Over the next few years, Deer Valley has committed to more than doubling the size of its skiable terrain. This will not only be a boon to out-of-state visitors, but it will also relieve the congestion that Park City has felt, thanks to the success of the Ski Utah brand.
Deer Valley Expansion Overview
The new terrain comes with a whole new base area and loads of parking for locals and tourists alike. There’s a lot to unpack with all this development, so let’s dig in.Like the Deer Valley you know and love, the new Deer Valley East Village is easy to get to from the SLC airport. The new base area is about 40 minutes away. And while it’s a bit farther in terms of mileage, visitors won’t have to wind through the downtown area of Park City to reach their condos and hotels.One of the many reasons I love Deer Valley is that I never have to adjust to the elevation. The same goes for the new East Village. The base sits at 6,350 feet, so there’s no need for extra oxygen on your first day.
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The first hotel to open is the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. It’s a resort-style hotel with plenty of amenities and convenient access to the new East Village base. I’ll follow up with a full review of this property soon, but suffice it to say, it’s elegant and in an awesome location.
In addition to the hotel, there are 500+ day parking spots available for free. Locals from all over the Salt Lake area and Heber Valley are thrilled with the ease of access.Whether you’re starting your ski day from the parking lot or the lobby of the Grand Hyatt, getting to the base area is a snap. Right now, access is via a free, open-air shuttle service. Though it’s a short walk to the lift, there’s ongoing construction, so you won’t want to walk it. The shuttles look like something from a retirement community in Boca. Hop on and make a new friend as you head to the base.
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Start Your Ski Day in the Deer Valley East Village
There’s a small unloading zone with a few ski amenities. The Deer Valley East Village has a temporary, very small rental shop where you can find fancy portable bathrooms, lockers, and skier services. Most skiers boot up at the hotel or at their car and ride the shuttle ready to ski.
From the base, you have a choice of three lifts to start your day. If you’re a beginner, you can pick from two beginner lifts (Hoodoo Express and Aurora), both of which service gentle green terrain. The big excitement is the addition of the Keetley Express. It’s the latest and greatest Doppelmayr technology—a six-seater, heated chair bubble lift. And it’s as good as it sounds.This high-speed lift will scoot you and your five friends from the base up to a mid-mountain area where you can access all the Deer Valley terrain you know and love.
If you want to connect to the other base areas, Sultan Express is the key to the equation right now. The run to get there is a little narrow with a sharp turn, so the first time you connect, just be sure you’re paying attention. If you want to do laps off Keetley, I suggest the jaw-droppingly beautiful Lady of the Lake blue (intermediate) run. On my visit, this run remained wide open and was one of my favorite places to practice arcing my turns.
When I was ready for a bigger challenge, I took Sultan up to Stein’s Way—Deer Valley’s iconic black diamond run that gets groomed daily and offers a steep pitch with spectacular views. From there, I was back to all the Deer Valley runs I knew and loved, including the glades off Sunset, Lost Boulder, and Nabob.
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I will warn you, the new expansion does offer families a bit of a logistical challenge. You need a plan to start your day, a lunch plan, and you need to keep an eye on the time to ensure you make it to the LONG Green Monster run, which will likely be your way back to the Deer Valley East Village.
The Green Monster is almost 4 miles long, and the ski patrol will hang a rope to cut off access around 3 p.m. This doesn’t mean you can’t get back, but it would be very hard for a beginner to do so (the alternative is McHenry from Silver Lake, just over 2 miles- it stays open later). That means planning your day—or, better yet, getting a guide to help you navigate the massive mountain on your first day.
Let’s recap what’s new for this year:
- Three new lifts: Hoodoo Express, Keetley Express, and Aurora
- 300 acres of new terrain with 20 new runs in the expansion
- Keetley is not only new, but it’s a heated bubble lift
Video of Expanded Terrain
Here’s a shirt video of the new terrain
What’s Next at Deer Valley
All this growth is very exciting, and I’m looking forward to skiing even more new trails next year, which will bring skiers to four new mountain peaks. The new terrain will add 2,342 skiable acres. In the 2025–26 season, Deer Valley plans to unveil 7 additional chairlifts, including a 10-passenger gondola, and over 80 new ski runs.
This will be the largest terrain expansion in resort history. When it’s complete, the resort will boast 5,725 acres of skiable terrain, 37 chairlifts, and 238 ski runs across 10 mountain peaks. It’ll also include 1,200 total new day skier parking spaces just at the Deer Valley East Village gateway.
And while they are expanding, they aren’t changing who they are. What I’ve come to love and respect about Deer Valley remains, including:
- Expert grooming
- On-site professional and safe child care
- Gourmet dining
- No snowboarders
- An emphasis on skier safety
If you’re looking for an elevated experience, Deer Valley is the spot for your spring break. And next year during the holiday season, it’s going to be even more magical. If this full-service resort experience fits your budget, rest assured that Deer Valley continues to lead in luxury ski experiences. They know and respect how hard we ski moms work for these precious weeks of vacation, and they pull out all the stops to make our wintery family memories the best.
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