At Long Last, Deer Valley Expansion Is Ready To Be Tracked Up
A delayed opening date for Utah's Deer Valley only heightens the anticipation for skiers to be the first to carve up the largest expansion project on American soil in the past four decades.
Due to warm weather and ongoing construction, Deer Valley officials don't expect to start operations until the week before Christmas. But when the ropes finally drop on the much-anticipated Mayflower expansion, seasoned Deer Valley skiers (no snowboarders) will find 2,900 acres of new terrain, 100 new trails, 10 new chairlifts and a 10-passenger gondola that expands the Utah resort's footprint to 5,700 acres -- making it the fourth largest ski and snowboard mountain in the U.S.
The new ground rolls to the east with tons of blue and green runs for Deer Valley's already groomer-centric trail map. While the existing mountain's runs are broken up by terrain barriers, the new offerings get an uninterrupted 3,000 feet of vertical drop from top to bottom.
This past season, skiers got a teaser with three new chairlifts -- short-line high-speed Hoodoo, detachable bubble six-pack Keetley Express and base fixed-grip Aurora -- and 300 acres of terrain off the Mayflower exit of U.S. 40 below Park City.
For the 2025-2026 season on the hill, the skier's right side emerges with 3,000 feet of vertical drop off Park Peak (9,350 ft. elevation) and Mt. Baldy (9,400 ft.). Six new lifts come on board, highlighted by the 10-seat, two-stage East Village Gondola that turns a corner halfway up the mountain.
Other high-speed chairlifts that went in this summer include upper-mountain Revelator Express quad; the six-pack Pinyon Express that links into existing Silver Lake trails; the Galena Express quad to Keetley Point; and, a pair quads on a new lower novice area.
Construction continued on the new East Village that is planned to have 800 hotel rooms, 1,700 residential units, and 250,000 square feet of commercial space.
Some 900 snowmaking guns and 80 miles of snowmaking pipeline has been installed on the Mayflower pitch, along with three new pump houses and a 10-million-gallon snowmaking pond.
A key component of the expansion is a 1,200-space parking lot at the Mayflower entrance, providing a second way to Deer Valley's slopes and trails and, hopefully, reducing endemic traffic snarls along the two-lane route through Park City proper to the primary parking at Snow Park.
Opened on private land on the Wasatch Back in 1981 as the nation's first luxury resort, Deer Valley boasts an upscale-amenity vibe that includes gourmet dining all over the hill, renowned trail grooming that often occurs during the day, boutique shopping, and the famed Stein Erikson mid-mountain lodge.
Sitting less than an hour's drive from Salt Lake City, the resort retains its longtime limit on day-pass sales, and is one of three U.S. resorts -- along with Alta and Mad River Glen -- to prohibit snowboarding. The resort a full-on, unlimited Ikon Pass member.
