The Biggest Thing In Ski Travel: Deer Valley’s Massive New Expansion

The Winter Olympic Games are returning to Salt Lake City in 2034 after a 32-year absence, and when the freestyle competition revisits Deer Valley, skiers will be shocked to find that it has become one of the biggest ski resorts in North America. But you don’t have to wait that long, as snow is already falling and the launch of the “New Deer Valley” experience is less than three months away.

Utah’s Deer Valley ski resort has long been synonymous with luxury, and it is one of the easiest ski destinations in the country to get to, close to the reliable and well-served Salt Lake City airport. It also has the best established ski with an Olympian program for those who want to make turns with legends. With four Forbes 4 and 5-Star ski-in/ski-out hotels, acclaimed restaurants, white glove service and a rare limitation on daily lift tickets to keep crowds down, it is generally considered the toniest spot in American skiing.

But soon it will also be known for its gigantic size.

Bigger Is Better For Skiers

In the next two seasons Deer Valley will more than double in size, and to put this in perspective, just the new terrain being added would be the seventh largest ski resort in U.S. on its own. SkiResortinfo.com currently ranks Deer Valley as the 15^th largest ski resort in the nation and it has just over 2,000 skiable acres but is adding 3,700 more. The vast majority of that, 2,900 new acres, is opening by next winter, which would move Deer Valley past Heavenly as the fourth or fifth largest in the nation, depending how you count acreage. After the project is totally complete Deer Valley will have 5,726-acres, passing Vail to become the nation’s third or fourth largest (assuming these other resorts do not grow). It has been more than 15 years since the last expansion at Deer Valley, and that was just one lift and 200-acres in 2007.

It is totally unprecedented for Deer Valley and by any standards by far the biggest expansion story in American ski travel in decades—ski only, as Deer Valley remains one of a tiny handful of resorts not allowing snowboarders. The project is so big it has its own detailed website, Expanded Excellence. While much of the mega-transformation will not occur until the 2025-2026 season, just what is coming for this winter is still the biggest news in the country.

What’s New For This Ski Season

The first phase, scheduled to open by mid-December ahead of the holiday season, includes three new chairlifts servicing 316 new acres and 19 new trails. It also opens up an entirely new base area and entrance to the resort from US 40, Deer Valley East Village, with 500 new and much needed day skier parking spots. The high-speed Keetley Express will be Deer Valley’s first 6-person bubble chair, and is one of just a handful in the country. This will connect Deer Valley East Village to the existing terrain, dropping skiers off near the bottom of the Sultan Express chairlift on Bald Mountain. The two additional new lifts, Hoodoo Express and Aurora, will service new beginner trails and provide return access to Deer Valley East Village.

The new acreage pushes Deer Valley past nearby Alta, UT and luxury resort rivals Sun Valley, ID and Beaver Creek, CO in size. It includes eight beginner trails and eleven blue intermediate runs, bringing the resort total to 122. 97% of the existing Deer Valley trails are named after mining claims, and they kept this tradition alive with the new area. They have also extended the existing McHenry’s trail to reach the new Aurora chairlift, making it the longest run in the resort at 4.2 miles, from the top of Flagstaff Mountain all the way to Deer Valley East Village.

Deer Valley East Village is still in its infancy with a temporary base lodge facility and limited skier amenities, including a rental shop, complimentary ski storage, and ticketing. There will be no resort-run food and beverage service yet, but there is a large new full-service hotel debuting, the first of several expected as part of the expansion. In fact, the new Grand Hyatt Deer Valley is the first addition coming online and expects to welcome guests starting in November and will open before Thanksgiving.

The Grand Hyatt will have about 400 upscale accommodations, in guestrooms, suites, and residences, including 100 discounted rooms reserved nightly for U.S. military service members. Hyatt promises “generously sized rooms, spa-inspired bathrooms and spacious walk-in closets.” Food and beverage offerings include the signature restaurant, Remington Hall, Remington Lounge with a specialty cocktail menu created by a renowned New York mixologist, Hidden Ace, a performance bar with live music and DJs, lobby service, and a coffee shop. The hotel promises “music-forward après-ski experiences.”

This will be the first Grand Hyatt in Utah, but Deer Valley is already well stocked with luxury lodging, including the Forbes 5-Star Montage and Stein Eriksen Lodge, 4-Star St. Regis Deer Valley and Chateaux Deer Valley, plus the boutique Goldener Hirsch, an Auberge Resort. Off-property but nearby and with ski shuttle service is the fabulous Forbes 5-Star Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection.

Much More To Come Next Year

The bulk of the mega-expansion will finish next year for the 2025-2026 winter season with six more new lifts, including a 10-passenger gondola, about 2,600 more acres of skiing and nearly 100 new trails. At this point Deer Valley will be more than twice the already impressive size it is today. More parking will also be added at East Village for next season, with the new permanent base lodge to follow for winter 2026-2027, and as many as eight additional hotels are being discussed. There is another 800 or so acres of skiing and several more lifts on the longer-term to-do list, date unknown. Fortunately, the most important part of the project, a lot more skiing, is the first thing being addressed.