
Brian Head
Brian Head: 650 acres, 71 runs, 9.1m annual snowfall. Utah's highest base elevation resort 3 hours from Las Vegas.
Brian Head operates across 650 acres with 71 runs and a vertical drop of 402 metres, spanning elevations from 2,926 to 3,343 metres. The resort holds Utah's highest base elevation at 2,926 metres and receives 9.1 metres of annual snowfall. Children aged 12 and under ski free, whilst lift tickets start from $19 on select dates through dynamic pricing.
Terrain splits 30% beginner, 35% intermediate, 32% advanced and 3% expert across two interconnected peaks, Navajo and Brian Head. Navajo Peak serves beginners and intermediates with gentle groomers accessed by the Navajo Express quad, whilst Brian Head Peak delivers steeper terrain off lifts including Roulette, The Dunes and Giant Steps Express. A ski bridge crosses Highway 143 to link the two areas. Runs like Engens and Georg's Rock provide challenge for confident skiers, though the resort suits families and progressing intermediates more than experts seeking steep terrain.
The base elevation creates cold, dry conditions that preserve powder quality days after storms, despite lower snowfall than northern Utah resorts. Two base lodges serve the mountain: Giant Steps Lodge on the main peak and Navajo Lodge on the learning zone. The Last Chair Saloon offers après atmosphere with live music most Saturdays during season. Uncrowded slopes define the Brian Head experience outside holiday periods, with minimal lift queues and fresh tracks available well after snowfalls.
Mountain Capital Partners acquired the resort in 2019. Power Pass season passes starting at $749 grant access to nine additional resorts across the Mountain Capital Partners network, including Nordic Valley and Lee Canyon. The 2025-26 season runs 7 November to 26 April. Brian Head appeals to families seeking affordable skiing, Las Vegas weekenders, and intermediates prioritising value and space over extreme terrain.
Brian Head sits on the Markagunt Plateau in southern Utah, with a base elevation of 9,600 ft (2,926 m) that is high even by Utah standards. The summit reaches 10,970 ft (3,343 m), giving 1,370 ft (417 m) of vertical across 650 acres (263 hectares) and 71 runs. Terrain splits 30% beginner, 35% intermediate, 32% advanced and 3% expert, so the mountain favours progressing skiers and families over steep-seekers. The resort is divided between two mountains, Navajo Peak and Brian Head Peak, with eight lifts between them, so it pays to decide which side suits your group before heading out for the day.
Navajo Peak is the gentler side, where the Navajo Express quad serves wide groomed runs for beginners and intermediates. Brian Head Peak holds the rest of the lifts, including the flagship Giant Steps Express, installed in 2014 with a ride of roughly five minutes. Roulette offers long, flowing descents at a moderate pitch, while The Dunes carries steeper runs with natural rollers and tighter turns that suit experienced skiers. The Blackfoot triple serves night skiing and terrain parks on Friday and Saturday evenings from 4pm to 9pm. Brian Head suits families and intermediates who want a high-altitude day on friendly terrain, while experts will want more challenge elsewhere.
The 2025-26 season operates 7 November 2025 through 26 April 2026. Brian Head typically runs mid-November to mid-April, with the 2024-25 season achieving 181 operational days. Operating hours are 10am-4pm Monday-Friday and 9:30am-4:30pm weekends and holidays. Night skiing runs Friday-Saturday 4pm-9pm on the Blackfoot lift, expanding to seven days weekly during peak periods.
The resort averages 9.1 metres annual snowfall, with the 2,926-metre base elevation delivering cold, dry powder. Snowmaking covers 170 acres, concentrated on Navajo Mountain and key runs. February averages the heaviest snowfall with 1.35 metres, whilst December and January each deliver approximately 1.1 metres. Storms depositing over 12 centimetres occur 27 times annually on average. The high elevation preserves snow quality better than lower resorts, maintaining coverage into late April during strong seasons.
January and February offer peak powder conditions, though the uncrowded nature means untracked snow lingers days after storms. March delivers spring skiing with warmer temperatures and long sunny days. Weekday visits from December through March provide the best value and emptiest slopes. Holiday periods see increased traffic from Las Vegas and Southern California, particularly Christmas through New Year and Presidents Day weekend.
The resort hosts monthly Star Parties with Cedar Breaks National Monument rangers providing stargazing sessions with telescopes at Navajo Lodge. Summer operations run weekends mid-June through mid-October, offering chairlift-accessed mountain biking, disc golf, archery and tubing. Events include Fourth of July celebrations, classic rock festivals and car shows. Two terrain parks and tubing hills operate during winter, with tubing requiring advance reservations by calling 435-677-2035.
Daily snow reports at Brian Head go back to 2010, 17 winters on the books. Open the record to compare winters, lifts and piste.
Brian Head sits in the Dixie National Forest in southern Utah's Markagunt Plateau at 2,926 metres base elevation. The resort occupies a high desert mesa surrounded by red rock formations, pine forests and distant views toward Cedar Breaks National Monument. Utah Highway 143 climbs steeply through the small town of Brian Head, population 120, which spreads along the access road between the two base areas. Cedar Breaks National Monument lies 8 kilometres south, whilst red rock hoodoos visible from upper lifts create scenery unlike typical alpine resorts.
Cedar City sits 47 kilometres southwest via Highway 143, a 40-minute drive descending 1,220 vertical metres through switchbacks. The town offers additional lodging, dining and services 29 miles from the slopes. Parowan, 23 kilometres west on Interstate 15, provides the highway exit for mountain access. Bryce Canyon National Park lies 98 kilometres east (90 minutes), Zion National Park 117 kilometres southwest (90 minutes) and St George 135 kilometres southwest (90 minutes). The location enables combined ski and national park itineraries during winter when crowds thin.
Interstate 15 provides primary access, with Exit 75 at Parowan connecting to Highway 143 for the final 23-kilometre ascent. From Las Vegas, the drive runs 325 kilometres northeast (3 hours) via I-15. Salt Lake City sits 395 kilometres north (3.5 to 4 hours), also via I-15. The steep Highway 143 approach requires winter driving preparation; four-wheel drive or traction devices become mandatory during storms. Road conditions via UDOT should be checked before departure as the climb gains over 1,200 metres elevation.
Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport lies 340 kilometres southwest (3 hours driving), offering the most flight options. Salt Lake City International Airport sits 403 kilometres north (4 hours). Cedar City Regional Airport, 53 kilometres away (35-45 minutes), provides limited Delta Connection service primarily linking Salt Lake City. St George Regional Airport, 129 kilometres distant (90 minutes), serves flights from Denver, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth and Salt Lake City. The St George Shuttle and Brian Head Express Shuttle operate weekend service from Cedar City to the resort, whilst rental cars suit visitors combining skiing with regional exploration.
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Rain down low, snow up high, and a snow report full of zeros that mostly means ‘not updated yet’. Utah’s first proper storm of 2026-27 is rolling through the Wasatch, Snowbird’s snow stake is closing in on 10 inches, and Brian Head is five days from opening day. Early November snow rarely looks like much, but it is the layer every November opening date is built on. Here is where it stands.

Halloween weekend brings a wet, windy storm to the Sierra Nevada. Our five-day forecast has Dodge Ridge on top with 19 in, followed by Bear Valley at 15 in and Mammoth Mountain at 12 in, with most of it landing on Saturday. A winter weather advisory covers the Tahoe Basin and Mono County until 7 AM Sunday, gusts could reach 47 mph and the freezing level swings between 4,900 and 8,700 ft, so some bases will see rain. A dry spell follows from Monday.

The Rockies get their first lift-served turns of the season early. Lake Louise opens Sunday 1 November, five days ahead of schedule, after a cold October and round-the-clock work from the snowmaking and mountain crews. Terrain is limited to Juniper Express Chair and Easy Street, with two small terrain parks and the beginner area for lessons. Opening-day tickets are over 60% off, with prices rising as more lifts open. First chair is at 9:30 am under the resort’s new lift hours.

A Tyrolean summit lift that has been carrying guests up the Kitzbüheler Horn since 1955 is on borrowed time. Its licence runs to 2045, but a new inspection rule has made refurbishment uneconomic, so Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel will spend around €15 million on a replacement on the same line. It should hold roughly 100 people and keep running in winds that would stop today’s lift. Building starts in autumn 2027, which makes this winter and next summer the last chances to ride the old one.

Niseko Village is replacing a lift from the early 1980s with an eight-person gondola, Tsugaike gets a six-person chairlift, Madarao joins the Ikon Pass and Togari opens Asia’s first private ski resort. Here’s what is actually new in Japan skiing for 2026/27, plus what is still a year or two away.

Colorado’s early-season dominoes keep falling. Arapahoe Basin opened on Wednesday, Keystone follows on Friday, and now Wolf Creek is joining in on Saturday 31 October, just in time for Halloween. A storm on 23 and 24 October left 20 inches of natural snow in the San Juans, and three lifts will turn from 9:00 am, covering about 30% of the mountain. Expect rocks, unmarked obstacles and open water, but also Local Appreciation lift tickets at $73 for adults.

Keystone is next. After Arapahoe Basin claimed the first chairlift skiing of the season on Wednesday, Keystone opens on Friday 30 October at 9:00 am with more than two miles of snowmaking-built terrain on Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon, plus free donuts, coffee and a live DJ. Last year the order was reversed, when Keystone squeezed in a three-hour afternoon session to beat A-Basin by a day. Snowmaking has been running since 15 October.

Beaver Creek is getting ready for the biggest Birds of Prey ever, and this time it is not leaving the snow to chance. Crews started making snow on 27 October with 16 newly installed automated guns on the lower third of the course, after last December’s warm spell forced a downhill off the schedule. Seven races across two weekends run from 3 to 13 December, the most the course has hosted since its 1997 debut, and the guns start themselves whenever the weather allows.
Opening day for the winter 2026 - 2027 season is scheduled for Nov 20, 2026 (subject to change). Lift tickets at Brian Head typically go on sale well before the start of the ski season.
Our lift ticket pricing was last updated on Sep 28, 2026.
Day passes start from US$9, with peak rates up to US$89.
Day Lift Ticket at Brian Head Resort for the 2026/27 season, ages 13+ (the booking calendar does not split out separate senior pricing). Brian Head uses fully dynamic date-based pricing; regular/peak reflect the confirmed low/high price observed across the full Nov 2026-May 2027 booking calendar shown ($9 on most non-holiday days to $89 for the Dec 27-31 holiday stretch). Includes $10 Corduroy Cash Resort Credit.
Buy passChildren 12 and under ski free at Brian Head Resort for the 2026/27 season and can enroll in a free Power Kids Pass for season-long access. Confirmed from the resort's own lift tickets page.
Buy pass4 Day Power Pass (Adult) for the 2026/27 season - 4 total days (with restrictions) at Purgatory, Arizona Snowbowl, Brian Head, Lee Canyon & Spider Mountain, plus access to 5 more Power Pass network mountains. Confirmed flat price from the resort's own season pass store.
Buy passPower Pass (Adult) for the 2026/27 season - unlimited access to 10 Power Pass network mountains including Brian Head, Purgatory, Arizona Snowbowl, Lee Canyon, Spider Mountain and more. Confirmed flat price from the resort's own season pass store.
Buy passPower Pass Select (Adult) for the 2026/27 season - 12 total days (with restrictions) at Purgatory, Arizona Snowbowl & Lee Canyon, plus unlimited skiing at 6 more Power Pass network mountains including Brian Head. Confirmed flat price from the resort's own season pass store.
Buy passWeekday Power Pass for the 2026/27 season - choice of 1 to 5 weekdays to ski the entire season at all 10 Power Pass network mountains including Brian Head (holiday restrictions apply). Confirmed flat price from the resort's own season pass store.
Buy passBrian Head Weekday Pass for the 2026/27 season - choice of 1 to 5 weekdays to ski the entire season at Brian Head only (holiday restrictions apply). Confirmed flat price from the resort's own season pass store.
Buy passValue Pass (Adult) for the 2026/27 season - limited skiing at Brian Head (holiday restrictions apply). Confirmed flat price from the resort's own season pass store.
Buy passNight Skiing Pass for the 2026/27 season - unlimited night skiing at Brian Head. Confirmed flat price from the resort's own season pass store; open to all ages per the resort's booking page.
Buy passActive Duty Military Value Pass for the 2026/27 season - limited skiing at Brian Head for active duty military (holiday restrictions apply). Confirmed flat price from the resort's own season pass store.
Buy passMore Brian Head intelligence: snow report, webcams, resort overview.