Brighton

Brighton was the first ski resort in Utah and is one of the oldest in the country. It might be old, but it’s far from old-fashioned. It was the first Utah resort to allow snowboarders, and it continues to be popular with funky snowboarders who make the most of the terrain parks and abundance of powder. Brighton doesn’t have any of the trimmings, but the atmosphere is incredibly family-friendly, and it offers good value skiing and snowboarding.

Brighton is located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, just next to Solitude, only 35 minutes southeast of Salt Lake City and 35 miles from the airport.

There are two main sides to the resort. The Majestic side consists of forested areas and plenty of opportunities for tree skiing, whilst the Millicent side has more wide open spaces, bowls and drop-offs. The spread of terrain for ability levels makes it attractive for families and others learning to ride, and all of the terrain is accessible via high speed quad chairlifts. For many shredders, the four terrain parks are the highlight of Brighton. Night skiing is available which includes illumination of the park and pipe areas.

Brighton is a compact resort with only 425 hectares of skiing terrain. However with an open-boundary policy there is plenty of accessible backcountry terrain, and Brighton is also interconnected with Solitude ski resort which provides another 486 hectares of terrain. The two ski areas are interconnected via the SolBright ski run, and can be accessed using the SolBright lift ticket (wonder how they came up with that name?).

Whilst Brighton has reasonable facilities such as eateries, equipment rental and shops, Brighton can generally be described as a no-frills resort. In regards to accommodation, there is some very affordable lodging at the slope-side Brighton Lodge, but that’s about it. There are accommodation options at Solitude, so you can either ski over to Brighton, or there are cheap Utah Transit Authority (UTA) buses to get you there. Alternatively you can stay in Salt Lake City, and commute via the UTA buses. If you’re a shop-aholic, you can also stay in Park City.

Unlike high profile resorts such as Snowbird and those around Park City, Brighton and the neighbouring Solitude don’t get much attention from out-of-towners. The locals are happy for it to stay that way because the 12.7metres (500 inches) of annual snowfall at Brighton is the same awesome Utah powder that falls at the other resorts.