Big news coming out of Deer Valley this ski season. In a recent interview with Overherd at Deer Valley, Steve Graff, Vice President of Mountain Operations, calls the project “So incredibly ambitious. No other ski resort has expanded this much, and certainly not this fast. It’s been 40 years since anyone’s done anything this large.”
Graff is talking about Deer Valley’s Expanded Excellence initiative, which he describes in simple terms: “What we’re adding on is bigger than current day Deer Valley. It’s like building another resort and bolting the two together, making it one.”
A Simple Solution to a Complex Problem
The Expanded Excellence initiative’s cornerstone, the Deer Valley East Village, is a 40-minute drive from the Salt Lake City Airport without a single traffic light between you and the slopes.
With 500 inches annually of “The Greatest Snow on Earth” and 10 resorts less than an hour from one of America’s ten best large airports, it is no wonder the greater Salt Lake area is among America’s premiere ski destinations. Unfortunately, it is not all powder mornings and bluebird days for Utah’s Salt Lake City adjacent skiers. The magazine Ski reports, “The traffic and parking situations at Alta, Utah, Brighton, and Snowbird have reached a breaking point.”
Issues getting to ski resorts affect more than Cottonwood Canyons. According to a survey by Park City resident Sam Kirschner, 100% of longer-term locals agree ski companies should help with traffic.
Deer Valley is listening. In August, they unveiled their Expanded Excellence initiative to evolve and elevate the Deer Valley experience for future generations. The initiative adds more than 3,000 acres of new terrain while reducing traffic and parking concerns.
Deer Valley East Village
This winter, Deer Valley will start to offer day-skier access from the new Deer Valley East Village. This addition will access new terrain, chairlifts, and expanded parking. Three new chairlifts, including Keetley Express, directly accesses existing terrain and more than 300 new skiable acres. Park City residents will appreciate 500 new parking spaces away from Park City traffic with easy access from U.S. Route 40.
Deer Valley East Village evolves beyond parking spaces into a modern village and portal area. It features a state-of-the-art skier services facility that houses everything from ski school to rentals, retail options, and diverse dining establishments. When completed, Deer Valley East Village will have 1,200 new day skier parking spaces to ease traffic flow within Park City.
Upon completion, Deer Valley East Village will include nearly 1,700 residential units and 800 hotel rooms across multiple properties. The development also boasts 250,000 square feet of retail and commercial space and 68,000 square feet for recreation, including North America’s largest “ski beach.”
Deer Valley’s New Ski Slopes
The 2025-2026 season will be the expansion’s most extensive phase. One of the ski industry’s largest expansions in decades, it will introduce nine more lifts and nearly 3,000 more acres of new terrain.
Deer Valley traditionally caters to all skill levels. Beginners enjoy industry-leading snow-making technology with sustainably sourced water from the Jordanelle Reservoir. They will also open a 4.7-mile-long beginner trail, 1.2 miles longer than the Home Run trail at neighboring Park City Mountain Resort.
Intermediate and advanced skiers can find off-piste powder pockets to play in and connect with existing terrain to tour the entire Deer Valley footprint.
Expert skiers might want to start training for the terrain opening off the new Revelator Express chairlift.” Graff states, “The terrain that Revelator Express accesses is as big as X-Files, Daly Chutes, Daly Bowl, Empire Bowl, and Lady Morgan combined.” The new area is going to be on the next ridge over from Bald Mountain with, “a lot of north-facing terrain off of that and it’s very long. Revelator Express is going to be about two and a half times longer than Sultan is today.”
The Deer Valley project adds more than 3,700 acres of skiable terrain, 16 new lifts, and a 10-person gondola. This makes Deer Valley one of North America’s largest ski resorts while limiting daily skiers and maintaining a ski-only experience.
Access to Park City
Park City is a historic and charming mining town. However, steep mountains and behemoth ski resorts Deer Valley and Park City landlock it. Parking in Park City is no walk in the park, but strolling the historic streets, quaint shops, and boutique galleries is. It’s the perfect way for non-skiers to spend a winter day or grab a bite to eat after a day on the slopes. Between hotel shuttles and the free Park City Trolley, you should have no problems getting to Main Street.
Deer Valley East Village is only 12 minutes from downtown Park City — without traffic, of course. Overnight guests and residents can utilize Deer Valley’s on-demand car service for Park City access without impacting parking. Day guests can use the Park City Free Transit System from Kimball Junction on their way back to Salt Lake City.
What Deer Valley’s Expanded Excellence Means to Utah Skiers
Salt Lake City’s award-winning airport, Utah’s Greatest Snow on Earth, and Deer Valley’s commitment to service are a skier’s dream. The new terrain expansion will more than double Deer Valley’s terrain footprint but promises to preserve the indelible Deer Valley Difference. The 2024-2025 season terrain expansion is just the beginning, with more exciting developments on the way.
