While the ski season comes to a close at most North America ski areas in the spring, the outdoor adventures, activities, and events continues into the summer for many ski resorts. Activities range from gondola and chairlift rides to mountain biking and hiking to music festivals and more. Plus, many North America ski areasare surrounded by stunning landscapes and near popular state and national parks that make them as much of a destination in the summer as the winter.
So as you’re planning your summer vacations, check out some of the best ski resorts for summer activities.
The Best North America Ski Resorts In Summer
Timberline Lodge, Oregon
It’s no secret that Oregon, and more broadly the Pacific Northwest, is a beautiful four-season region. However, some people may be surprised to discover that Oregon is home to the only North America resort, Timberline Lodge, where you can ski and ride well into the summer months. That’s thanks to the Palmer Snowfield, which skiers and riders can lap into August. Ski camps often reserve the area, but there’s always room for skiers and riders.
That’s not Timberline’s only claim to fame. The Pacific Crest Trail crosses through the resort, just below the summit of Mt. Hood, making for a welcome oasis and resupply station for PCT hikers all summer. Day hikers can also enjoy the PCT and other hiking trails around Timberline Lodge. One of Timberline’s most popular summer activities is a ride up the Magic Mile Chairlift to 7,000 feet for views of Mt. Hood, Palmer Snowfield, and further afield, Mt. Jefferson.
Further down the mountain, outside Wy’East Day Lodge, is Timberline Bike Park. It has family-friendly trails like the wide Gravy Train, plus numerous trails with advanced jumps and steeps for more experienced riders.
Aspen Snowmass, Colorado
Aspen Snowmass is no doubt one of the best ski destinations in the world. However, it’s also an iconic summer destination, home to a popular bike park, spectacular views, and great events and activities spread across the town and several mountains. In fact we named Aspen one of the best ski towns to visit in summer, in part because of some of the great summer events and programming like the Aspen Food and Wine Classic and Aspen Music Festival. Yet there’s a lot happening at the mountains, too.
The Lost Forest at Aspen Snowmass offers a variety of summer mountain activities including ropes courses, ziplining, obstacle courses, and mountain coasters. There are also plenty of classic mountain activities like hiking, disc golf, and a sightseeing gondola. Timber Territory Paintball is one of the resort’s more unique experiences and has sections bookable for private groups and parties. Over at the Aspen Highlands, people hike to see the iconic Maroon Bells — two picturesque mountain tops, named for Maroon Lake below and the shape of bells rising 14,000 feet above sea level. Over at Aspen Mountain, on select days, students of the Aspen Music Festival and School play chamber music atop the mountain. You’ll just have to hike or take the gondola up for it.
Aspen is also home to an incredible food and drink scene. Aspen Snowmass recently took top honors in our annual Visitors’ Choice Awards for Best Aprés-Ski.
Park City, Utah
A bustling four-season town, Park City is one of the most convenient mountain destinations you’ll find, located less than an hour from Salt Lake City. Park City Mountain Resort bubbles over with events all summer long like the Canyons Village Summer Concert Series, which brings a variety of bands to the village stage every Saturday in July and August.
Outdoor adventures continue on the mountain at Park City Mountain Resort, including scenic lift rides, an alpine slide and mountain coaster, mountain biking, mini golf, disc golf, and tons of hiking. Lofty Lakes Loop is a dog-friendly 4.5-mile hike with lake views close to Park City Center. Epic Pass holders can enjoy some nice summer perks, like 20% off food, golf, bike rentals, and more. Closer to town experience the Canyons of Utah on horseback through tours with Red Pine Adventures and Blue Sky Utah. If you visit midweek, then check out the Park City Farmers Market, which brings together local Utah vendors to showcase fresh produce, foods, and artisan crafts.
Just outside of town, don’t miss Deer Valley in summer. The live music theme continues with the Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater, home to the Deer Valley Concert Series and the Deer Valley Music Festival. Deer Valley’s Amphitheater can seat up to 4,500 guests, and provides a unique, fun venue for taking in music. You can even pair music with lodging specials. Join Deer Valley on Saturdays from June through September for Mountaintop Brews and Tunes. Ride up the Sterling Express chairlift for an afternoon of great views, music, food, and drinks. More adventurous travelers can hit Deer Valley’s 60 miles of mountain biking trails and 3,000 feet of vertical. Several of the trails link up with Park City’s expansive 400-mile network of single track.
Palisades Tahoe, California
Palisades Tahoe is one of the most iconic ski resorts out West, and summer is just as iconic. Start your day off at Palisades Yoga Studio to zen out before exploring all that the resort has to offer. Take the Aerial Tram to High Camp to enjoy access to a number of hiking trails, roller skating, the Olympic Museum, disc golf, or e-mountain bike tours. If you’re looking for something on the more adventurous side, do a guided climb of the Tram face with Tahoe Via Ferrata. Then cap off your day back in the Village at Palisades Tahoe with food and drinks at any number of different restaurants or bars. Palisades Tahoe also hosts a number of festivals including the Alpen Wine Fest, Brews, Jazz and Funk, and Bluesdays.
If you want to get off the resort, then rent some bikes and take a ride on the Truckee River Bike Path, play a round of golf, hike parts of the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail, or float the Truckee River. The headliner in the summer is Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America. Kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, boating, jet skiing, and much more can be done here, all with a backdrop of the mountains.
Northstar California, California
Northstar, located less than 30 minutes from Palisades Tahoe, is home to the largest bike park in Northern California, with more than 100 miles of downhill trails, cross-country tracks, and world-class features. It’s a playground for mountain biking enthusiasts, while also offering dedicated spaces for camps and those continuing to grow their skills. Northstar’s bike school offers a couple different group lessons, including an Intro to Bike Park lesson and Bike Park Skills lesson, plus private lessons. For those who prefer adventures on two feet, rather than two wheels, Northstar offers lift-accessed hiking that starts in June. Take Northstar’s scenic chairlift up and enjoy access to a number of great trails. Northstar also has an 18-hole golf course.
Between adventures, the Village at Northstar makes a great basecamp. Go roller skating, take a pottery class, or kick back at any number of great restaurants and bars. Take the inter-mountain gondola up to The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe for a spa treatment, and enjoy great views and equally great food at Backyard Bar & BBQ or Manzanita.
Nightlife takes on new meaning at Northstar during the summer, when Tahoe Star Tours hosts a unique night of stargazing on select nights. Relax fireside and take in the exquisite night sky with constellation maps to help identify the stars. Get your tickets at tahoestartours.com.
Telluride, Colorado
It’s no secret that Telluride is one of North America’s top ski destinations, as evidenced by OnTheSnow users rating Telluride Ski Resort the Best Overall Ski Resort for the 2023-24 season. And Telluride is just as amazing in summer. Telluride Bike Park is a a completely unique lift-served bike park with a variety of interconnected trails, including freeride and cross-country trails. One of the bike park’s more unique experiences is the private guided experience. You can have your guide all to yourself, or bring up to 3 friends. Families spending several days in Telluride can check out the Grom Camp, a 5-day bike camp for kids 8-14.
Telluride Ski Resort offers a number of guided experiences that you won’t find just anywhere. Join a guide for a hiking trip to a mountaintop yurt, experience Telluride’s Via Ferrata, or go ziplining. The theme of unique experiences continues with Telluride’s free gondola, the only free public transportation system of its kind in the U.S., which links Telluride to Mountain Village. Head up to enjoy the views, take a hike, or to experience its shops, food, and drinks in Mountain Village.
Summer is also festival season, with so many great festivals, including the Telluride Balloon Festival, Telluride Food + Vine, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Telluride Jazz Festival, and Telluride Blues & Brews. Beyond the ski resort, the town of Telluride and beyond is full of incredible adventures like hiking 14ers and waterfalls, biking, climbing, paddleboarding, fishing, and more.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Jackson Hole is another one of North America’s iconic ski destinations that is just as amazing during the summer. That’s in part because of its convenience to Grand Tetons National Park, and further afield, Yellowstone. Travelers flying into Jackson are actually already in Grand Tetons National Park, as Jackson Hole Airport is the only commercial airport in America that’s located entirely inside a national park.
Yet Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is a destination in and of itself. Among the headliners is the Jackson Hole Bike Park, featuring trails for every type of rider, from a number of beginner trails like Lucky Charm to the double black diamond Dirty Harry. More adventurous visitors can take a guided trip across suspended bridges and up granite walls on Jackson Hole’s Via Ferrata. Or, for a lighter adventure, travelers can take the 12-minute gondola ride to access hiking trails, Yoga on the Deck, and food and drinks at a number of great spots. A fun experience is to take the Evening Bridger Gondola on select evenings for sunset dining or drinks at Piste Mountain Bistro or The Deck. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has a ton of other great activities, including a ropes course, disc golf, climbing wall, Grand Adventure Camp for kids, and even paragliding with Jackson Hole Paragliding.
Summer brings a ton of great festivals, like the Jackson Hole Food & Wine Summer Festival, which rings in the summer.
Big Sky, Montana
While Jackson Hole is located south of Yellowstone National Park, Big Sky is even more convenient to Yellowstone, located just outside the West Entrance. Big Sky is a perfect home base for those who want to explore the park, see natural geysers, and see some incredible wildlife. Big Sky Resort itself is bubbling over with great summer activities. Get a round of golf in at the Big Sky Golf Course, an 18-hole par 72 award-winning course located 6,500 feet above sea level. Play a complete round of golf at the Arnold Palmer designed course featuring incredible views, or simply get a taste of it by going to the driving range.
Big Sky is also home to extensive networks of mountain biking trails. Ride up three different lifts to access tons of tech and flow trails for every type of rider. Those who are new to mountain biking can take private or group lessons, while there are bike camps for kids. Pro tip: While the kids are at camp, enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the Solace Spa and Recovery Lounge. Big Sky has a ton of other great outdoor adventures, including scenic chairlift rides, guided hikes, guided horseback riding, disc golf, ziplining, and an archery course. Kids have a lot to choose from at Adventure Mountain, including climbing the 25-foot climbing wall, jumping on the bungee trampoline, swinging 30 feet in the air on the Giant Swing, and gemstone mining.
Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia
It’s only fitting that the largest ski resort in Canada would make for a great summer destination. We named Whistler Blackcomb’s bike park one of the best in North America. It boasts 4,900 feet of vertical, with trails spread out over 50 miles of lift-served terrain. Whistler Blackcomb’s Orientation Guide is a good starting place to get to know Whistler Mountain Bike Park. But that’s just the beginning of the summer activities that abound in Whistler.
Whistler Blackcomb’s chairlifts and gondolas provide access to more than 50 km of hiking trails that feature incredible views, fields of wildflowers, glaciers, and alpine lakes. The amazing views continue at other parts of the resort. Experience one of the best views in Whistler at the Roundhouse Lodge Umbrella Bar, walk the Cloudraker Skybridge and Raven’s Eye from Whistler Peak, or go on a bear viewing tour. And if the chairlift views aren’t enough, Whistler offers helicopter excursions for an even better vantage of the most dazzling peaks in British Columbia. Cap off your day by exploring Whistler Village’s great food and drink options.
If you’re traveling with kids, the Blackcomb Adventure Zone in the Upper Village offers tons of adventures and activities, including ropes courses, climbing walls, and more. Leave them to an afternoon of adventures while you play a round of 18 at Whistler Golf Club, chosen by Arnold Palmer as the site for his first Canadian design.
Summer brings tons of great events to Whistler, from live music to food and drink festivals to a weekly farmers’ market. When you need a break from all of Whistler’s great outdoor adventures, check out its vibrant arts community. Whistler is full of exhibitions, galleries, music and theater performances, film events, and museums like the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre. This exhibit brings together two indigenous nations (Squamish and Lil’wat) to showcase their culture, ceremony, language, stories, and more.
Stowe, Vermont
Stowe is known worldwide as one of the most famous New England ski resorts. And summer in Stowe is just as good. The village at Spruce Peak is full of shops, restaurants, and bars, while summer brings tons of great events. Spruce Peak Village Green kicks off the weekend right on Friday evenings with a market full of local vendors, artists, food, live music, brews, and more. They also host a weekly outdoor movie fit for the whole family. Grab a fresh maple creemee and lay out on the lawn for cinema under the stars.
One of The Village at Spruce Peak’s more unique places is the Stowe Rocks Climbing Center. Here you’ll find the 40-foot Elephant Head Tower (a replica of the Notch’s Elephant Head natural rock formation) and the 30-foot-high Program Wall. The climbing formations catered toward climbers of all skill levels, with options for auto-belays. There’s also a Kid Zone for climbers 12 and under.
Stowe is home to the tallest peak in Vermont, Mount Mansfield, which beckons hikers and those who want to take a beautiful scenic gondola ride. After hiking, treat yourself to lunch with stunning views at the Cliff House Restaurant. For a different way to see Mt. Mansfield, zigzag your way to the summit via the historic Toll Road. While just 4.5 miles long, it features amazing views of Mt. Mansfield, Lake Champlain, and the Adirondacks. Take a picnic to enjoy at the top.
A trip to Vermont is not complete without stopping at Ben and Jerry’s for a factory tour in nearby Waterbury. Just make sure that you book your tickets online ahead of time.
Jay Peak, Vermont
The Northeast Kingdom of Vermont is a great place for summer fun and there’s no place better than Jay Peak. While Jay Peak isn’t the size of North America’s larger ski resorts, it has something that most ski resorts don’t have—an indoor waterpark. Enter Pump House Indoor Waterpark, complete with a lazy river, multiple zooming slides, and more. Other highlights include the Double Barrel Flowrider, which Jay Peak describes as a “cross between skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding (minus the kneepads, sharks, and snow).” Note that its hours and schedule vary by season.
Explore the top of Vermont via Jay Peak’s scenic tram ride, which takes guests to the top of Jay Peak with views spanning across the Green Mountains, and even featuring views of Canada. As you’re planning your summer Jay Peak trip, check out the Summer Music Series calendar, featuring nearly 20 artists over 5 shows. A new offering, which locals in particular may enjoy, is the All Access Pass, featuring entry to every Summer Music Series event, plus one ticket for Jay Peak’s Aerial Tram and one waterpark day pass for each of the five concert weekends.
Jay Peak Resort also offers a great championship golf course, which opens in May. In recent years the resort has also expanded its mountain biking operations, including its own dirt Pump Track, built by Sinuosity Flowing Trails, located out in front of the Hotel Jay & Waterpark. Across the resort, there is also an arcade, a full climbing gym, and the upscale Taiga Spa. Relax with a massage or pedicure and enjoy the full amenities of an upscale hotel.
Lusten Mountains, Minnesota
Don’t sleep on the Midwest, and especially Minnesota in summer. Summers in Cook County are not to be missed, thanks in part to its location on the world’s largest freshwater lake, Lake Superior. Beyond Lake Superior, the region is home to thousands of lakes, while Visit Cook County describes Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) as its “northern star.” And then there’s the 2,000-plus miles of bike trails throughout Cook County. Summer brings some fun events to the area, too, like the Summer Solstice and Wooden Boat Festival and the North Shore Water Festival.
Yet Lusten Mountains, one of the Midwest’s largest ski areas, is a can’t-miss Minnesota destination, too. Take the Summit Express Gondola up for amazing view of the Sawtooth Mountains and Lake Superior’s dramatic coastline, cruise down the half-mile alpine slide track, or hike any number of trails, like the popular Superior Hiking Trail.
Read on for more summer recommendations
Where to Ski Around The World in Summer
The Best Ski Towns to Visit in Summer
Great Summer Festivals and Events at Ski Resorts
Header image ©Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
May 07, 2024
