Best Secret Ski Towns of North America

Glacier, Washington

Photograph by Grant Gunderson

Best For: Pacific Northwest powder snorklers with a taste for wild terrain

Wedged into the steep crevices of the Cascade Mountains, the tiny town of Glacier, population 200 on a good day, is the gateway to Mount Baker Ski Area, famed for setting a world record for snowfall in 1998-99. The collection of backwoods cabins and buildings along the two-lane Mount Baker Highway that form Glacier barely constitute a town, but it’s got everything the serious skier needs—a ski shop, snowboard shop, plenty of cabins for rent, a bakery with hearty breakfast burritos, and three restaurants, including Graham's, which was beautifully restored by volunteer local woodworkers and hosts live music on weekends.

Seventeen miles up the road, the legendary Mount Baker is a smaller ski area—1,000 acres with 1,589 feet of vertical—packed tight with labyrinths of expert terrain. Steeps, chutes, cliffs, cornices—it’s all here and almost always getting buried under more snow. You don’t come here for the groomers. The surrounding backcountry on the steep slopes of Mount Shuksan is even better, with lines as big as your legs and skills can take you. In the snow-smothered year of 1999, Baker actually netted 1,140 inches of snow, a world record. In other words, if you’re driving to Glacier and Baker make sure your car’s got a shovel.

Ask a Local

Drew Adams and his brother John established Glacier Ski Shop in 1999. They love Glacier and Mount Baker for its “old-school, off-the-grid vibe combined with ultimate terrain and massive snow.”

Best Digs

"Mt. Baker Lodging. Walk-ins and one-night stands."

Best Eats

"Every establishment has something to offer, but Milano's is legend."

Best Après Spot

"Has to be Graham's Restaurant. Rustic is an understatement. Live the legend of Clark Gable and The Call of the Wild."

Best Off-the-Slopes Activity

"Probably shooting guns or mountain biking"

Favorite Local Run

"Probably Pan Face. Maybe Sticky Wickit if you like the neck-deep. That's just in-bounds …"

Smithers/Terrace, British Columbia

Photograph by Chris Hahn

Best For: Big-mountain backcountry aficionados who aren’t afraid of tiny airports

In the far northern reaches of British Columbia, two little logging towns are conducting experiments that have the potential to upend the ski industry. Smithers, population 5,400, hosts the new Hankin-Evelyn Backcountry Ski Area, which features cut runs, a warming hut, and no lifts of any kind—unless you count legs and climbing skins. The narrow, twisting lower runs through the forest are perfect for backcountry beginners and provide fast access to the alpine areas for experts. A warming hut with a wood stove at tree line looks up at the open bowls and puckering chutes of Hankin Mountain.

Smithers, once a haven for American draft dodgers, has a pedestrian-friendly downtown lined with local merchants and more ski shops than a town this size has any right to. Overlooking town, the family-friendly Hudson Bay Mountain offers respectable lift-served skiing with the five-mile-long Rotary Community Trail leading right into the outskirts of town. The Burnie Glacier Chalet, a classic backcountry destination, also operates from here, as do two heli-skiing operators and local boardmaker Paranormal Skis.

No ski trip to northern B.C. would be complete without visiting the neighboring town of Terrace, population 11,486, a two-hour drive to the west. The diehard local ski community here recently banded together to purchase their local ski hill, Shames Mountain, which was under threat of closure. Community-owned and nonprofit, it’s now Canada’s first cooperatively owned ski area. It may only be 225 acres and with a lone chairlift and single T-bar, but it averages 480 inches of snow and has a liberal open-gate policy that accesses some of the continent’s finest and easiest access, big-mountain backcountry terrain. Both towns have airports with direct flights to Vancouver.

Ask a Local

Tom Harvard grew up in Smithers and has averaged 50-plus days of skiing every winter for his entire life. He’s “graduated” from working and now spends his time alpine and telemark skiing, snowboarding, skate skiing, and backcountry touring.

Best Digs

"The Stork Nest Inn is quiet and close to everything, so you can walk to the rest of town. They serve a great breakfast and—especially for ski touring—are the go-to place for local info. They provide a shuttle service to the local airport too."

Best Eats

"The Eddyline Bistro Cafe for the great service, healthy local food, and really good coffee. The specials are always special. They also make a great breakfast and are on the way to and from the Hankin/Evelyn touring area. Thursday evening is burger and brew night. Most restaurateurs in the valley have a life other than work, so check for nights they may be closed."

Best Après Spot

"Alpenhorn Bistro & Bar is a great place to finish off the day and meet up with friends. If you are looking for late-night fun, this is a great place to start."

Best Off-the-Slopes Activity

"Depending on your timing, the steelhead fishing might be pretty good. Or the lakes are sometimes frozen and not covered with snow, which makes for great skating. Around here we get four real seasons, so you need a shed full of gear so that your activity suits the weather. That may be why such a small town has so many outdoor gear shops. Sometimes bowling or a movie may be the best option. Other times you can golf, ski, and fish on the same day."

Favorite Local Run

"After 54 years of skiing in the valley, I don't have a favorite, but if I have to choose it will be run nine at Hankin/Evelyn. This run is on the Evelyn end of things, and is steep, really well-gladed, and close to town. It is special for me because my daughter helped cut it during a slow fire season while she was working her way through school as a forest firefighter. I call it Sue's Run!"

Fraser, Colorado

Photograph courtesy Winter Park Resort

Best For: Adventurous families with a taste for top-of-the-world skiing

Fraser is an anomaly in the resort-packed northern half of Colorado—a humble, affordable town in the shadow of a premier ski area. Somehow managing to skirt the popular radar, this railroad town of 910 maintains the air of a funky, back-of-beyond Western hamlet even though it’s only 70 miles from Denver. You don’t come here for the nightlife scene, unless you count the illuminated tubing hill on the slopes behind town. But there’s a great pizza shop, saloon, bowling alley/movie theater/bar, and a ski shop, Joe’s Backcountry Repair, that will hand-tune your planks. You can also still take the train here, with a small Amtrak station right in town.

Five miles up the road, its runs visible from town, is Winter Park Resort, a complex, sprawling ski area with 3,081 acres of terrain, 3,060 feet of vertical, and 25 lifts. The two primary mountains, Winter Park, for beginners, and Mary Jane, for the experts, are like two different ski areas. There are several other distinct zones, many with high-speed chairs, that disperse the weekend rush of skiers well. Mary Jane is famous for its bump runs, but the larger resort is dominated by groomers and wilder blue runs, with some scenic, above-timberline options that can make intermediates feel like mountaineers. Intrawest, which runs the resort for its owner, the City of Denver, has given it its usual mega-resort, condo-explosion treatment, but it hasn’t diminished the eclectic charm of Fraser (or its sibling, the town of Winter Park) nor the adventurous, family-friendly feel of the mountain itself.

Ask a Local

Eric Mowry has lived in Fraser since 2000 and owns Epic Mountain Sports in the town of Winter Park.

Best Digs

"Devil's Thumb Ranch Resort"

Best Eats

"The Ditch"

Best Après Spot

"Deno's Mountain Bistro"

Best Off-the-Slopes Activity

"Bowling at the Foundry"

Favorite Local Run

"The trees off Drunken Frenchman"

Mount Shasta, California

Photograph courtesy Shasta Mountain Guides

Best For: Spring skiers looking to tackle one of America’s classic test pieces

In the most northerly reaches of California rises Mount Shasta, a 14,179-foot stratovolcano visible for a hundred miles in every direction that hosts a small universe of backcountry skiing opportunities on its flanks. At the mountain’s foot, over 10,000 feet below the summit, rests the town of Mount Shasta, a low-key skier’s base with a population of 3,394. In true California style, there’s a new-age vibe here, with a gas station converted to a crystal shop, frequent UFO sightings, and fervently relayed rumors of a spiritually advanced race living inside the mountain.

More important for skiers, the county plows the Everitt Memorial Highway that delivers you through 20-foot-high snowbanks to 6,950 feet on the mountainside. From here it’s a wide-open world of bowls, superlong steeps, and open faces to explore. A thick, maritime snowpack adheres to Shasta well into summer, and year-round turns are possible. Visit in the spring for 8,000-foot descents off the dormant volcano’s very summit—one of the finest descents in backcountry skiing—without the dangerous crevasses that mar similar peaks like Rainier. In town, there are two expert ski shops that rent backcountry gear, while Shasta Mountain Guides can show you the mountain. The Mount Shasta Avalanche Center is an excellent resource for snowpack information. Seven miles from the town, the small but uncrowded Mount Shasta Ski Park offers lift-served skiing and intro-to-the-backcountry lessons.

Ask a Local

Chris Carr, owner of Shasta Mountain Guides, has been guiding on Mount Shasta since 1995.

Best Digs

"The Mount Shasta Resort offers quaint mini-cabins on Lake Siskiyou. Cold Creek Inn offers clean, basic rooms in town. Otherwise car camping at the trailhead for slope-side accommodations."

Best Eats

"Actually are in Dunsmuir, six miles south. Cafe Maddalena is awesome, as well as Dogwood Diner."

Best Après Spot

"The Goat Tavern is the local après spot for beers and burgers. Wayside Grill has great atmosphere and is a party spot; the food is mediocre, but they do have music and movies and events."

Best Rest-Day Activity

"Crystal spinning, alien viewing, and Lemuria exploring"

Favorite Local Run

"Castle Lake and Casaval Ridge"

Philipsburg, Montana

Photograph by Athena Lonsdale, Discovery Ski Resort

Best For: Steep skiers with cowboy fantasies

The old Montana mining hamlet of Philipsburg, population 820, is a classic ski town waiting to happen. Rising up the skirts of the Flint and Pintlar mountains, it’s got historic Western storefronts, a restored downtown with quirky lodgings, a giant old-fashioned candy store, and the Opera House Theater. There’s even a new microbrewery, the Philipsburg Brewing Company. Eighteen miles up the Pintlar Scenic Highway is one of the best under-the-radar ski areas in the Northern Rockies—Discovery, or Disco to the locals. (Expansion plans may soon bring lifts down to the edge of town.) The nearby Altoona Ridge Lodge offers backcountry accommodations for skiers. The only thing missing—in town, the surrounding mountains, or the wide ranching valleys sprawling out below—are crowds.

The family-owned Discovery may lack big-resort amenities, but its north-facing backside is columned with true double-black plunges that are riddled with chutes, cliffs, and powder stashes that hold for days after storms, all lap-able on the old-school Limelight double chairlift. Fully 55 percent of the mountain is black and double-black, but its frontside features an inviting spread of a dozen runs suitable for beginners and families, as well as an invitingly simple wooden day lodge with better-than-average food.

Ask a Local

Matthew Todd, a longtime passholder at Discovery, is a forester and wildland firefighter who spends most of his winter at the ski area and exploring the surrounding mountains via snowmobile and skins.

Best Digs

"The Broadway Hotel. They have ski-and-stay packages."

Best Eats

"The Silver Mill Restaurant has the best food in town."

Best Après Spot

"Mugs of tasty brew at the Philipsburg Brewing Company"

Best Off-the-Slopes Activity

"Pond hockey games under the lights at the Winninghoff Park ice rink in P-burg. Friday nights draw the best games with locals, the ski patrol, lifties, and others."

Favorite Local Run

"The west bowl on the backside, where there are numerous steep lines for the more experienced skier. My favorite backcountry adventure is the north couloir of Warren Peak, which is visible from town and very tempting to those who have the skills."

Cooke City, Montana

Photograph by Patrick Orton, Aurora

Best For: Serious backcountry fanatics with a taste for wild country

It’s hard to get more remote than Cooke City, Montana. Wedged between the vaulting Beartooth Plateau and a howling corner of Yellowstone National Park, getting here in winter requires a 111-mile drive on narrow, winding mountain roads from Livingston, the nearest town of consequence. Where the road plowing stops, in a deep crack in the Absaroka Mountains, sits Cooke City, population 140, a snow-pummeled berg with the feel of a frontier town that just happens to be engulfed in some of the finest backcountry ski terrain on the continent. There are a handful of lodging options, including cabins in the adjacent skier’s “suburb” of Silvergate, and at least one saloon and one bakery. Better yet, stay at the Mount Zimmer Yurt or Woody Creek Cabin, both operated by Beartooth Powder Guides, who also offer guided skiing in the area. There are no lifts here, but you can start skinning from your front door.

Sitting at a lofty (especially for this latitude) 7,608 feet in elevation, Cooke City is renowned for its reliably deep snowpack and the plethora of ski lines adorning the mountains that overlook town. Long a popular adventure-snowmobiling destination, word is starting to spread about the area’s human-powered opportunities. The mountains south of town are in the North Absaroka Wilderness, where snowmobiles aren’t allowed, and the countless 2,000- and 3,000-foot descents are for skiers alone. The Zimmer Yurt, north of town, sits on the edge of the Zimmer Creek Wilderness and the unending ski mountaineering opportunities of the Beartooth Mountains, which make up the largest alpine zone in the lower 48. Go for a ski in Yellowstone Park’s Lamar Valley while you’re here—just keep an eye out for bison and wolves.

Ask a Local

Beau Fredlund is a ski mountaineer, backcountry ski guide, and photographer living in Cooke City, Montana. He skis the backcountry 150 days a year and posts to the Cooke City Chronicle.

Best Digs

"The High Country Motel (first place on your right). Or the Mount Zimmer Yurt for the backcountry experience."

Best Eats

"The Bear Claw Bakery. Delicious muffins and cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven at 6 a.m. every day."

Best Après Spot

"The Miners Saloon is a great place to rub shoulders with some local culture. Everyone has a story about the Miners Saloon."

Best Off-the-Slopes Activity

"A soak in the nearby Boiling River hot spring in Yellowstone National Park is a fountain of youth!"

Favorite Local Run

"Town Hill. When it's in, you can ski 1,500-vertical-foot rolling powder lines right into your front yard."

Field, British Columbia

Photograph courtesy Kicking Horse Ski Resort

Best For: People who want to ski through postcards and have big memory cards in their cameras

Upping the ante on picturesqueness to rarely seen levels, the tiny skier’s hamlet of Field, British Columbia, sits near the Continental Divide in the center of rugged Yoho National Park. With a population of around 200, mostly skiers of one variety or another, Field is uniquely positioned in the Canadian Rockies amid an absurdly scenic backcountry playground within hucking distance of two major ski resorts. Nearly every structure in the historic railroad town has been immaculately restored, and many of its picture-perfect mountain homes serve as guesthouses. There’s a hostel, a general store, an ice rink, and groomed Nordic trails leaving from town. The surrounding mountains house four Alpine Club of Canada backcountry huts, plus the Lake O’Hara Lodge, a ski-in, rustic-lux chalet.

If you come here, be prepared to sprain your neck muscles taking in the area’s scenery and endless backcountry skiing opportunities, which include 4,000-foot descents of Mount Field and the easy-access Emerald Lake slide path (which is a slide path, mind you, so apply requisite backcountry prudence). Seventeen miles to the east on the TransCanada Highway is Lake Louise, one of the finer resorts in the Canadian Rockies. Thirty-five miles west is Kicking Horse Resort, with some of the biggest vertical in Canada.

Ask a Local

Jessica Stichelbout is a nordic and alpine ski instructor who originally moved to Field for the ice climbing. Fifteen years later she’s still here, living in what she calls “the best winter town ever.”

Best Digs

"Field has approximately 20 lovely guesthouses, the Fireweed Hostel, and the Kicking Horse Lodge. You really can’t go wrong."

Best Eats

"There are two restaurants in town, the Truffle Pigs Bistro and the Siding Cafe. Both are great."

Best Après Spot

"Both restaurants, but Truffle Pigs is open later most of the year."

Best Off-the-Slopes Activity

"Cross-country skiing on our beautiful groomed trails, ice climbing, ice skating, and snowshoeing"

Favorite Local Run

"The Emerald Lake slide path"

Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Photograph courtesy The Springs Resort & Spa

Best For: Hot springs lovers and anyone looking to get a jump on early-season powder

One of Colorado’s most unheralded outdoor hotspots, Pagosa Springs, population 1,727, sits at the foot of the San Juan Mountains, 23 miles from Wolf Creek Ski Area, long renowned among the powder cognoscenti for having the best snow in the state. As for the town itself there are only two things a skier needs to know about: hot springs and microbreweries. The town’s namesake mineral hot springs—the world’s deepest—are so big they feed three different developed pools in town. Two different, top-shelf microbreweries in town will take care of your post-soak beverage and dining needs. Albuquerque, four hours south, is the nearest major airport, which is probably why crowds are rarely a problem in town or on the slopes.

Rising up along the Continental Divide in one of the snowiest zones in the Southern Rockies, remote Wolf Creek reliably serves up early-season conditions that are weeks ahead of most other mountains. Opening days in October are not uncommon. Its average of 430 inches of snow puts other Colorado resorts to shame, and its Alberta Chair accesses the kind of ungroomed, open-forest terrain typically reserved for the backcountry. At 1,600 acres it may not be huge, but it never feels crowded, and with a base area at 10,300 feet the powder stays pristine. A liberal open-gate policy allows hikers to access an enticing variety of expert terrain.

Ask a Local

Stephen Durham recently moved to and fell in love with Pagosa Springs and the Wolf Creek Ski Area. “During winter, the huge amount of powder here at Wolf Creek Ski Area makes for some pretty incredible experiences,” Durham says.

Best Digs

“The Springs Resort & Spa has beautiful lodging centrally located downtown and is home to the world's deepest hot spring. It's also a great place to soak and relax after a long day on the slopes.”

Best Eats

"Pagosa Baking Company. Whether you're getting a sandwich to go for a day at Wolf Creek or dining in at their casual indoor area, the fresh baked breads and daily specials are a local treat.”

Best Après Spot

“Pagosa Brewing Company is a favorite hangout for locals and tourists alike. They have a large variety of craft beers for all tastes and great appetizers to refuel on while you sip on a few brews. If you're staying for an entree, don't miss out on the tasty, beer-battered salmon fish and chips.”

Best Off-the-Slopes Activity

“This one is a toss-up between a beautiful snowmobile tour or renting some nordic skis. We have local clubs that do a great job maintaining lots of groomed trails for either activity. Whatever you decide, get out and do some exploring in Pagosa Springs and make sure to bring a camera to capture some of our spectacular mountain scenery.”

Favorite Local Run

“Whether groomed runs or tree skiing is your passion, our brand new high-speed quad, Treasure Lift, will quickly get you to the good stuff. Regardless of where on the mountain you choose to ski, there's rarely ever a wait to get on a lift. Count on spending your day skiing and exploring the mountain instead of waiting to ride a lift.”

Los Alamos, New Mexico

Photograph by Jason Halladay

Best For: Cold War history buffs with a taste for green chilies

For years Los Alamos wasn’t just a secret ski town, it was a secret town, period. High on the hidden Pajarito Plateau of the Jemez Mountains, 35 miles northwest of Santa Fe, the Los Alamos National Laboratory was established here by the U.S. government at the height of World War II as a top-secret facility to develop the nuclear bomb. The lab and town that sprung up around it to house scientists wasn’t revealed to the public until 1950. In the meantime, the scientists had formed a ski club and manufactured their own rope tow inside the lab. From there, Pajarito Mountain was born. Los Alamos is now a strange and strangely compelling town of 12,019 people, many of whom have post-docs and can’t tell you what they do for a living. Befitting a town of supernerds, many of the restaurants close early and there are few bars. But there’s an orchestra, theater, and, unsurprisingly, a science museum, while the setting—on the fingers of a mountainside mesa riddled with canyons—is stunning. Pajarito Mountain, still operated by the local ski club, is only six miles outside town. At 700 acres with 1,440 feet of vertical and five chairlifts it’s not huge, but there’s no such thing as a lift line and the mountain has some 35-degree, black-diamond plunges that will entertain advanced skiers. Come to Los Alamos not just for the skiing but also to experience one of the most unique areas, and towns, in the U.S.

Ask a Local

Scott Hsu, a fusion energy scientist at the Los Alamos Laboratory, has been a member of the Pajarito Mountain Ski Patrol since 2003 and is an avalanche advisor for the National Ski Patrol. He frequently backcountry skis in the neighboring Sangre de Cristo mountains.

Best Digs

"Chain: Holiday Inn Express. B&B: North Road Inn."

Best Eats

"Nicer place: Dixie Girl Market. For a New Mexico-style green- or red-chile breakfast burrito on the way to the slopes: Chili Works or El Parasol."

Best Après Spot

"Pajarito Brewpub and Grill"

Best Off-the-Slopes Activity

"Learn about Los Alamos National Laboratory research and history at Bradbury Science Museum or visit the museums, galleries, and shopping of Santa Fe."

Favorite Local Run

"In-bounds: the 'fab four' bump runs of Nuther Mother, Sidewinder, Breathless, and Precious at Pajarito Mountain. Backcountry: Rabbit Mountain, Valles Caldera National Preserve."