Apologies to the Appalachians and “sorrys” to the High Sierras—apparently the Rocky Mountains are the best for U.S. ski enthusiasts.
More specifically, Colorado dominates a recent list of the best ski towns in the U.S. published by SmartAsset, a New York-based FinTech provider.
SmartAsset says that Colorado excels for skiers because it has two of the world’s premier ski resort towns, Vail and Aspen, and because the state’s cost of living is affordable for most destination skiers, with a housing-to-income ratio of less than 30 percent.
SmartAsset collected data on 128 towns located directly adjacent to or within a few miles of a ski resort, examining quality of life metrics like unemployment rate and housing affordability.
SmartAsset also assessed the quality of the principal ski resort for each town. Ski resorts were scored for quality using variables like average annual snowfall, number of lifts and vertical drop.
10. Red Lodge, Mont.
Montana’s only entrant on SmartAsset’s top 10 has its own ski resort, the Red Lodge Mountain Resort, and is within an hour’s drive of Yellowstone National Park. The resort is relatively small compared to many of the top 10 ski destinations, with 65 trails on about 1,600 skiable acres.
The town is itself a destination. Once a booming coal-mining city infamous for rowdy saloons, Red Lodge became a center of bootlegging during the Great Depression. Now its commercial district has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the town depends on summer and winter tourism for survival.
9. Steamboat Springs, Colo.
While the city that calls itself “Ski Town, USA” doesn’t top SmartAsset’s list, there’s still plenty about Steamboat Springs that makes it a ski destination. For one, the Steamboat Ski Resort alone has 23 different lifts and 165 ski runs sprawled across nearly 3,000 skiable acres.
Steamboat Springs is less of a tourist town than many other ski destinations, but not from lack of amenities—the city’s permanent population of about 12,000 ensures a more diversified economy.
8. Breckenridge, Colo.
Once a 19th century gold mining town, Breckenridge is now both a winter and summer tourist destination. In the winter, the Breckenridge Ski Resort takes center stage with 31 lifts and 155 runs on more than 2,900 skiable acres.
While Breckenridge doesn’t rank high in terms of affordability, the town’s economic prosperity helps keep unemployment at a low 2.5 percent in summer and winter. During the summer months, Breckenridge’s mountain biking, hiking and fly fishing opportunities ensure a consistent stream of tourism revenues.
7. Keystone, Colo.
Within an easy ride from Denver, Keystone is a booming ski destination thanks to an eponymous resort that stretches across three separate mountains. Keystone is also adjacent to the Arapahoe Basin, whose northern-facing slopes and high altitude offers one of the U.S.’s longest ski seasons.
Keystone is also one of the most affordable ski towns in the country, with median monthly housing costs of just $869, 17 percent of the town’s median per capita income.
6. Telluride, Colo.
Born as a silver mining camp in far southwestern Colorado, over the past 45 years Telluride has morphed into a cultural treasure and a sports mecca. That evolution began with the Telluride Ski Resort, which is nestled within a region with the highest concentration of 13,000 and 14,000 mountian peaks in North America.
Aside from the 2,000 skiable acres in the resort, Telluride is also home to world-class mountain biking, kayaking and mountain climbing opportunities, and hosts the long-running Telluride Bluegrass and Country Music Festival in late June.
5. Crested Butte, Colo.
Crested Butte is the smallest town in SmartAsset’s top 10 ski towns with a population of around 1,500, but it is surrounded by huge ski hills offering both back country and resort skiing opportunities.
The nearby Crested Butte Mountain Resort offers ample opportunities for expert skiers interested in testing their skills – the resort has over 448 acres of double black diamond-level runs. For those interested in less extreme winter exercise, Crested Butte is nestled within an extensive network of cross country skiing trails.
4. Jackson, Wyo.
Located in Jackson Hole, a valley overlooked by Wyoming’s Grand Tetons, Jackson offers low unemployment and affordable housing in one of the most picturesque areas of North America.
Nevermind that SmartAsset rates the area’s largest ski resort, also called Jackson Hole, as the best in North America. The resort averages 367 inches of snow annually and has a vertical drop of more than 4,000 feet.
3. Park City, Utah
Nestled in Utah’s beautiful ski country, Park City contains two top-tier ski resorts in Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort, with numerous other ski destinations within an hour’s drive.
According to SmartAsset, Park City ha the fourth-highest median income of any ski town in the U.S. The tourist destination also hosts the Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the U.S.
2. Aspen, Colo.
Adjacent to three of SmartAsset’s top 25 ski resorts in North America, Aspen comes in as the second best ski town in the U.S. Perhaps that is why it is the perennial host of ESPN’s Winter X Games, featuring skiing and snowboarding competitions.
Aspen also has a high concentration of entertainment establishments like movie theaters and concert venues, and a vibrant nightlife.
1. Vail, Colo.
Vail is the best ski town in America according to SmartAsset in part because it was specifically built to support tourism and it’s eponymous ski resort. The Vail ski resort boasts an impressive 5,300 skiable acres and more than 190 trails accessible from its 31 lifts.
Though the town bustles during ski season, Vail has just over 5,000 permanent residents year round and an unemployment rate of below 3 percent, even in the off season. As a ski resort, Vail ranks as the fifth best resort in North America and the fourth best in the U.S. according to SmartAsset.
