How the Deer Valley, UT, Historic Expansion Came to Fruition After Decades in the Making — And What It Means for Skiing

Deer Valley Resort (DV) is now in the midst of the largest ski resort expansion in industry history. Skiers were able to explore it this past winter season, but it still begets the question: how did it come to fruition? It is slowly coming together, from speculation about the development in 2017, to DV absorbing the planned mountain resort in late 2023, culminating with the first lifts spinning in December 2024. With a milestone season now in the rearview, the resort features 10 new lifts alongside 100 new runs, resulting in 2,300 new skiable acres in addition to legacy DV, making a whopping 4,300 acres, 31 lifts, and 202 runs. Deer Valley will catapult from the sixth to the second-largest ski resort in Utah, and eventually the sixth largest in the nation, just topping Vail Mountain. Other than the terrain itself, this project is something the ski industry has never seen before.

From the $2 billion East Village to 3,700 additional skiable acres, Deer Valley is reshaping the future of skiing in Utah and setting a new benchmark for resort expansion in the future. Beyond the physical expansion, the project has broader implications for the future of the ski industry. Deer Valley already commands some of the highest lift ticket prices and has the most expensive season pass in North America. If the expansion succeeds as planned, it could redefine the luxury ski experience and raise expectations for future high-end resort development. While this enhances the experience for guests who can afford it, it also highlights the growing cost of skiing and the potential for luxury resort development to make the sport less accessible to many skiers.

• Related: Deer Valley’s $500M Expansion Adds 3,700 Acres, 17 Lifts, and One of the Largest Gondolas in U.S. Ski History

While the 2025-26 season was not a typical winter for any resort in the western United States, DV was able to open eight of 10 new lifts and 185 out of 202 runs amid the lowest snowfall and warmest winter in the state’s recorded history. Across the 2,000 acres that opened this past winter, large portions of it skied really well, given the circumstances. The terrain off Revelator Express was amazing. Hellcat and Deep Enuf are great long black runs, with consistent pitch. Redemption is the expansion’s signature run, spanning over two miles and featuring a roughly 2,700 foot vertical drop from the top of Revelator to the bottom of Vulcan Express. Big Dutch Peak has a dozen intermediate groomers and a handful of black mogul runs, and a long green, named “Tug of War.”

Some observers have suggested the expansion has poor snow resiliency due to the low elevation and east face. To combat it, DV has built the most advanced snowmaking system in the nation. Some statistics include 1,200 snow guns, 80 miles of snowmaking pipes, multiple pump houses, and new snowmaking ponds. As part of Extell’s purchase of the Mayflower land, it gained water rights from the Jordanelle Reservoir to use for snowmaking. The additional rights brought a 125% increase to DV’s existing water rights. Once it is complete, the resort will nearly triple in size. Despite the expansion, the East Village terrain will have more limited snowmaking water rights per acre than Deer Valley’s historic terrain, making the extensive snowmaking infrastructure especially important.

History

The idea of building a ski resort on the land east of the historic DV resort, in the vicinity of the Jordanelle Reservoir, dates back to the 1980s, shortly after DV itself opened. In 1979, 4,500 acres of land that included what would eventually become the East Village Expansion were purchased by a Dutch investment group, Stitching Mayflower, who owned the land until 2017, when it was purchased by Extell. Between 1979 and 2017, a lot happened, including the creation of the Jordanelle Reservoir and Jordanelle State Park in the early to mid-90s. The residential communities of Victory Ranch and Benloch Ranch were built. In 2013, Stitching Mayflower already had the concept of building what was then called the Mayflower Mountain Resort (MMR), a ski resort adjacent to the existing DV terrain. Around this time, DV officials came together with Stitching Mayflower and began discussions regarding the planned development, which would include ski terrain, hotels, and residential development sites. After more than a dozen land transactions across the area, the MMR project had reached 7,000 acres, including all the real estate.

In November 2017, Extell purchased the land of what was then the Mayflower Mountain Resort. Extell held the land until 2019, when it began building the ski resort. In 2019, roads and plans had been put together, and the work had started on America’s newest ski resort since Tamarack, Idaho, in 2004. In 2023, after five years of negotiations, DV owner Alterra and Extell, a prominent New York City developer, came to an agreement. It would allow a massive expansion of DV Resort, which would transform the luxurious resort with over 5,700 skiable acres, three villages, a wide range of hotel options, and views ranging from picturesque Mt. Timpanogos to the Jordanelle Reservoir.

The Financing

One of the biggest challenges Extell faced was financing the East Village expansion. According to Extell founder Gary Barnett, the financing was made possible by the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA), a Utah state agency established in 2007 to support economic development associated with military facilities. In the 1990s, the U.S. Air Force operated the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) ski lodge near Snowbasin, offering discounted lodging for military families. The lodge was removed before the 2002 Winter Olympics, and in 2001 Congress authorized a replacement site in Park City. However, no federal funding was provided, and the project stalled.

When MIDA was created in 2007, it was responsible for the replacement project. Two years later, Utah law was amended to allow MIDA projects on private land, allowing partnerships with private developers. Instead of building on the original Park City site, the military recreation project moved to a privately owned 40-acre lot near what is now the DV East Village. Wasatch County approved the initial project area in 2011, and over the following decade, it expanded through a series of amendments from about 40 acres to more than 5,000 acres surrounding Jordanelle Reservoir.

Under Utah law, a small portion of a MIDA project must serve a military purpose. In this project, that requirement is met through the military recreation facilities at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley, including 100 discounted hotel rooms reserved for military guests.  MIDA has issued $650 million in bonds to fund roads, parking, utilities, ski lifts, and other infrastructure. Those bonds are repaid through tax increment financing, with MIDA receiving 75% of the increased property tax revenue generated within the project area for up to 40 years. State law also allows MIDA to collect certain lodging and sales taxes within the district. As a result, much of the new tax revenue generated by the development will be used to pay for the infrastructure supporting the project and will not flow into the local tax base.

• Related: Extell Announces Completion of Major Milestones at Deer Valley East Village, UT

The Partnership

In an email shared with SnowBrains, DV described the partnership with Extell as “founded on a shared vision of creating a world-class base village and enhancing the Deer Valley experience.” The partnership represents years of dedication in creating a never-before-seen expansion, in scale and speed. Something most people might not know is that DV was involved in the project well before the partnership was finalized, as the proposed MMR would be neighbors with DV. Since the agreement was announced, from 2023 to today, DV said, “We are constantly reevaluating the master plan,” making sure every detail is on par with the Deer Valley Difference.

2017 was a significant year for the project, as Extell completed the land purchase, and DV was bought by a joint venture between KSL Capital Partners and Henry Crown and Company. That entity that would later be named Alterra Mountain Company. From this point forward, things started changing. Talks between the two stagnated. At this point, Extell planned MMR to be an independent ski resort adjacent to DV. Fast forward to 2019, Extell continued to suggest the resort will operate on its own, with impressive stats of 4,300 skiable acres, nearly 3,200 feet vertical drop, and 15 lifts, at full build-out. Extell had signed a 199-year land lease with DV in 2019, allowing DV to continue operating its Mayflower lift and terrain, which lies in Extell-owned land. The agreement was solely about the lift and not any partnership with MMR. In 2023, the owner of DV, Alterra, came to an agreement with Extell that DV would absorb the East Village terrain and fully integrate it into DV.

The Build-Out of East Village 

In creating the Deer Valley East Village base area, the resort said, “We had a level of dialogue with our partner, Extell, on snow to village interface, and then worked closely with them on the design of the East Village Lodge,” revealing how interconnected the two have been working with each other on this major project. At the East Village Lodge, the building’s exterior is being completed first, with interior construction scheduled for summer 2027. The new East Village brings a brand new access point for the resort off Highway 40, which allows guests to avoid traffic in the in-town Park City area with 1,200 new parking spots. Guests can arrive from the Salt Lake City International Airport to the East Village in 40 minutes without hitting one traffic light, which is an impressive ease of access for a major western ski resort. Residents and guests in the Heber Valley, Hideout, and Kamas areas of Utah can now access the resort in minutes without venturing into the center of Park City. Indeed, as the East Village redefines the area, real estate in Heber Valley is increasing in price faster than Park City and Salt Lake City. 

Extell is currently building out the East Village, with the Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, and Cormont all under construction. They are also building the East Village Lodge. The Four Seasons and Waldorf Astoria are expected to open in late 2028. The Canopy by Hilton, which is located adjacent to the East Village near the Jordanelle Gondola, is scheduled to open in August 2026. The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley first welcomed guests in November 2024. Once the expansion is complete, DV will continue to be one of the premier ski destinations in North America.

The Next Phase & Future Plans

Ahead of the 2026-27 ski season, DV is building the Hail Peak Express lift, opening up one more terrain pod rising right out of the East Village parking lot, totaling 200 new acres. Hail Peak will consist of beginner, intermediate, and expert terrain, and will expand the resort’s skiable acres to 4,500, cementing it as the nation’s sixth-largest ski destination by acreage. The addition of Hail Peak Express adds direct lift services out of the East Village parking lot for the first time. Though the terrain pod sits on its own, from the top of the lift, skiers still need to ski down to the East Village base area to access the other parts of the mountain. Hail Peak Express will transport guests up 1,130 vertical feet, moving about 2,400 skiers per hour. The summit of Hail Peak is 7,585 feet above sea level and offers views of Big Dutch Peak, Keetley, and Pioche Point, which are also included in the expansion. 

• Related: Deer Valley Resort, UT, Announces Hail Peak Express, Growing Resort To Over 4,500 Skiable Acres

In the Expanded Excellence Master plan, there are six additional lifts that DV can add on the East Village side. There are a few connector lifts, like a lift from the Northern Light flats to the top of Bald Mountain, a replacement lift for the existing Crown Point, with a new alignment starting at the bottom of Little Giant below Sultan Express. There are plans for another lift originating just below the summit of Hail Peak to the Sure Thing/Tug of War split on Big Dutch, allowing access to Joker, so skiers can access Vulcan Express. Another planned lift would serve Big Dutch, allowing lapable access on runs like Mountain Monarch, Matchless, and more, without the need to ski down to the Gondola via Green Monster. None of these remaining lifts in the master plan has a timeline.

Deer Valley and Extell have been working together for years to bring this massive expansion to life, with new terrain opening each season since 2024-25. The project has already introduced a new base area, 10 new lifts, and nearly 100 trails. At full build-out, the expansion will feature 16 lifts and nearly 150 runs featuring terrain for all ability levels. Despite its rapid growth, DV will remain true to the “Deer Valley Difference,” continuing its skier-only tradition while preserving its mountain experience through daily skier caps and Ikon Pass reservations.

For skiers in the Salt Lake City area, the new East Village access point off Highway 40 has already opened up access to the resort. If all goes according to plan, by 2028, the East Village will feature eight new hotels, as well as 1,700 residential units. The scale of this development suggests there is significant demand for an even more exclusive ski destination than the existing resort currently offers. If successful, Deer Valley’s expansion could become a model for other destination resorts looking to grow through high-end development. At the same time, the expansion highlights a growing challenge facing the ski industry. Because many ski resorts are making these luxury upgrades, the cost of skiing continues to rise, raising questions about the affordability and accessibility of the sport. No matter what the outcome is, Deer Valley’s transformation will be one of the most influential projects the ski industry has seen in decades.