Solitude Mountain Resort
The quietest resort in Utah's greatest ski corridor -- because the name is not ironic.
Our Take
Solitude Mountain Resort sits in Big Cottonwood Canyon, 30 minutes from Salt Lake City, on the opposite side of the ridgeline from the famous Little Cottonwood Canyon resorts. Its name functions as both branding and genuine description: Solitude consistently has shorter lift lines than Alta, Snowbird, Park City, or Deer Valley, despite receiving essentially the same Utah snowfall (500 inches average annually) and offering 1,200 acres of genuinely excellent terrain. The mountain divides into Moonbeam Canyon (beginner and intermediate), the Summit area (sustained upper-mountain terrain), and Eagle Hollow (expert glades and chutes). The expert skiing here is no joke -- the Headwall area has steep, sustained pitch with the kind of exposure that separates the confident from the optimistic. But Solitude's secret weapon is its Ikon pass integration combined with the adjacent cross-country ski area (White Pine Touring at the base), which makes it the most efficient day in Utah for a mixed-ability group. The base area is simple and unpretentious. The village is small. The skiing is the point.
Nerd Stats
Avg Annual Snowfall
500"
Skiable Acres
1,200
Summit Elevation
10,035'
Vertical Drop
2,047'
Fun Facts
- Solitude averages 500 inches of annual snowfall -- the same as Alta and Snowbird, which are technically on the same ridgeline.
- The resort shares a ridge with Brighton, and a gate connecting the two means your Ikon pass effectively covers both resorts on one ticket.
- White Pine Nordic Center at the base has 20km of groomed cross-country trails -- the only Nordic facility in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
- Solitude's Headwall is accessed by a short bootpack and drops through a cliff band. It's as serious as Utah expert terrain gets.