The Remaking Of Deer Valley Begins With Lifts, Terrain, Second Village
No ski resort in America will undergo an expansion and makeover like what Utah's Deer Valley has in store for its visitors in the near future.
This winter, the Wasatch Range resort will sneak-peek the new East Village area by opening three new chairlifts and 300 acres of terrain just off U.S. 40 below Park City. The new base will offer a second entrance to Deer Valley's slopes and trails, hopefully reducing traffic around downtown Park City where the original base area is located.
This year's additions represent the first phase of several stages that is expected to finish with a massive base village, and 3,700 acres of skiing added to Deer Valley's 2,342 existing acreage.
This season, the headliner will be a bubble six-pack, called Keetley Express, which will head up 1,250 vertical feet for more than mile out of the under-construction East Village to connect with Deer Valley's existing terrain at the base terminal of Sultan Express on Bald Mountain.
From there, skiers (Deer Valley is one of three U.S. mountains without snowboarders) can peer to the south to Park Peak (9,350 feet) and South Peak (9.040) where the bulk of the expansion will occur. Take a ride up the existing Mayflower fixed-grip for an even closer look.
Two other lifts are set to start spinning out of the East Village for the 2024-2025 season: the high-speed Hoodoo Express for lower beginner terrain, and the shorter Aurora fixed-grip for access back to the village.
For the 2025-2026 season, the next phase calls for another six lifts, and more work on the base village where some 800 hotel rooms, 1,700 residential units, and 250,000 square feet of commercial space will eventually be built.
When finished on the hill, what Deer Valley calls "Expanded Excellence" will add 14 new lifts -- including a two-stage, 10-seat gondola -- and 135 named runs to the existing portfolio of 23 lifts and 103 trails. At that size, the 43-year-old resort will be among the largest in North America.
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. Its season pass cost nearly $4,000, and it's a full-on Ikon Pass member.
