials in effect through mid-September. So buy now and start to make your ski season plans, winter is only a few months away!

Remember that Deer Valley and Alta are ski only mountains that do not allow snowboards.

Tags: alta, Deer Valley, lift tickets, Park City Mountain Resort, season pass, Ski Passes, snowbird
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Park City Ski Resort Rankings

By Todd Anderson

Oct 12, 2012

Annual Ski Resort area rankings put all three Park City Resorts in the Top Ten.

SKI Magazine is due on the newsstands or in your mailbox the 16th of October. The upcoming issue features the results of the annual readers’ poll. In the magazine they will rank the top 50 Resorts in North America.

Park City, Utah is home to three resorts that cover nearly 10,000 skiable acres located just a few miles apart. This year for the first time Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Resort are all ranked in the readers’ poll top 10.

Deer Valley Resort takes the 2nd place ranking; dropping from its unprecedented reign in the number one spot for five years in a row. Deer Valley still saw a number one rating in many individual categories and was likely impacted by the lack of natural snowfall last season.

Park City Mountain Resort moves up a notch this year to number four in the SKI Magazine Readers’ Poll top 50 Resorts. This is the best ranking that the resort has ever earned.

The tens of millions of dollars that have been spent at Canyons Resort in the past few years are paying dividends in the minds of SKI Magazine readers as Canyons receives the number ten spot in this year’s poll. This is an impressive move from rankings in the low 20’s just a few years ago. The number ten ranking for Canyons Resort is also the best that the resort has ever earned.

Park City Resort Rankings - SKI Magazine Poll 2 4 10

Park City, Utah is unique in that there are not many cities that are home to multiple ski and snowboard resorts. Deer Valley, Park City Mountain and Canyons Resorts all share in some high ratings related to Park City’s snow, weather, accessibility to an International Airport as well as local restaurants and non-ski related activity options.

The YouInParkCity.com Group congratulates all three of Park City’s World Class Resorts on their rankings in SKI Magazine’s annual reader poll for the 2012/2013 season.

For information about how the resort rankings may affect real estate prices in Park City, Utah contact a Park City Real Estate Professional with YouInParkCity.com at (888)968-4672.

Tags: 2013, canyons, Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, park city resorts, rankings, Ski, Ski Magazine, top ten
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Back to School Sales and Back to Skiing / Riding in Park City

By Todd Anderson

Aug 07, 2012

Preseason Season Pass Sales at Park City Ski and Snowboard Resorts

Season passes can now be purchased at Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, and Deer Valley. Daily ticket prices have not been released at all of the resorts, but if you are going to ski ten days or more it makes good sense to look into making an early purchase of your season pass.

Park City Mountain Resort Season passes offer the broadest range of options as their passes can be customized for the resort’s various offerings. Adult Season passes start at $750 and top out at $1425. The add-ons include underground parking, night skiing/riding, and Fast Tracks express lanes. Youth Passes (7-12 years old) range from $145-$445; Teen Passes (13-17 years old) range from $195-$495; Young Adult/College Passes range from $475-$1050; Senior Passes (65-69 years) are offered from $475 to $1050, and Super Seniors (age 70 and above) start at $270 and max out at $845 with all the options. Pass purchases include summer lift access for the current season. The age of the passholder is determined as their age on opening day November 17, 2012. Daily rates have not been published yet, but were $96 per day for adults last season, so anything more than 8 days for the year could prove to be a worthy investment. Pass prices go up on September 15.

Canyons Resort made a change this year and got rid of the mid-week pass option, but they have also reduced the rate on their full season pass so that it is less than the price of last years’ mid-week pass. If you buy an adult full season pass before Sept 15, 2012, the price is $849 (after Sept 15 the price jumps to $1149, and $1449 after Oct 15). Canyons offers a “platinum upgrade” which includes valet parking and a ski/boot locker with boot dryer. Youth (7-12 years old) Season Passes at Canyons Resort are $409 for non-residents and $249 for Utah students. Young adults (ages 13-17) from out of state can purchase a full season pass for $749 while Utah students pay $279-$319 depending on their school grades. Utah college students can buy a season pass for $599. Canyons Resort also offers pass deals for Teachers, Firefighters, and Police as well as Military personnel. As with Park City, Canyons season passes can become a better value with as little as 8 days of skiing/riding for the season.

Deer Valley which was ranked the #1 Resort in North America for the 5th year in a row last season is the only one of Park City’s three resorts to have posted their daily ticket rate for the 2012-2013 season and for the first time, it has topped $100 with a daily rate of $102 ($106 Holidays). Adult full season ski passes at Deer Valley are $1810 ($1470 for the 2nd when purchasing 2). Youth passes (4-12) are $450. Teen passes are $750 and Young Adult passes (18-23) are $1100 for the season. Seniors in the 65-71 year old bracket can purchase a season pass for $925 while Super Seniors (72 and up) can get a pass for $850. Midweek passes are available at Deer Valley; adult passes are $925 while Senior rates are $850; note that midweek passes are not valid Dec 26-Jan 1. Prices go up on November 1, 2012.

If you think you’ll be in a position to ski more than a week this upcoming season take a hard look at a season pass at your favorite Park City area resort. I guarantee that if you have a pass you will ski/ride more than if you are buying individual tickets. You will be willing to go up for just a couple of hours because you’ve already paid for it. Take full advantage of why you own real estate in Park City and get out on the snow this year.

For more lift ticket specifics visit: www.CanyonsResort.com, www.ParkCityMountain.com , and www.DeerValley.com.

Tags: canyons, Deer Valley, lift passes, Park City, Park City Mountain Resort, season tickets, Ski, snowboard
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Park City Luxury Ski-in/Ski-out Hotel

By Todd Anderson

Dec 09, 2011

Park City Mountain Resort to Improve Base Area

Resort Officials of Park City Mountain Resort announced to the Park City Council and Planning Committee that they are beginning to explore new development around the resort base area.

In recent years the resort has positioned itself as a ski resort operator and not a developer. They now point to new base area development as a way to ensure that they are adequately taking care of their customers as well as increasing capacity for new resort guests.

There have been many rumors in the past about possible resort hotels going in at the base of the resort where the parking lots are currently located. The recent additions of the Hyatt Escala and Waldorf Astoria at Canyons Resort as well as the St Regis and Montage Hotels at Deer Valley leave Park City Mountain Resort without a luxury offering to compete with Deer Valley and Canyons. The lower lots near the base of the First Time Lift and Super-pipe would appear to be the most logical place for a new resort hotel and base area expansion. A Four Seasons Resort Hotel was once rumored for this location; maybe it is a step closer to reality (?).

The plans are still conceptual at this point, but as the supply of new luxury condominiums in Park City dwindles another resort property will make sense. The addition would be great for the Town of Park City as well as the Park City Mountain Resort.

Tags: canyons, condominium, Deer Valley, hotel, Luxury, Park City, Park City Mountain Resort, resort
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Park City Mountain Ski Homes

By Todd Anderson

Dec 06, 2010

The ski and snowboard season opening is upon us in Park City, Utah. Park City real estate sales statistics for the year have shown that property in Park City is selling. Here we will take a more in-depth look at which homes and condominiums in Park City are selling with a focus on ski and snowboard slope-side locations at Park City Mountain Resort. Park City Mountain Resort offers the fewest opportunities for true ski-in/ski-out real estate in Park City, UT (in comparison to Deer Valley and Canyons Resort areas). Due to this fact, we will broaden the scope of the analysis to include walk-to skiing and riding homes and condominiums. There are three lift access points to consider in determining a walk-to-ski/ride home or condominium at Park City Mountain Resort: The Park City Mountain Resort Base Area, The Town Lift / Historic Old Town Area and the Silver Star Lift area.

Of the just under 100 homes and condominiums that have been sold in the Historic Old Town area of Park City this year, over 40 of them can be counted in the walk-to-ski category. There have been over 950 home and condominium sales in the greater Park City area this year. Many Park City real estate sales are to buyers looking for vacation and second home properties, but not all of the properties are ski-in/ski-out or walk-to-ski. One quarter of the sales of the Park City Mountain Resort walk-to-ski/ride properties have been in the Silver Star at Park City subdivision. There are still a few developer owned condominiums at Silver Star, but the sales within Silver Star have been both re-sales and developer owned models. This indicates that the market has found the correct sales price and buyers are responding. The sales prices at Silver Star this year represent an average of nearly 30% off the historic high asking prices. For more information on Park City Mountain Resort (which opened for the season on Nov. 20) ski-in/ski-out or walk-to-ski homes and condominiums contact a realty professional with YouInParkCity.com.

Tags: condominiums, Old Town, Park City, Park City Mountain Resort, silver star, Ski homes, ski out, ski-in, Utah
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Recognizing Park City, UT Strengths

By Todd Anderson

Oct 12, 2008

Amidst all of the recent horrible national housing and economy news Park City, UT has received some great accolades. In addition to the release of The SKI Magazine readers' poll recognizing Deer Valley as the top ski resort in North America (see our www.YouInParkCity.com blog post from September 24), Park City has been mentioned by Forbes Traveler and featured in a USA Today article this past week. In the ForbesTraveler.com article which falls under their "Inspirations" section, travel writer Sarah Tuff Dunn in naming Park City, Utah as one of the 20 prettiest towns in America says:

"I was struck by just how blue the sky was, and how dry the air, during a ski trip one March. I was used to soggy or icy conditions back East. After I skied seemingly bottomless powder at nearby Deer Valley, the whole town of Park City (which looked like a candy village, thanks to all the different colors of the Victorian buildings) seemed like it was on some crazy high from the sun, the snow and the altitude."

Photographer Krist (who also contributed to the list) sums up the intangible quality shared by the pretty towns on his list: "They haven't been homogenized, they still have their local character-and the charm is real."

See http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/americas-prettiest-towns-story.html for the rest of the list. While Forbes was recognizing the beauty of Park City, UT, the USA Today was touting how easy it is to get here. Beauty can be very subjective, but location isn't. Larry Olmstead, travel writer for the USA Today, notes in the Friday Oct 10, 2008 article titled: Second homes: Park City is just a hop, skip and a ski slope away:

With ski towns, getting there is rarely half the fun. Many, like Aspen and Telluride, are hours from a major airport. Moreover, small mountain-town airports operate at the whims of nature.

But the ski resorts surrounding Salt Lake City are the most accessible in North America, a city-bus ride away from a major hub airport that rarely closes. Three of the biggest Utah resorts can be found in one place: historic Park City.

The article goes on to describe real estate opportunities in and around Park City's three resorts - The Canyons, Deer Valley, and Park City Mountain Resort - see (http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/secondhomes/2008-10-09-park-city-utah_N.htm?csp=34 ). What stands out most is the age old real estate mantra: location, location, location. While Park City is experiencing the same economic and finance pressures as the rest of the Nation, the town has something that won't change. Park City is a very desirable place to be. For those of us lucky enough to live here, we are in a place that many people come to vacation. For those who own a second home here, you have a beautiful place to go and recharge your batteries that is easy to get to from most places in the USA. Our location and the scarcity of beautiful and easily accessible towns will keep home values in Park City stronger in times of economic uncertainty. For information on the average costs of housing in the Park City area see the neighborhood sections of http://www.youinparkcity.com/ or call us at 888-968-4672. Posted by Todd Anderson Todd@YouInParkCity.com

Tags: Deer Valley, location, Park City, Park City Mountain Resort, Real Estate, resort, scarcity, second home, Ski, The Canyons, Utah, vacation
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More Reasons to Visit (and Live In) Park City

By Todd Anderson

Sep 26, 2008

Not to be out-surveyed by Ski Magazine (see the previous www.YouinParkCity.com/blog ), Skiing Magazine has come up with more reasons to visit and enjoy the Park City winter scene. The current edition highlights a survey conducted to identify reasons, other than skiing, why Park City ranks as one of the best ski destinations in North America. Need your skis tuned? Jans Mountain Outfitters was ranked as the third best in the country. They have stores in town and on the mountain at Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort. Don't want a hassle with resort transportation. Don't worry, it's free from anyplace in town and from all major resort locations within miles of the three ski resorts. But for a special treat, try the Karaoke Cab (the Music Taxi is also a good ride). It was ranked as the second best value in the survey. Want to enjoy the après scene after putting in a big day on the slopes? Park City was ranked as the fifth best overall in the country. Best dining was the Seafood Buffet at Deer Valley's Snowpark Lodge. Butcher's Chop House downtown received special mention. For upscale dining, Stein Erickson's at Deer Valley is the only five-star restaurant listed in the survey. And, don't forget the music and dancing where Harry O's pulled in top honors. On any night you might see Metallica, 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Nas, or any other nationally recognized personality. See the YouInParkCity.com Events calendar and Dining guide for more info. If you weren't a part of this survey, come to Park City to discover the Best for yourself. Chances are you will be coming back for many years to come. Make your plans to ski Park City's three resorts - Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons - now. We'll have the snow ready for you soon. And don't forget the summertime activities (ask a local and they'll tell you they moved here for the winter and stay because of the summer). We have some very special, un-crowded things to do until it snows. Once you've experienced Park City, you'll want to make it a lifetime experience, and any of the agents with YouInParkCity.com can help make that happen. Check out the website, then call or email for more information. Posted by Ken Drummet

Tags: Deer Valley, dining, events, Park City, Park City Mountain Resort, rankings, Ski, Skiing, survey, The Canyons, UT, Utah
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