Deer Valley Cranks Up Second Phase Of Massive Expansion This Summer
If you like watching new chairlifts going up on the hill is your thing, then head over to Deer Valley on the Wasatch Back this summer and check out the resort as it nearly triples its size.
Spilling off the south flank of Bald Mt., the massive three-phase Mayflower expansion -- ultimately adding 3,700 acres to Deer Valley's 2,000 acres -- will catapult the 43-year-old resort into the top-four of biggest U.S. mountains. Only neighbor Park City (7,300 acres), Palisades Tahoe (6,000) and Big Sky (5,800) will be larger.
The expansion will add tons of blue and green runs to Deer Valley's already groomer-centric trail map. While the existing mountain's runs tend to be broken up by natural terrain barriers, the new ground will facilitate a number of uninterrupted 3,000-foot vertical runs from top to bottom.
For this past season, skiers (no snowboards allowed) got an appetizer of what's the full menu with three new chairlifts -- short-line high-speed Hoodoo, detachable bubble six-pack Keetley Express and base fixed-grip Aurora -- and 300 acres of new terrain just off U.S. 40 below Park City. Construction continued on the new East Village that will eventually have 800 hotel rooms, 1,700 residential units, and 250,000 square feet of commercial space.
For the 2025-2026 season on the hill, the skier's right side emerges with 2,900 acres of new terrain and 3,000 feet of vertical drop off Park Peak (9,350 ft. elevation). 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 going in this summer include upper-mountain Revelator Express quad and the six-pack Pinyon Express that links into existing Silver Lake trails; the Galena Express quad to Keetley Point; and, a pair of quads on a new lower novice area.
A key component of the expansion is a 1,200-space parking lot at the Mayflower entrance, provide a second way in to Deer Valley's slopes and trails and, hopefully, reduce endemic traffic snarls along the two-lane route through Park City proper to the primary parking at Snow Park.
With a final phase to go in for the 2026-2027 season, what Deer Valley calls "Expanded Excellence" will add 16 new lifts and 135 named runs to the existing portfolio of 23 lifts and 103 trails.
Opened on private land in 1981 as the nation's first luxury resort, Deer Valley boasts an upscale-amenity profile 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 limited day-pass sales. A season pass now sells for nearly $4,000, and the resort is a full-on, unlimited Ikon Pass member.
