Industry News
Las Vegas is synonymous with casinos, nightlife, and desert heat — not skiing. Yet skiers and snowboarders can trade the Strip for the slopes in as little as an hour.
The closest ski area is about a 60-minute drive from the desert city. This resort is known as Lee Canyon and has an elevation of 8,510 feet. Lee Canyon is home to three lifts and 24 runs. The resort offers first-time skiers a free lesson to prepare them for the hill. Not only that, but the resort also offers a ski-in and ski-out bar, perfect for anyone not wanting to take a chunk out of their day and get out of their gear just to drink and eat. Activities besides skiing and snowboarding at Lee Canyon include snowshoeing and snow tubing.
While the resort may seem impossible to run when located so close to the blistering heat of Las Vegas, the weather is vastly different from that of Sin City. Travel Nevada exclaims how travelers pass through seven climate zones when driving from Las Vegas to Lee Canyon.
“(The trip) is similar to traveling from Mexico to the Canadian arctic in less than 20 miles,” states Travel Nevada.
If the 24 runs aren’t ideal, travelers can take a longer trip to southern Utah. Utah is home to the “best snow on earth” and, conveniently for Las Vegas tourists, Utah’s highest ski resort base elevation is only a three-hour drive from Vegas. This resort is known as Brian Head. Surprisingly, Brian Head receives an annual 350-360 inches of “perfect snow,” more than any other major ski resort in Colorado, according to Forbes. The nearly 11,000-foot-elevation resort offers 71 trails, night skiing, a tubing hill with a lift, a beginner learning center, and a terrain park. Additionally, the welcoming base areas provide dining, shopping, and housing options.
-
1How a Young Norwegian Couple Who Live in a Van is Changing the Way We Look at Steep Skiing → -
2Ski Resorts Near Las Vegas →
-
3Catastrophic Ski Injuries: Why Fewer Skier Visits Aren't Making Slopes Safer →
-
4Nevados de Chillan Fire Out Of Control — Resort Closed Tomorrow →
-
5Verbier Retires Switzerland’s Oldest Gondola After 56 Years →
The second-highest-elevated ski resort base in Utah is Eagle Point. Eagle Point is three hours from Vegas, just like Brian Head. Eagle Point rents out the entire mountain for private functions. This is very appealing for visitors from Vegas, as many companies host private, large conventions. This mountain presents a twist on normal conventions and outings for companies.
Eagle Point is home to 40 trails over 650 acres and 1,500-vertical-feet. The nearest town to Eagle Point Resort is 18 miles away, so amenities such as hotels and stores at the resort itself are limited. There are, however, hotel options in Beaver. Within the resort area, there are only about 40 properties for on-mountain lodging, almost all of which are ski-in/ski-out, and the majority of which are operated by the resort, which naturally limits the potential for crowded slopes and lift lines. This allows tourists to be blessed with a resort experience that is uncrowded even during peak times, setting up unstoppable powder days
Las Vegas may be surrounded by desert, but a ski day is surprisingly close. Whether you make the short drive to Lee Canyon or venture into southern Utah for Brian Head or Eagle Point, these ski resorts near Las Vegas make it easy to trade the Strip for the slopes.
