Great Resort

A Review On: The Canyons

The Canyons

Rated # 6 in Utah
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Review Details:
Value
Downhill Terrain
Family Friendly
Nightlife
Terrain Park
quant2325
Featured Review
By quant2325
Posted · 4 Views · 3 Comments

Pros: Vast terrain, largest area in Utah, great for families

Cons: Few beginner runs

The Canyons quickly changed for the better since it was purchased by Talikster.  Iron Mountain has opened, additional restaurants have opened, the base of the gondola has moved in front of the Cabriolet lift, and a new Orange Bubble chair was installed to alleviate traffic at the bottom of the mountain.  A mile long terrain park was added, too.  Wow.  The lodging options all fall in the upscale to luxurious category, with many offering the ability to ski in/ski out. The Waldorf was recently listed as a top 5 hotel in the country.  The resort cracked the top ten for SKI Magazine's annual overall award, with high marks for service, lift access, food, and the terrain park(s).

 

The Canyons comprises nine mountains of varying terrain.  One option is to figure out where you want to ski, and then ski on that side of the resort for half the day before moving on. The other option is to try to ski it all--you really can't--but it is fun trying.   It is best to spend at least two days there, since there is a lot of distance to cover when attempting to ski the entire resort in one day.

 

There are great runs there most visitors will unknowingly ski past (e.g., Grande into Pinball Alley). In fact, most experts will go to 9990 skiing past some great runs.  I suggest asking locals or the ski patrol where to find the fun stuff.  Also, check for avalanche blasting before starting out on deeper powder mornings.  Have a “Plan B” in place in case your favorite lift is opening late due to avalanche control.

 

My kids have taken lessons there, and that is my only experience with the ski school.  The class sizes are generally small and the instructors are highly competent. 

 

There are various dining options in the village at the base and in the surrounding hotels/condos that range from casual fare to the finest cuisine in Utah.  Most people will also want to spend time dining and shopping in Park City, a short drive away.  A shuttle bus regularly runs to take people without other transportation.

 

The Olympic Park (bobsled, luge, jumping, & freestyle activities) and the Alf Engen Museum are close by, and well worth a visit.

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3 Comments

mtebor 9/24/11 at 9:47am
I love the canyons. It is my favorite pc resort.
JoeSchmoe 9/24/11 at 8:55pm
Our group has skied/boarded Canyons, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude and Snowbasin, with Canyons being a resounding last place in our books. The lack of continuous vert was disappointing. Though way bigger in acres, it skied no bigger than Brighton, but Brighton won by far for snow, terrain, and everything else. That said we couldn't give a hoot about anything but the skiing (i.e. meals, restaurants, ski schools, lodging, etc)
Ski-Dad 9/30/11 at 9:30am
I skied one day at the Canyon's (Jan/2010) as part of an 8 day trip to Utah (Snowbird, Alta, Snowbasin, Park City, Deer Valley, and the Canyons). I loved the Canyon's. No - its not the Snowbird or Alta, but that's a tough measuring stick to be compared to, at least for hard core advanced or expert skiers. It is, however, a great place to ski with enough variety to please anybody in your group. we had 11 guys of varying abilities. Myself and 3 other hard core ski bums had plenty of trees, bumps and steeps to keep us going all day. Our more intermidiate collegues also had lots to keep them happy. My only disappointment was we had left the Canyons day until late in the trip. I definitely would have gone back for another day or two.