The 2025-26 ski season is set to be a year of firsts with the mountains offering more than ever to locals and visitors looking to experience Utah’s iconic slopes. This winter brings a wave of updates, expanded terrain, smarter mountain experiences, and elevated guest amenities at both Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain.
Deer Valley is entering a new era with continued East Village expansion—one of the largest terrain additions in modern resort history. The new lifts, trails, and the Big Dutch gondola mid-station open up an entirely fresh side of the mountain, giving skiers access to long, sweeping groomers and stunning views that were once reserved for backcountry travelers. Debuting Corduroy Lunch, the buzzworthy Noon Groom program keeps select East Village runs closed until midday, ensuring skiers can score freshly groomed corduroy long after first chair. It’s crowd-friendly, time-friendly, and a completely new way to savor Deer Valley’s legendary corduroy.
Meanwhile, Park City Mountain is leveling up on all fronts. New lift upgrades promise faster laps and easier access across the country’s largest ski area, while improved snowmaking and terrain enhancements continue to refine the guest experience, giving families, free riders, and adventurous intermediates more room to explore.
Together, these upgrades mark a season defined by guest feedback, creative problem-solving, and continued excitement for Utah’s greatest snow on earth. Winter in Park City has never looked better so drop in to what’s fresh and what not to miss.
Park City Mountain
A Season of Bold New Moves at Park City Mountain
Park City Mountain is focusing heavily on improved guest experience this season. Skiers and boarders of all skill levels will find that virtually every touchpoint of the mountain experience has been upgraded—from major lift upgrades to beginner-friendly terrain and reworked parking solutions. New infrastructure, improved snowmaking, and a shuffling of logistics and parking all reflect that this year, Park City Mountain is more accessible and more enjoyable than ever.
“This season, we’re especially excited to share the continued evolution of Park City Mountain, from the brand-new Sunrise Gondola to the all-new Moose Camp beginner zone and more,” says Deirdra Walsh, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Park City Mountain. “These strategic upgrades show our continued commitment to creating boundless experiences that ignite a love for the mountain lifestyle we all cherish.”
Rise with the Sunrise Gondola
With the opening of the new Sunrise Gondola, a 6,500-foot, 10-passenger gondola running from Canyons Village to Red Pine Lodge, resort guests will find the heavier, wind-resistant cabins are not only more pleasant but should also cut wait times and greatly increase uphill capacity. This means faster lift access and more reliable rides, ultimately eliminating many of the bottlenecks that used to build up in the Canyons base area.
Beginner-friendly Upgrades at Red Pine
If you’re bringing the kids or spending the season learning to ski or ride, Park City Mountain reworked the resort’s Ski & Ride School zone near Red Pine Lodge over the summer for a fresh, more intuitive learning area called Moose Camp (named because of frequent moose sightings). The area adds two magic carpets, including a brand-new conveyor carpet, and gentler terrain transitions to help first-timers build confidence and learn at a comfortable pace. A newly added children’s lunchroom inside the lodge ensures little ones aren’t trekking up icy hills for lunch between runs. These upgrades reflect a priority to local riders just starting out and families hoping to bring the next generation into a sport they love.
Snowmaking and Terrain Prep for Early Season Enjoyment
Behind the scenes, Park City Mountain also replaced 1,400 feet of old snowmaking pipe and added around 700 more feet across the resort. This will help provide more reliable early-season snowpack, especially on runs like Another World and Chicane at Canyons Village, which have been part of the resort’s push for earlier open terrain and fewer weather-related delays—even if Mother Nature is slow to deliver in years like this one.
Parking, Access, and Arrival Improvements
Park City Mountain is also introducing a renewed parking plan this season. The new Canyons Lower Village Garage is opening its first phase with two levels of free parking, just one component of the resort’s plan to improve guest flow, reduce congestion, and help manage increased skier traffic.
Parking at Mountain Village will once again require reservations for both paid parking and free carpool parking options but guarantees a spot before noon, an hour earlier than last season. Lot 4 offers paid parking until noon for vehicles with fewer than four occupants.
Visit the resort’s Getting Here webpage for full parking and arrival information, including information about Park City’s free public transit system.
An Evolving Resort Experience
This season’s upgrades are part of a broader, long-term vision for Park City Mountain as it evolves, improves, and builds for the future. Over the past decade, the resort has invested over $144 million including the Sunrise Gondola, new parking, snowmaking upgrades, and improved beginner zones. As some lift replacements wait on permit approvals, the focus remains on improving overall guest flow, sustainability, and accessibility across terrain, village, and lodging.
The 2025-26 season at Park City Mountain comes with a sense of fresh opportunity. The resort is leaning into its role in the community, aiming to be a place where everyone can enjoy an adventure, from children taking their first run to après-ski moment at a lodge.
So wax up, strap in, and drop in to Park City Mountain’s new chapter.
Deer Valley Resort
East Village Expansion Continues Plus a Midday Fresh-Track Experience
As Deer Valley Resort continues its ambitious multi-year expansion, the 2025-26 season marks a major glide forward, especially in the ever-growing East Village area. New lifts, new access points, and new skier flow patterns are all taking shape, but the most buzzed-about update might be something unique to Deer Valley ski culture: a way to score untouched corduroy (or even a layer of midday powder) long after first tracks have been carved during the morning rush.
East Village: The Next Adventure at Deer Valley
East Village, anchored on the eastern flank of the resort, continues to evolve into a full-scale skier base area with modern lift infrastructure and expanded terrain. Much of this season’s focus is centered around the new Big Dutch lift and its mid-station, which opens access to a variety of newly cut runs descending toward the village area.
For the 2025-26 winter, guests can expect:
- Smoother Access: East Village’s transit, arrival, and lift-load areas are nearing completion, making it easier for guests to move between base areas.
- A Broader Terrain Mix: Intermediate and advanced trails continue to roll out in phases as the resort completes grading and grooming operations with the latest in snow-making technology.
- Enhanced Ski Flow: With the new terrain funneling toward East Village, skiers will find fresh ways to explore Deer Valley without retracing the same classic routes.
But perhaps the most innovative change isn’t a new lift or new run—it’s a new way to experience resort grooming itself.
Introducing Corduroy Lunch: Fresh Tracks at Lunchtime
In a move that blends crowd management with pure skier delight, Deer Valley is launching a new program called Corduroy Lunch, lovingly nicknamed Noon Groom by locals. Instead of unleashing untouched groomed runs only for the first-chair crowd, Deer Valley will designate select East Village runs like Spitfire, Caledonia, Klondyke, Pinafore, Mountain Monarch, and the lower section of Matchless, to remain closed until noon.
Long known for immaculate grooming, the idea of experiencing untouched corduroy after the sun is high is a natural extension of Deer Valley’s strengths. At midday, ski patrollers will drop the ropes, giving guests access from the East Village Gondola mid station a chance to carve into immaculate midday corduroy or, on stormy days, powder stashes preserved from the crowds.
Deer Valley is now making the exhilaration of a perfectly timed rope drop and that magical first descent both predictable and accessible.
Playing off the Corduroy Lunch theme, the resort invites guests to stop by the East Village restaurant located in the temporary Deer Valley East Village Lodge after Noon Groom laps for a signature shepherd’s pie topped with “groomed” mashed potatoes. Elsewhere around the resort, midday diners will find less crowded on-mountain restaurants as thrill-seekers head for the fresh runs instead of the Deer Valley Turkey Chili line.
Where to Find Corduroy Lunch
The held-back terrain will be based on grooming decisions made the night before, but all will be located on the new East Village slopes served by Big Dutch. Because the runs vary in pitch and personality, the Noon Groom experience will feel different day to day, offering everything from fast, flowing cruisers to more playful fall-line rollers.
With East Village opening in earnest and Corduroy Lunch giving skiers a brand-new ritual to look forward to, Deer Valley’s 2025-26 season is shaping up to be one of its most memorable in years.
